Why does my 7-year-old Shih Tzu have a lumpy tail base near her rear?

That is good that it does not appear painful. Swelling at the base of the tail can be related to a tumor, a fat pad or less commonly- cellulitis due to infection or congestion of the blood vessels. To know for sure, you would need to see a veterinarian so they can palpate the area. They may recommend to collect a small sample of cells to look at under the microscope to get a better diagnosis. I hope this helps to point you in the right direction. Please feel free to post any additional questions!

Thanks for visiting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. It can be concerning when you find a lump/bump on your pet. This one in particular could be a bug bite based on its appearance, but a growth can't be completely ruled out. If it is somewhat squishy, then a cyst like growth is more likely. I would certainly get it examined by your vet who can palpate the area and make a better determination here. Otherwise, I wouldn't worry too much about this skin lesion for now. I do hope that your appt goes well with Beamer on tomorrow. Best wishes and take care.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. It is difficult to say for sure what the problem is based on the picture you provided alone. The thickening of the skin could be due to a skin mite such as demodex, a skin infection or allergies. To rule out the various potential causes, I would recommend having a veterinarian examine Mia so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any further questions or concerns and I would be happy to help you further.

I am sorry to hear that you are worried about Lilly. Fatty growths and tumors are both possible, but less likely with such a young dog. I would also worry about an abscess for a cyst. I would encourage you to have her evaluated by your veterinarian soon. A needle aspirate may be done to help determine the diagnosis. Best of luck and I hope she does well. Thank you for using Pet Coach.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! These could be benign or malignant growths. These could also be abscesses based on your description. There is no way of knowing for sure without an examination though this represents a reason to seek veterinary care. This is usually determined with an examination and a fine needle aspirate (FNA) or a biopsy. Treatment depends on the findings up to that point. I recommend you have Saffie evaluated by a veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. Good luck and have a good night!

I would have to see some pictures of the area to get a better idea of what you are talking about. I can't think of any normal anatomic structures that meet your description in that location, but that does not necessarily mean that whatever you are seeing is necessarily going to be problematic. Whenever there is any sort of unknown mass or lump on the body, options moving forwards are usually pretty similar. If it isn't causing any issues, you can continue to monitor it for increase in size and behavior, or you can have a your vet take a look at it and obtain some diagnostics to discover what it might be. Unfortunately, usually just by look alone there is generally no guarantees as to know what precisely it could be. Hope this makes sense.

Hi, and thanks for your question. Although a picture of it would help to give you a more specific answer, this lump/bump/growth should be ideally examined by your local vet to have a diagnosis established. Your vet may want to perform an FNA (fine needle aspiration) or a biopsy to sample the bump and determine its underlying nature. Differentials would include skin cysts, infections, benign or more malignant type of tumors. 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!