My old dog has a painful lump, won't eat or get up. Is it serious?

It does sound like Pepper is sick. This large lump on her side could be an abscess, cyst, benign tumor, or a malignant tumor. An abscess or malignant tumor would cause her to not want to eat or drink. It is serious that she doesn't want to drink, and I would take her into a vet now. If you wait until morning, she could become seriously dehydrated, and it's best to prevent that. The vet can examine the lump and can perform a test called a fine needle aspirate on it to diagnose it. To do this, the vet sticks a small needle into the lump to get a sample of it's cells, and examines the cells on a slide under a microscope. It's usually painless to the animal, and relatively quick to perform. The vet will also likely do routine blood tests and a urinalysis to diagnose why she is feeling so poorly, and how best to treat her.

I am very concerned about your dog's condition and highly recommend a veterinary visit. There are a few general categories that fit with what your dog is showing at home. One would be weakness due to a nerve problem in the back end. This can happen if a disc has moved out of place in the spine and is pressing on the spinal cord. This can cause dogs to have trouble walking and placing their feet in an appropriate way. Some have the appearance of walking on their toes. Otherwise they are able to place weight on the back legs but stagger or sway when walking. This can be an emergency situation if the disc slips more into the spinal cord and causes paralysis. Another type of weakness that causes trouble getting up is if there is a lack of proper blood circulation. The lower level of blood in the body causes them to be lethargic due to the decreased oxygen circulating throughout the body. In an older dog, the most common cause of this is with a tumor or mass on the spleen that has ruptured. The spleen holds a large amount of blood and if it has a rupture, the blood leaks out into the abdomen. In addition to the lethargy, we often see pale gums and a pot belly appearance due to the pooling blood. An x-ray or ultrasound would help determine if this is occurring. These are the two most common reasons for such a dramatic change in her appearance. There is also the chance of her eating something she shouldn't. The best thing for her would be to have an exam as soon as you are able to determine what is causing her signs. The vet may recommend bloodwork or an x-ray. Unfortunately. older large breed dogs can lose nerve function in their back legs due to age changes. There is little we can do to help this aside from keeping them comfortable. Due to how sudden the signs showed up, this is less likely, as it is often a more gradual change.

Based on what you are describing and the location of the lump I would be concerned that your dog has either enlarged lymph nodes (either from infection or cancer) or an abscess. Since your dog has these symptoms and is lethargic as well I would be concerned about a systemic illness. I would recommend taking your dog to see the emergency vet instead of waiting to see how he does over the weekend. Best of luck. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

A lump near the shoulder could be an enlarged lymph node, an abscess, a cyst, a tumor, etc. I would recommend that you have Roscoe examined by a vet, especially since you have noticed a behavior change. The vet will do a thorough physical exam, and may want to collect a sample of cells from the lump to examine under the microscope. They may also recommend blood work or other diagnostics to see what could be going on.

Please have her checked by your vet as soon as possible. This is not normal and although any lumps are concerning, any that are painful or rapidly growing are very suspicious for underlying issues such as cancer. Early diagnosis and treatment is vital to improve outcomes and reduce undue pain and discomfort.

Poor Spazz. I would talk to you vet about the nature of these tumors. Your vet should be able to do a cytology and tell you whether or not they are cancerous and whether they are infected. Your vet will be able to advise whether they need to be surgically removed and whether she needs any antibiotics or pain meds. If your vet thinks it is cancer, I would discuss with them about whether or not they think it has already spread as this may affect your decision on surgery. Your vet will also be able to prescribe her an appetite stimulant if she isn't eating right now. I hope this helps and she starts to feel better really soon.

This lump on Siu q could be a benign tumor, a cyst, an abscess, or a lipoma. It would be rare for such a young dog to have a malignant tumor, but it is possible. 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 it's cells, and examines the cells on a slide under a microscope. It's usually painless to the animal, and relatively quick to perform. I would take Siu q into the vet today or tomorrow to have this lump examined and diagnosed so it can be treated as needed. As for the lack of appetite and lethargy, those are very general signs of illness in dogs, and it could be caused by systemic illness, infection, inflammation, or injury. Because Siu q is going to see the vet for this lump, I would have a health check done on her as well to diagnose the cause of the lethargy and lack of appetite.