My dog has a soft lump on his belly near his penis. What could it be?
This looks like an umbilical hernia, quite common and usually not serious in dogs. It is usually recommended to repair it when general anesthetic is performed for castration.
Anyway, generally speaking, 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 (if it is an hernia physical examination will be enough). 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).
Other differentials include skin cysts, infections, benign or more sinister type of tumors (unlikely if Ichirou is under 5 years of 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.
Updated on September 23rd, 2025