Question about lump on dog (Another update 12/26) Maybe good ending!

[Chickerdoodle13]

I brought a middle aged, female dog home from the rescue this weekend to spend some time with my uncle who is looking for a new companion. She has the most wonderful temperament and would be the perfect dog for him. Over the summer, he lost his dog to cancer at the age of ten and it really hit him hard.

The problem with this dog (Lucy) is that she has a lump about an inch and a half to two inches on her back. It does not cause pain and is moveable. The rescue will be having it removed this coming week and will be sending it out for testing. I know it is very difficult to tell anything about the lump without having it biopsied, but has anyone had experience with lumps on dogs? How common is it for lumps to turn out to be cancerous? I'm hoping it will be fine with removal. Should he decide he is interested in possibly adopting Lucy, I am going to suggest he put in an application for foster and wait until the rescue gets the test results back. That way if it turns out to be more than just a fatty lump, he can look at other dogs.

I guess I'm just looking for some stories and maybe some prayers. I'm really crossing my fingers that everything turns out ok because she would be perfect for him.

 

[Jamie_Dog_Trainer]

I don't know statistics for the lumps to be cancer but I know from working Vet hospitals that a lump in the skin anywhere on the dog does turn out to be just a fatty tumor or a sebaceous cyst a lot of the time. Older dogs get them really frequently.

 

[ChickenWisperer]

I second that. You would not imagine the hysterical fit I had when I found the tumor on Muffins leg. She was 10 years old, it was about an inch long / half an inch wide, and on her upper thigh. I was terrified because she'd had a cancerous spot removed from her nose around 5 years old. I cried and cried, but when we took her to the vet we found out it was a fatty tumor. She's had 2 more pop up since. One of them is right behind her elbow and is larger than the palm of my hand, the vet said they cause no harm unless they hinder movement, so it's not going to be bothered unless it gets too big.

The removal of the first tumor was awful. Ripped open 4 times, went through sutures, more sutures, staples, then sutures and staples together.

 

[mom'sfolly]

My neighbor's dog has lots of fatty lumps. He looks like an old, lumpy pillow. He does fine with them and has for years.

 

[lockedhearts]

Some breeds are more susceptible to fatty tumors or cysts. Our Giant Schnauzer has a couple and the vet has biopsied them, no cancer. But I am betting just a harmless cyst.

 

[dela1991]

Usually they are nothing to worry about, but since I am a worrier, I have them checked by fine needle aspiration. My Great Dane is now eight years old and has lots of lumps. Our vet has a "lump chart". It is an outline drawing of a dog and she has marked all of the known lump locations she has found on him. He did need to have one removed once as it was impeding movement, so when he was knocked out, I had his teeth cleaned and all the other known lumps checked. Luckily, none were cancerous. Fatty tumors are more common as a dog gets older. I guess some are more prone than others. My 15yo JRT only has one. My dane probably has a dozen. Good luck, hopefully it is just a fatty tumor.

 

[Lothiriel]

I'm glad you asked this, Chickerdoodle, because my 10yo Aussie has had a lump on her side, probably about the same size as the one you found on this dog. I'm so glad to hear that they are usually just fatty tumors!

 

[sourland]

Smooth, oval/round lumps are generally not malignant. Hard, irregularly shaped less moveable lumps tend to scare me. I think the idea of fostering until lab results are received is a good one. Hope that it works out for the dog and your uncle.

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

Thanks guys for all the info! It is definitely smooth and round so I'm holding out hope it is just a fatty lump. I guess we will see in a week though.

I slept at my grandmother's apartment last night and left my uncle with the dog alone. He said she slept with him all night long. I definitely think this dog wants to be with him permanently!

 

[Orpingtons4U]

we had to pay almost 4000 bucks just two get the fatty tumors removed

from our dog ginger but it was 2 tumors