Maybe you were stroking your Golden Retriever or starching your terrier's underbelly when you suddenly felt it. You run your hand over the spot on your dog's warm body over again. The pet, aloof to your concern, thrashes in order to get your attention and beg for another lavishing of love. As you feel the spot again, concern rises. Your pet has a lump or bump of some sort. Automatically, your mind probably rocketed towards the worst possibility: cancer.
Thankfully, there are other reasons for lumps and bumps on your dog's body, and not all of these lumps indicate that your pet is cancer-ridden. It is always important to take your pet to the vet immediately upon finding a lump or bump of this nature. You will want to rule out any metastases right away. If you can find more than one bump or lump on your pet's body, then this may indicate that your pet has lipomas. These are just fat deposits under the skin that don't present any problems. Sometimes pets develop these deposits but it is never anything to be concerned about.
Lipomas are soft and rounded, and they are not painful to your pet when pressed on. Normally, the lipomas are present just under the skin but they can arise from connective tissues beneath the muscles. They are almost always benign and hardly every indicate a medical problem. These lipomas will not metastasize to other parts of the body and will just grow to a certain size and remain where they are. Lipomas do not necessarily need to be removed, unless there is a risk that the lump could be malignant.
There are a variety of other reasons that a pet may develop tumors. Some lumps could by histiocytoma. This is a rapidly growing button-like mass that can be found anywhere on the body. Sometimes the lump can be soft-tissue sarcomas. This is a mass that is typically slow-growing. Dogs can also suffer abscesses. These are painful collections of pus that are generally at the site of a bite or a puncture wound. The dog may have a hematoma, which is a collection of clotted blood beneath the skin, typically at the ear flap location.
Vets also commonly suffer from epidermal inclusion cysts. These lumps are located in the ear canal and are less than one centimeter in size. They can become ulcerated and infected if they are not treated quickly. Some pets also suffer from lumps that are melanoma. This can be serious. The melanoma lumps are normally brown or black pigmented nodules that are found in areas of dark skin or grow in the mouth.
Squamous cell carcinoma lumps are gray and reddish-looking ulcers that can be anywhere on the underbelly of the dog, the feet and legs, or the mouth and nose. Carcinoma looks somewhat like cauliflower. Transmissible venereal tumors look similar, so it is important to get these lumps checked out when you discover them. In some cases, lumps can be skin papillomas, which are like warts. These are harmful and don't even need to be treated.
On the other hand, sebaceous adenoma is a smooth, pink, wart-like growth that is often found in poodles and cocker spaniels. Mast cell tumors can be serious, and often there will be more than one of these lumps on your dog if he or she has them. The mast cell tumors are most common in Boxers, Golden Retrievers, Boston Terries and Bulldogs. Basal cell tumors are solitary nodules that are normally hairless and could be ulcerated. These are found on the head, neck, and shoulders of the dog. If your dog has any sort of lump or bump, it is best for you to consult a veterinarian. Read more about this on the blog today!