Lump on dog's neck.

Dr. Marie replied:

Thank you for providing the picture and video. This makes questions so much easier to answer!

Keep in mind that I can't give you an official diagnosis over the internet, but I can definitely give you my thoughts.

I think there is a good possibility that this is an abscess. It is a really common area to see an abscess on a dog. It may be related to the stick incident, or it may be from something else such as a bite or a wound. Often we don't know why they are there.

You would think an abscess would be painful, but they aren't always.

A lipoma is possible, but this is not a normal spot to see a lipoma.

This doesn't look like a situation where you need to rush in to the vet right away. But, if it's possible to have him seen this week this would be good.

Your vet will likely put a needle into the lump and see what is inside. An abscess should be filled with pus.

If it is an abscess, then your vet will prescribe some antibiotics. Sometimes this does the trick. However, often when an animal has an abscess they will not fully heal it unless the abscess is opened up and flushed out. This is probably a good idea to do, especially considering that there has been a lump there ever since she had a stick in her mouth. It's possible that there is a small piece of wood in the middle of that abscess.

If this abscess is opened it's something that will need to be done under a general anesthetic.

I hope she is ok!

Dr. Marie.

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