Noticed a lump

My dog Mattie aka Matilda, the yellow lab, has been scratching her underbelly in the same spot for a few days. So I checked it out. It is a good size lump, relatively soft and defined. The hair still covers it. I guess it could be anywhere from an abscess to a tumor. I'm taking her to the vet tomorrow. She is 7 years old. Anyone have any experience?

Thank you sooo much for that information rybie2. I will pray that Mattie has the same wonderful results. How long did she have to stay at the vet after the surgery? My dog Raven had surgery on her leg and for that she just stayed overnight.

hey theresa, How's Ms. Mattie?

>4 BONS: Vet thinks it may be a benign lipoma common in older dogs. He says we will watch it for now. He's really good but if I still feel uncomfortable in a couple of weeks I have another vet from whom I'll get a 2nd opinion. While I was there I gave his secretary a copy Amazing Gracie: A Dog's Tale by Dan Dye. She loves getting "doggie" books.

yes, my 2 seniors have many issues now. The boy Golden has the lumps.

How sweet that you gave her that book. I have not read it but I do know of it. Great Danes are such loves. I have a friend with one, if you drive a car with the windows down & back out of their long country drive-Montana can't resist walking along the car with her head in the window saying her last goodbyes. It's hysterical if you are prepared for it.

#5 -- My last dog had a benign lipoma. Hers was on her side right behind her leg joint, so the vet recommended that we have it removed in case it got bigger and started restricting movement. We had him do the surgery, and she was fine after that. She did have another one on her stomach that we did not have removed, and it never seemed to bother her.

My last dog also had a number of similar lumps. They started when she was around 8 - the first one I had removed and checked just to be sure, along with another skin lesion that looked fairly innocuous. The bigger lump (the one I was worried about) was a benign lipoma, but the other little spot turned out to be a malignant tumour, which was fortunately cured by the surgery. Bonnie lived to the ripe old age of 17, and in her later years developed quite a number of lipomas, some small and some bigger. They are apparently very common, and they certainly never caused her any problems.

#5 I'm really pleased that you've been given a diagnosis of benign lipoma as it's quite a common occurrence in elderly dogs. Our lovely Dobe had a number of them in her later years. Hope Mattie is doing well.

Firstly, wonderful news that this is likely to be harmless - elderly dogs can get very lumpy.

I hope you don't mind me adding this but if your vet, as you say, is 'very good' why would you want to go to someone else for another opinion? My suggestion would be, if you are still worried, to go back to the same vet and tell him/her that you would like further tests done to set your mind at ease. Any good vet will understand this. It's important to understand that a vet, like a doctor, may see the same symptoms over and over again and if there is a common explanation, will go for that diagnosis over the less likely ones at first because there is no point in subjecting your dog to unnecessary prodding and poking and charging you huge amounts of money if he is pretty sure all is well. Waiting to see what happens is part of the treatment and if new symptoms present or no improvement takes place (if that is what is expected) then further tests can be done to investigate some of the less common possibilities. I'm sure that is exactly what your vet has in mind when he suggests keeping an eye on things for a while.

Hopefully, you won't be needing another opinion - labs can be particularly prone to lumps and bumps and Mattie probably has a long, healthy and lumpy future ahead of her. Give her a hug from me and a lick from my darlin'.

She seems to be doing well now. She has even stopped itching it. Thanks everyone. My 2 older dogs 9 and 10 don't have any lumps so I wasn't familiar with them.
>10 Booksloth: I'll be sure to give her a hug and maybe an "air" lick LOL.

My Min Pin/Chihuahua mix is almost 10 and has had a soft lump on his belly for a little over a year. It's gotten quite large but our vet says it's just a fatty tumor otherwise known as a benign lipoma. They are common and generally not something to worry about. Hopefully, his will stay that way. I hate the idea of him needing surgery to remove it.