My senior chihuahua has a stomach growth. Is it normal or serious?

A lump in this location could be a mammary tumor. These are growths in the breast tissue. They can be benign or malignant. I always recommend surgical removal because they continue to grow, even if they are not cancerous. Another possibility would be a hernia. If this is a hernia, surgery would be recommended to repair it because organs such as intestines, bladder or uterus can become entrapped. I would recommend an evaluation by a veterinarian to determine what it is and make recommendations on how to treat it.

It is difficult to determine the cause without an examination but abdominal enlargement can be caused by a variety of medical conditions including an accumulation of fluid, organ enlargement, Cushings disease, etc. You should schedule an examination with a vet to determine if there is a medical problem that needs to be treated. Your vet can run blood-work and take x-rays to help determine the cause.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This looks like a mammary tumor. This could be a benign or malignant growth. This is often differentiated by a test called a fine needle aspirate (FNA) which is a pain free, inexpensive and easy procedure which in most cases will help reach a diagnosis. Sometimes a biopsy is needed for a definitive diagnosis. I recommend that you have her evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. I am really hoping for something benign. Good luck and have a good day!

Hi and thank you for posting your question! From the picture, it looks like a skin tag which can grow over time and become larger. Usually these are not anything to worry too much about, although if it starts to become larger, red, swollen, or infected, you may want to have your veterinarian take a closer look. You can always have the mass aspirated and a sample sample taken from it to see if it is anything concerning. That is the only way to really definitively diagnosis any mass. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach and I hope this has helped!

Hi Jeff. Yes, I would be worried about this mass especially if it's gotten larger. I'm not sure how you know it's not cancerous unless you've had tests done it, but if you haven't, in a dog his age there is always a chance any mass is cancerous. This needs to be checked out by a vet as well.

This lump/growth should be ideally examined by your veterinarian to have a definitive diagnosis. Your vet will examine it and possibly perform with an FNA (fine needle aspiration) or a biopsy. Differentials would include skin cyst, infections or benign or 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!

This could just be a cyst from the looks of it. Monitor it for the next week or so to see if it spontaneously regresses. IF it does not resolve on its own, or seems to bother Tia at any point, then its best to have your vet take a look at it. If it gets bigger it can then be sampled to determine what kind of growth it is, so that we know whether to worry about it or not. I do hope that Tia's growth resolves soon! Best wishes and take care.