Help! Found A Lump On The Dog… Now What?
Dr. Demian Dressler is internationally recognized as “the dog cancer vet” because of his innovations in the field of dog cancer management, and the popularity of his blog here at Dog Cancer Blog. The owner of South Shore Veterinary Care, a full-service veterinary hospital in Maui, Hawaii, Dr. Dressler studied Animal Physiology and received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of California at Davis before earning his Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from Cornell University. After practicing at Killewald Animal Hospital in Amherst, New York, he returned to his home state, Hawaii, to practice at the East Honolulu Pet Hospital before heading home to Maui to open his own hospital. Dr. Dressler consults both dog lovers and veterinary professionals, and is sought after as a speaker on topics ranging from the links between lifestyle choices and disease, nutrition and cancer, and animal ethics. His television appearances include “Ask the Vet” segments on local news programs. He is the author of The Dog Cancer Survival Guide: Full Spectrum Treatments to Optimize Your Dog’s Life Quality and Longevity. He is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, the Hawaii Veterinary Medical Association, the American Association of Avian Veterinarians, the National Animal Supplement Council and CORE (Comparative Orthopedic Research Evaluation). He is also an advisory board member for Pacific Primate Sanctuary.
Updated: August 5th, 2019
Summary
Dr. Demian Dressler, best-selling author of “The Dog Cancer Survival Guide”, explains exactly what to do when you find a lump on your dog.
One of the most common comments that readers post on this blog goes something like this: “Help! Found a lump on the dog… What do I do now? The lump is (description) and is on my dog’s (body part). Is it anything to worry about?”
It helps to widen back and look at lumps in dogs generally to help clarify this topic. What’s the number one cause of dog death, if we exclude euthanasia? Dog cancer. How does dog cancer most commonly look to the naked eye? It looks like a lump.
When we find a lump on a dog, this should be a red flag. A certain reaction should be happening in the mind of the dog lover. First, both veterinarians and dog guardians should know the number one most dangerous health problem that exists for dogs, the most likely problem that could take a dog away… cancer.
We have been negligent in spreading this information to dog guardians. And by “we”, I include the group I am a member of: veterinarians. Vets should have this information and be spreading it in the same way we talk about parvo and heartworm disease.
For some reason we don’t. Perhaps it is because bringing up cancer in a discussion feels a little out of bounds since we don’t want to upset our clients. Or it could be that there has not been a marketing push like there is for parvo vaccination or for heartworm disease. Since we have access to preventatives in these cases, pharmaceutical companies make a point to help spread the word about these diseases.
This is not wrong, of course. Why not protect a dog from a problem when it is prudent to do so? (The vaccination debate is discussed elsewhere…)
So why would a guardian wonder what to do if a lump popped up? Clearly, if a woman found a lump in her breast, she would most likely be at the doctor’s promptly. Why? Because there has been enough press on breast cancer that finding the lump would raise a red flag, sparking the thought that breast cancer happens.
But in veterinary medicine, there is a mental disconnect between lumps in dogs and cancer, in spite of the statistics.
The answer to the question of what to do if a lump is found on a loved dog is this: go to your vet and get it checked! Get it aspirated, get it biopsied, get the data you need!
Can a vet diagnose a lump by looking at it? Very occasionally, but usually not. Can a vet diagnose a lump by squeezing it? Very occasionally, but usually not.
One of my pet peeves (sorry, bad pun) is the diagnosis of a benign fatty tumor based on looking and touching alone. Soft, squishy bumps under the skin could indeed be harmless lipomas. But, they could also be dangerous growths like mast cell tumors, hemangiopericytomas, subcutaneous blood filled hemangiosarcomas, or liposarcomas. These all feel soft and squishy.
This brings a case to mind. Three weeks ago, a client brought her dog in to have a lump checked out. This had been previously diagnosed as a harmless lipoma at another veterinary hospital. It felt soft and squishy.
A fine needle aspirate was done on the growth at my hospital. I inserted a syringe with a needle in the growth, and pulled back on the plunger. Did fat enter the needle hub, which is what a fatty tumor would yield? No. The syringe filled with blood.
This was no lipoma. Blood filled swellings have their list of possibilities too, but one of them is a hemangiosarcoma under the skin, a malignant cancer. And over the 6 months that this growth had slowly increased in size with nothing done, the mass had swelled to about 4 inches across.
Now we had a big problem to deal with that could have been caught a long time ago.
The bottom line is this: remember the dog cancer statistics. According to the National Canine Cancer Foundation, 1 in 3 dogs will contract cancer in their lifetime, and this number increases to 1 in 2 if the dog is more than 10 years of age.
Get dog lumps checked!
For more information on dog lumps, how they are diagnosed, and their complete treatment options, check out The Dog Cancer Survival Guide.
Best,
Dr D
Also see: Lumps On Dogs: When To Get Them Checked By A Veterinarian
Dr. Demian Dressler is internationally recognized as “the dog cancer vet” because of his innovations in the field of dog cancer management, and the popularity of his blog here at Dog Cancer Blog. The owner of South Shore Veterinary Care, a full-service veterinary hospital in Maui, Hawaii, Dr. Dressler studied Animal Physiology and received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of California at Davis before earning his Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from Cornell University. After practicing at Killewald Animal Hospital in Amherst, New York, he returned to his home state, Hawaii, to practice at the East Honolulu Pet Hospital before heading home to Maui to open his own hospital. Dr. Dressler consults both dog lovers and veterinary professionals, and is sought after as a speaker on topics ranging from the links between lifestyle choices and disease, nutrition and cancer, and animal ethics. His television appearances include “Ask the Vet” segments on local news programs. He is the author of The Dog Cancer Survival Guide: Full Spectrum Treatments to Optimize Your Dog’s Life Quality and Longevity. He is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, the Hawaii Veterinary Medical Association, the American Association of Avian Veterinarians, the National Animal Supplement Council and CORE (Comparative Orthopedic Research Evaluation). He is also an advisory board member for Pacific Primate Sanctuary.
my dog has a fairly large rock hard lump under his chin and he has been drooling quite a bit. could it bee his tooth or something worse. im very worryed but cant take him to the vets till next month.
