My old lab has fatty lumps. What low-fat senior dog food is best?

Hello. I would start with Hill's sensitive Skin & Stomach. It is not a light food, but by feeding the recommended amount on the bag for a 60-80 pound dog, he should begin to drop a little weight. For his joints, you want to give him a name brand supplement & I recommend Nutramax. They make Cosequin & Dasuquin Advanced. I would also start him on a fish oil supplement, 1000-2000 mg daily. As he ages, he may need more help with his arthritis & we have excellent pain modalities for dogs including appropriate non steroidal drugs, & prescription joint treatments called Adequan. You will discuss these with your vet. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Honestly, with pancreatitis a dog needs a super low fat diet and the only ones that fulfill this are prescription diets. I would recommend canned and dry Hill's i/d low fat. If this was his first bout of pancreatitis he may only need to be on this for a short while. If he has had multiple bouts of pancreatitis then he needs the super low fat diet for life. Hope this helps. If you have more questions please feel free to post again. Best wishes!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! If she is doing well on the food you are feeding I personally do not think you have to change. Just watch her weight as obesity is a huge problem in labs and only worsens arthritis. I would first look with in the brand you are feeding to see fi they make a senior formula that is also lamb and rice. I do like Hill's senior diets but they only come in chicken. I wish you and Lucy the best!

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.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I work with cancer daily and I do think there is a good chance that it is in fact a benign fatty tumor as older labs get those frequently. However, it could also be something malignant such as a mast cell tumor, sarcoma, among others. This is most of the time differentiated with a test called a fine needle aspirate which is easy, cheap and pain-free. Sometimes, a biopsy is required for a diagnosis. Have Laya evaluated by your veterinarian to have this test performed to try to sort out what the diagnosis is so that the best course of action can be determined. Keeping my fingers crossed that it is something benign!

My understanding with senior diets is that there are no general guidelines that all follow. This can lead to a wide variation in the protein and mineral content of these senior diets. In general, if a senior dog is healthy and doing well on their current adult diet, I do not recommend switching diets, nor do most veterinary nutritionists. As always, talk to Tova's vet to see if their recommendation differs, but given her sensitive stomach concerns, I would hesitate to change anything.

Typically these fatty lumps (lipomas) require no treatment unless they are very big, affect the way a dog moves, and/or bothers the dog. If these scenarios do not apply to Oso, you don't need to do anything.