sebaceous cysts

[Christine Pullen]

am wondering if anyone can offer some advice with regard to a sebaceous cyst on the tail??? A few months ago Merlin had one emptied by the vet and just cannot get it to heal, we are off to the vet again today as it is bleeding again and open. It seem to heal and then breaks down again, am at my wits end as going away next week....not helped by two other nosy boys "helping" it get better by licking!! would putting tea tree on it help??

[Christine Pullen]

You are so right Lois!!! I have had dogs all my life, these are my first setters, always wanted one but never quite got there until now!!! I had corgis at home, then cockers and then heinz 57, mostly jack russell cross, and now these beautiful boys. I am on first name terms with my vets, I know all the receptionists and all the nurses...mosty becuse of Jack who is the MegaE dog but like you I am beginning to feel embarrassed about the amount of time I spend there lol!! I don't even have to say who I am any more when I phone up they know me so well!! Merlin is usually the healthiest of the three I have to say

[Christine Pullen]

sorry just saw the sea weed bit....yes they do, it's an alginate dressing I think, if he was human I'd know ex\ctly what to do to draw out any grot!!

[Elizabeth Ball]

Hi Christine, we had a sebaceous cyst removed from Bella's tail last year and we were fortunate in that it was caught when it was reasonably small.  Our vet advised us because of it's position it was best to have it removed rather than drained as there isn't a lot of skin for putting back together again so we were best not to give it the opportunity to get any bigger which could be more problematic in the long run.  Could all be a load of guff but we had the minor op done anyway and they sent it off for testing to check it was benign as suspected.  Anyway it was a pain to heal as there wasn't a lot of spare skin to stitch together which they told us could feel very tight and therefore bother the dog more than other areas.  It was a couple of helpful people on this website who advised me to put Lavender Oil on it as a discouragement to licking.  Our problem was that because of the position she could still reach it with an Elizabethan Collar on and dressings wouldn't stay on due to wagging!  The Lavender Oil worked a treat as she really hates the smell and I have used it again when she had a little nick on her paw she started bothering.  It did take months to completely heal though so you do have to persevere with it.  Bella now slinks off when she sees the Lavender Oil bottle come out.

[Christine Pullen]

Hi Elizabeth, yes we have just come back from the vet and they have suggested the same thing...at the moment it is causing a lot of problems for such a small thing.....becuase we are going away the vet has given us antibiotics for now as she thinks it may also be infected at the moment, despite my best efforts to keep it clean and dry!! It sounds as if Bella's is in a similar place on the tail and like Bella an elizabethan collar MIGHT work for Merlin but the other two would still be able to get at it!!

 

I'm so grateful for everyones' advice, am reluctant for him to have surgery so may try some of the other remedies suggested here first, but thank you so much xx

[Lois McCullough]

Isn't it a worry when you're going away and our IS's aren't 100% we've had the same however they always seem to cope enjoy your break

[Christine Pullen]

aaah thank you Lois, I'm sure we will all have a whale of a time!! hahaha!!