Hello, I am the proud owner of a 3 year (and 4 months) old black labrador retriever. He is up to date with all his vaccinations and he just had is booster.He had his booster for:
Canine Distemper
Canine Infectious hepatitis
Canine Parvovirus
Leptospirosis
in the one injection in the scruff of his neck on Monday 25 June. Would this cause a lump-like reaction in the scruff of Monty’s neck that would last over a week and a half? When i feel the lump he shows no discomfort. Monty is otherwise healthy, at the recommended weight and eating and behaving normally. Thank you for your time and expertise in answering.
Hello Dr. Dressler
I have a 5 year old poodle and just today I realized a small bump on his left side by his chest. It’s soft and squishy and he feels no pain when I touch it. Just wondering if I should wait to see if it goes away or if it gets worse before I take him to the vet, or should I take him right away?
Thank you
Karina Sierra
Dear Karina,
to reiterate the post…get lumps in dogs checked, don’t wait..
Best
Dr D
My dog boomer grew a golf ball sized lunp abive his eye. It seemed like it happened iverbight. I took him to the vet adap and they said he had a hematoma and wanted to put a drain in it and take a biopsy. A few days later lumps starting coming up on his back. Took him back to the vet for an xray. In 3 days he went from having one lump above his eye to hundreds covering his vital organs. I guess when they tried to operate on what was a tumor, not a hematoma. He died that day .fr om malignant hystyocytosis. Boomer was a 1 year old Beagle. Yes i said one!!! Dont ever think your pet is too young. That was a year agi now and its still hard to talk about. Now my purebread lab had a lump on his side. Off to the vet we go. Fingers crossed.
My dog has a lump on his side it is hard bump it was small but, slowly and gradually got a bit bigger and started getting brown spots on it kinda looks like freckles on a bump its really hard what could that be?
my dog needs to go to ft.collins,co, to the university, for surgury to remove a cancerous tumor. i, am disabled and on a extremely fixed income. is there any kind of financial assistance available for my dog and i, out there? any guidence would be extremely greatfull. thanks so much. dana.
Thank You Very Much Dr D 🙂 🙂
Hi, I have a 10+ year old female rotty who is a rescue. I’ve had her about 3 years. She has always had a small-medium type cyst on her outside hind leg. About a month ago, it ruptured…it was mosly clear, goopy fluid. I took her to the vet and he said just to watch it. It has been fine up till this past Monday when it started to fill up again. This morning it ruptured but was filled mostly with blood. I took her to the vet who recomened surgery. The cells were tested and just came back as blood. My question is: it has always been a sac filled with fluid… I dont understand what there is to remove. She does have mast cell tumors and has had two surgeries in the past 6 months to remove them (they are back and growing on her opposite let). I do not want to put her through another surgery. She has already been through so much. any advise you can give is appreciated!
Dear Dr. Dressler
I found a marble sized lump on my 3 yr old Boxer head.
My Vet told me that boxers are known for cancer..
She has been very lazy,she stalls when we ask her if she has to go potty..
She seems to get her signals crossed when shes asked to do a trick.
For Ex: I tell her to stay she takes it as to come to me.
If I tell her to come to me she stays…
She sees her vet on the 1st.
Are cancers hard?
Or are they soft and move around when you feel it?
I love her so Much….
I have already lost A Springer ( unknown what happened)
And A 14 yr old Cat that had kidney disease.
I know I cant handle another lost of my family member…
Thanks 🙂
.
Dear Renee,
you should definitely get the bump tested to see if it is cancer. Some can be removed. You cannot tell by feeling a lump if it is cancer. Have your vet test it with a fine needle aspirate or a biopsy.
Best
Dr D
Dr. Dressler…..thank you for replying to my original question about my dog’s squamous cell carcinoma on the side of his face. You mentioned that the neoplasene treatment might be unpleasant and you recommended giving him Tramadol. I am interested in knowing if you think this treatment would be something I should consider. My hesitation is due to the location of the tumor. It’s on the right side of his face below his eye. If you ran your fingers along the side of his face where his upper teeth would be, that’s where the tumor is. It sticks out probably about 3/4 of an inch from his face. He is still not showing any signs of discomfort. Still eating, playing and acting normal. He was diagnosed in August 2011. If I chose to try this with him, what can I expect? Thanks in advance for taking the time to answer.
Dear Vicki,
The problem here is that we have a pretty angry cancer which is much bigger than it appears, as you are only able to see the outside.
If we are not doing things like radiation, I do think neoplasene would be worth trying. You can always stop if he is too uncomfortable. Some dogs get inflammation and some discomfort, but most of the time it is not excruciating. I would definitely do the pain control. Don’t forget the other steps too (apoptogens, immune support, diet, anti metastatics and daily life quality increases..as always).
Best,
D