I have a 7 year old boxer female. She has developed a small lump, that when I found it was the size of a nickle, it is hard. I took her to the vet & he said, it was nothing, & though it was hard, he thought it might be a "fat deposit." her health has never been an issue. But now she has 3 more. They are all hard, & the original now the size of a silver 1/2 dollar, the other one is the size of a quarter, & the newest 1 is about the size of a nickle. They are all on the under cariage of her belly, & the largest 1 is on her side. Now a neighbor who works as a vettech, told me to take her somewhere else, cause it could be cancerous since they are hard nodules, & the one seems to be getting larger. Does anyone have any experience w/ this? I am taking her to a new vet,they scheduled her in 2wks, cause they want her records 1rst. She is like one of our children, & infact we got her exactly 1 week to the day our 1rst son was born. We are scared & sad, Any help would begreatly appreciated.
2007-10-06 23:08:16 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Dogs
Definitely get them checked out, especially if they're getting bigger- either talk to your existing vet or go elsewhere.
They can be examined very easily whilst you sit and wait, using a technique called FNA (fine needle aspirate). Basically this means that the vet pops a small needle into the lump and sucks out a few cells. Any material is put onto a slide and examined under the microscope then and there.
It is entirely possible that they are lipomas (benign, fatty tumours) but a./ they're usually not really hard and b./ in a slightly older Boxer I'd be very concerned about a type of cancer called a mast cell tumour. It is pretty easy for a vet to tell the difference between these and if necessary they can then send a sample off to a pathologist to get an opinion on how aggressive/non-aggressive the tumour is.
Good luck, and try not to worry too much- even a lot of cancers in the skin can be treated!
2007-10-07 01:03:38 · answer #1 · answered by Loz 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I'm very glad to hear she's going in to another vet to find out what's up for sure. :-)
My guesses:
Abcess - These usually leak/ooze puss(pus?) and they will grow in size. Caused by bacteria. They can be drained at the vet.
Scar tissue - a former wound which has healed up and deposited extra tissue into the area. These can feel kind of hard. Our female cat, Draco, had this occur after her spay surgery. The top of where her incision was healed with a hardish feeling bump. It feels like a protuding bellybutton. She's just fine, it doesn't hurt her, but it is still there 2 years later.
Mastitis - inflamation of the breasts caused by an infection. Our female Great Dane had this and we could tell by her nipples being enlarged, hard, and leaking fluid
I'm really hoping it is something as simple as dog warts instead of cancer. I wish the best for you and your dog!
LEC
2007-10-06 23:19:10 · answer #2 · answered by LEC 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It sounds like fat-deposits, fat deposits can be both hard and soft. I went with my own dog once and the vet told me that rule of thumb says that if you can move the lumps about under the skin, they are likely fat-deposits. Other good indications of fat deposits are that the lumps are not warmer than the surrounding tissue and that they don't seem to be sore.
I would still take her to the vet, it's better to go one time too many than one time too little.
2007-10-06 23:16:19 · answer #3 · answered by Voelven 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is most likely a tumor which would need to be removed because it could be cancerous. It might also might be one of those lumps from age. I'd say, just feed her very healthy food and take her to the vet ASAP. Good luck!
2016-03-19 06:58:44 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Daz one of my boxers has exactly the same type of lump on his side near rib cage!It is hard and does not move!Vet just said was a fatty tissue and that as long as it wasnt causing Daz any harm he would be fine to leave it where it was.
2007-10-06 23:12:12 · answer #5 · answered by sharon19833 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I had a poodle many years ago that developed benign fatty cysts on her chest. When they grew excessively large, to the point of hanging down in a sac-like pouch of skin, we had the vet surgically remove them.
2007-10-06 23:16:22 · answer #6 · answered by Princess Picalilly 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Well Lisa J ...
Your neighbour is right in telling you to see another vet! Always get a second oppinion expecially with your pets...
I went to 3 vets in my area to help me with my cat ( that had the same condition as yours) and I got it cut out and analysed for cancer or some thing else....
2007-10-06 23:22:20 · answer #7 · answered by Tambo 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
it could be a woof...under the skin....casue i had a cat that had 1 on her back leg...and then it started getting harder and harder..and then it started eating her skin...and she lost hair and almost died...bu i bought her to a vet...and they cut a big black bug out of her and she was like paralized...for a year and a half
2007-10-06 23:19:05 · answer #8 · answered by bam b 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