My spaniel has a hard, immobile lump. Should I take him to the vet?

This could be a seroma from an injury, a cyst, abscess or a tumor. Cysts and abscesses need to be drained by a vet. If your vet suspects a tumor, he will do a fine needle aspirate to determine whether it is a harmless lipoma, which does not need to be removed unless it is ulcerating or bothers the dog due to its location or size, or another tumor that needs to be removed. Please make an appointment with your veterinarian for an exam of the mass.

Poor Tinker! Some lipomas (fatty tumors) can become fixed, but yes general they are movable. Unfortunately, being fixed to the underlying tissue is a common characteristic of malignant tumors. Any suspicious lumps should be examined by your vet. Your vet can perform a test called a fine needle aspirate on it. To do this, your vet sticks a small needle into the lump to get a sample of it's cells, and examines the cells on a slide under a microscope. It's usually painless to the animal, and relatively quick to perform. I recommend taking Tinker into your vet today or first thing tomorrow.

This can be a benign lump, or it could be a lipoma or cyst. Any suspicious lumps should be examined by the vet. The vet can perform a test called a fine needle aspirate on it. To do this, the vet sticks a small needle into the lump to get a sample of its cells, and examines the cells on a slide under a microscope. It's usually painless to the animal, and relatively quick to perform. Once the cause of the lump is diagnosed, the vet can discuss treatment options if needed. I'd give his vet a call tomorrow to make him an appointment. Best of luck.

This lump on Sam could be benign or malignant. In an older dog, there is always a chance any lump could be malignant. Any suspicious lumps should be examined by the vet. The vet can perform a test called a fine needle aspirate on it. To do this, the vet sticks a small needle into the lump to get a sample of its cells, and examines the cells on a slide under a microscope. It's usually painless to the animal, and relatively quick to perform. Once the cause of the lump is diagnosed, the vet can discuss treatment options if needed. Give his vet a call tomorrow to make him an appointment. I hope this helps!

i am afraid these could be benign or malignant tumors. Since Nealy is an older dog, this is not uncommon. Lipomas (fatty tumors, usually benign, they can actually be hard) or mast cell tumors come to mind when looking at your photos. It could also be a very extreme allergic reaction to possibly a shampoo at the groomers. 1) do not panic 2) make an appointment with your veterinarian for an exam. He will likely want to take a so-called FNA (Fine Needle Biopsy) where he takes a small amount of tissue through an injection needle, puts this on a glass plate and looks at it under the microscope. This will give your vet an idea what he is dealing with. He may also send this material to a lab to be examined. Once you and dyour veterinarian know what type of mass you are dealing with , you can discuss treatment plans.

If the bump is under the skin, smooth and you can feel almost all of the way around it you are probably feeling a lipoma or fatty mass. If the bump is hard, irregular, firmly attached to the underlying area, getting bigger, or is painful to the touch then I'm more concerned about it being a tumor and I would bring Sammy in for an exam. Most masses you feel in the skin are benign and as long as you are keeping a close watch on it you should be fine to monitor it at home. It also could be from aninjury or insect bite and it may go away on its on in a week or so. If you are still concerned please take Sammy in for an exam. They can feel the bump and remove cells with a needle and look at them under the microscope. That way they can tell if it's fat, infection, inflammation or a tumor, and they can they recommend the appropriate treatment. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Sammy.

This kind of lump/growth needs to be ideally assessed by your veterinarian to have a definitive and specific answer. Usually there are two ways your vet can do that a part from examining it directly during physical examination. A biopsy can be taken under local or general anesthetic, otherwise a smaller sample through a fine needle can be aspirated (this technique is called FNA= fine needle aspiration). Differentials include skin cysts, infections, benign or more sinister type of tumors. Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.