My dog has a growing bump on her ribs. When should I see a vet?

This kind of lump/growth needs to be ideally assessed by your veterinarian to have a definitive and specific answer. Usually there are two ways your vet can do that a part from examining it directly during physical examination. A biopsy can be taken under local or general anesthetic, otherwise a smaller sample through a fine needle can be aspirated (this technique is called FNA= fine needle aspiration). Differentials include skin cysts, infections, benign (very common hystiocytoma for example) or more sinister type of tumors (unlikely given the age). Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!

This could be a cyst or a benign tumor. Any suspicious lumps should be examined by the vet. The vet can perform a test called a fine needle aspirate on it. To do this, the vet sticks a small needle into the lump to get a sample of its cells, and examines the cells on a slide under a microscope. It's usually painless to the animal, and relatively quick to perform. Once the cause of the lump is diagnosed, the vet can discuss treatment options if needed. I would give Lily's vet a call in the morning to make her an appointment. Best of luck.

As long as she is otherwise acting ok, it is not growing rapidly, and/or has a discharge then you could wait and take her this weekend. Your vet can do a needle aspirate to help determine the cause and determine if the lump needs to be removed or treated.

Bumps can be benign, as you know. If your veterinarian has any concerns that this is more than just a lipoma, then they will likely recommend removal. The goal would be complete removal and hopefully be curative. But you can’t make a plan until she is examined. I would not wait until December, I would go in early and see what your doctor has to say about it. Best of luck and thank you for using Pet Coach.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This could be a benign or malignant growth. This is often differentiated by a test called a fine needle aspirate (FNA) which is a pain free, inexpensive and easy procedure which in most cases will help reach a diagnosis. Sometimes a biopsy is needed for a definitive diagnosis. I recommend that you have him evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. I am really hoping for something benign. Good luck and have a good day!

As dogs age they will have more growths. They can be from lipomas (fat), cysts, skin tapes or something more like cancer. If you are concerned about the growth and it is growing on Jasmine I would recommend having your veterinarian perform an aspirate on the growth. That way you can determine if it is something to be concerned about or not. If the growths get larger or change I always recommend removing them. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

You are correct with all of your possible causes. Bug bite, benign growths, and even tumor are all possibilities. If it does not resolve within a few days, or if it is getting any larger then I would highly encourage you to have him evaluated by your veterinarian soon. A needle aspirate may be done to help determine the diagnosis and best treatment plan. Best of luck and thank you for using Pet Coach.