My dog had a lump on his belly.

[LostInAnomie]

I just noticed it today. It's about the width of a golf ball. It's mobile, soft, and it doesn't seem to be giving him any pain or discomfort when I touch it. It's not red or swollen like an insect sting. What could it be?

I'm taking him to the vet tomorrow. I'm hoping it's something simple like a cyst or something that can just be drained. It would kill me if it was a tumor.

[AbbeyRoad]

1. Sounds like it could be a lipoma

My dog has a couple. One of them is between her chest and belly. They're fatty growths under the skin. What the vet usually does is take a needle aspirate sample and looks at it under the microscope. I was told that they're pretty much harmless but can be removed if they grow too large.

I hope everything turns out ok.

[LostInAnomie]

2. This one is located between his leg and belly.

Hopefully, that is what it is. I've had him for seven years now and I've been worried that health problems might start setting in.

[Rhiannon12866]

3. My older dogs have had several of those.

Of course, you need to have it checked by a vet, but for both of my dogs the lump(s) were determined by the vet to be "fatty deposits" which are not uncommon in older dogs. They're just benign bumps, though your vet may do a biopsy to be sure. One vet thought they should be removed, another did not, said they did no harm. But they didn't affect the dogs adversely, just a part of getting older. I'm guessing that this is what your dog has. I sure hope so. Unless it's so large that it affects the dog's mobility, he should be fine. Good luck tomorrow and please let us know. I was scared witless, too... :hug:

[LostInAnomie]

5. Everything turned out alright.

The Vet said it was just a lipoma, and not to worry about it. We just need to keep an eye on him to make sure that he doesn't start digging at it. If he starts that, we can have it removed.

[Rhiannon12866]

8. That is terrific news!

You must be so relieved... BTW, my two dogs that had these lived long lives. Barney, my cocker spaniel, was 11 or 12 when I adopted him and I had him for eight wonderful years. And Rags, my Cairn Terrier, lived to 18 1/2. Miss them both everyday. ;(

I also took my little Jack to the vet today. He's had tummy problems since he was a puppy, is now on a special diet. He pooped in the house twice, even though he'd just been outside. Turns out he needed his anal glands expressed. A relief for me, but a pretty unpleasant day for the little guy, but he must feel much better now... :-)

Thanks for letting us know. I know well how it is to get scared like that. :hug:

[The Straight Story]

4. Take him to a priest, he needs an exorcism

:)

[Orsino]

6. Fatty tumors are very common, and harmless, IIRC.

The only one I've found on a dog of mine did not need to be drained, and has vanished on its own after a few years.

Worth having a vet confirm, of course.

[ccharles000]

7. I hope everything is ok

:hug:

[Truthiness Inspector]

9. One of my dogs has had a lipoma for years

Like you, I was very concerned when it first became apparent. In the case of my dog, she was overweight and then once I put her on a restricted diet the "lump" appeared. She'd had it all along, but the extra weight hid it, and fortunately it was benign.

What I do NOT understand is how this thread got "unrecommended." Seriously, that is not right.

On edit: I rec'd this thread and it went back to 0 intead of <0, so I guess that means only one person unrec'd it. If that's how it works, not sure. Strange.

[emilyg]

10. I just rec'd it. Some immatue people here.

edit - and some with bad spelling - me!