My senior dog has a large lump and seems senile. What's going on?

As stated by Dr. Orioles, Kelsey should, ideally, be examined by your veterinarian. A fine needle aspirate would be needed to possibly diagnose the lumps and the cause. In a senior pet, infection or cancer are always concerns in regards to rapidly developing lumps or cyts. If the lumps were to cause discomfort or be infection, you may see a behavioral change in Kelsey. This would possibly include lethargy, lameness or loss of appetite.

It could be that Lady has a cyst causing this lump. In a senior dog, it could also be a malignant tumor or a benign tumor. Without seeing her in person, I can't say for certain. If your vet sent her to a surgeon, then I would suspect that your vet believes it needs to be removed. I'm sorry you felt this surgeon was only worried about money, so I'd suggest speaking to your vet about a referral to another surgeon to get this lump diagnosed and possibly removed. It sounds like it's quite large if it's grapefruit size, and if it continues to grow, it could affect her ability to walk. In addition, if it is malignant, it needs to be removed as soon as possible. Best of luck, I hope this helps!

Hello. This is definitely a tumor, but it is impossible to say if it is a relatively harmless benign one, or a dangerous potentially aggressive malignant tumor. My guess is that this is very benign & will cause no great harm to Poochi. It can continue to grow, but may not ever affect her overall life. The best thing to do is to have your veterinarian perform a fine needle aspirate where a few cells are removed from the lump & examined under the microscope. Hopefully, all that will be seen are benign fat cells ( lipoma ), but if highly differentiated cells are seen, this would indicate that removal is advised. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

i am afraid these could be benign or malignant tumors. Since Nealy is an older dog, this is not uncommon. Lipomas (fatty tumors, usually benign, they can actually be hard) or mast cell tumors come to mind when looking at your photos. It could also be a very extreme allergic reaction to possibly a shampoo at the groomers. 1) do not panic 2) make an appointment with your veterinarian for an exam. He will likely want to take a so-called FNA (Fine Needle Biopsy) where he takes a small amount of tissue through an injection needle, puts this on a glass plate and looks at it under the microscope. This will give your vet an idea what he is dealing with. He may also send this material to a lab to be examined. Once you and dyour veterinarian know what type of mass you are dealing with , you can discuss treatment plans.

This could be a seroma from an injury, a cyst, abscess or a tumor. Cysts and abscesses need to be drained by a vet. If your vet suspects a tumor, he will do a fine needle aspirate to determine whether it is a harmless lipoma, which does not need to be removed unless it is ulcerating or bothers the dog due to its location or size, or another tumor that needs to be removed. Please make an appointment with your veterinarian for an exam of the mass.

It would be a good idea to have the lump removed, as there is always a chance any lump in a senior dog could be malignant. Plus not every type of cancer can be diagnosed with an aspirate, further tests are needed like a biopsy. I hope this helps!

Hello my name is Dr. Elyse Macartney, and I would like to help answer you questions regarding Brandi's skin lump today. First of all thank you for sending the picture of the lump. From the picture you have sent the lump appears to be a skin growth. There are several types off lumps or masses that can grow in the skin of dogs such as sebaceous cysts, warts, abscesses, lipomas, and several types of cancers. Some of these cancers are benign and some are malignant, so careful observation is important, as well as having a vet examine it if you are concerned. My first step of advice for you would be to use a ruler to measure the lump today. Then repeat that measurement every few weeks. Continue to monitor the lump for growth, ulceration, pain, bleeding, swelling, and changes in texture or color. Rapidly growing and changing masses are more concerning, and may be a sign of malignancy. Because this is a new mass and because you have already observed growth, I would suggest taking Brandi in to have the mass examined by her veterinarian. The veterinarian will most likely want to take a sample of the cells within the mass using a FNA (fine needle aspirate). Using cytological examination of those cells, the type of mass can be identified and a treatment plan created. I hope this information was helpful, and I have included the link to further articles below. https://www.petcoach.co/article/lumps-on-dogs-when-you-should-be-concerned/ https://www.petcoach.co/article/can-pets-get-skin-cancer/