Old Dogs

[Alfie02]

Hi all,

Just after some advice about my old boy who has little wart type things growing on him. Before I continue, I will say that he has been to the vet and has had two of these removed as he was chewing them and irritating them, but the vet said that unless we send the lumps off we will not know what they are. We didnt have the extra $200 after the operation to spare for the tests so they put them in storage (frozen) for us incase we need them tested later.

So now we have noticed two more little wart type lumps. He will be going back to the vets for a check up next week for these but just wanted some advice weather I should be worried or not. So these lumps have the little wart bit on top and then if I grab it between my fingers there is a mass bit underneath it about 0.5 of a centimetre round. I can move this freely, it is not attatched to his muscle or anything (I think this is good?)

Now, the reason I worry is because he is a white dog who in his younger days, liked to sneak off and sunbake untill we found him and brought him back inside into the shade....we are now finding these lumps in addition to some rather dark freckles....

Do you think he is just getting old (11 years now) and these are just old dog lumps and bumps?

Does your old dog have wart type lumps and bumps?

Other than this, he is very healthy and keeps up very well with our 4 year old dog.

I will say again, he is going to the vets early next week, so not to worry, he will get a professional opinion

Thank you!

[Little Gifts]

Not only do I have an old dog full of under the skin lumps and bumps but she is also covered in warts and skin tags - things are sprouting off her everywhere! We did have one gross skin lump that kept growing and growing under one armpit and I am horrified to tell you that the younger dog ate it off! It was only attached by a small piece of skin and there was very little wound or blood. My girl has six monthly check ups now due to old age issues and cancer. My vet checks all the growths out and has never been concerned by any of them. And apart from the armpit one my old girl doesn't seem to care either. I personally don't like them as I constantly panic that one is a tick and catch them on her doggy comb (have changed to a glove thing now).

I'm sure the vet will be able to tell if they look problematic or just one of the bodies great mysteries of old age (like your grandpa growing very long ear and eyebrow hairs).

[GeckoTree]

Hi mine has some wart looking things they are black and are actually the skin form of hemangiosarcoma that will have to be taken off, it might be the same thing? the vet said the skin form ones is usually sun related

[Alfie02]

Thanks for the relpies guys . Ewww that gross about the younger dog eating the skin lump! , but dogs will be dogs! Im hoping that they are just the usual lumps and bumps like on your oldie Puppy Sniffer...but Im thinking may its what you say GT if its from sun exposure...

Whatever they are, Im glad im not the only one with an oldie with various lumps and bumps, and they might not be as sinister as i thought.

[wagsalot]

Back at the beginning of the year Riley had a white lump appear on his nose - I took him to the vet who said it was a tumour growing, but it was too small to biopsy, and it was probably malignant so just keep a eye on its size.

A few months later it just dissapeared - its seemed to have fallen off.

Now he has another on his ear that has just appeared. Im keeping a eye on it to see if it changes in size.

My vet didn't seem worried about the ones Riley had - Im not too worried now about the one on his ear - Im just going to check it reguarly and make sure it doesn't get any bigger.

Old age and lumps and bumps just seem to go together.

Edited December 11, 2010 by wagsalot

[Sheridan]

Grumpy has a number of fatty lipomas but he also has sebaceous cysts as well. At the beginning of the year he had a couple taken off. The vet isn't too worried about them but I do get them checked when we visit.

[Guest Clover]

Clover is covered in old dog lumps, bumps and warts. They get checked often, and I get news ones aspirated as well just in case.

[Staranais]

Your vet is right - you just can't know for sure what it is unless you send it away for histology. There are lots of lumps & tumours that old dogs can get, most are benign but some are malignant, and many can look quite similar.

Sometimes the vet may be able to sample some cells from the middle of the lump (fine needle aspirate), which can give them a good guess about what the lump is, & may be a little cheaper than sending a lump away for histo.

You're right that a tumour that has adhered to the underlying tissue is more likely to be malignant (as is a tumour that grows really fast, or ulcerates). But those are just general rules of thumb, tumours don't read the textbook so don't always do what they're supposed to do.

[gillybob]

All my old boys have or have had lumps.

Gilly had a huge fatty one removed from his groin.

Blake has them all over him, but they are ok.

And Bob has one Fifi found the other day.

I just keep a watch of them and if they change or a dog starts haveing problems they will go to the vet.

Im old and have skin tags and bumps as well.

[ophnbark]

Our old boy has got the warty type things appearing all over him, the vey isn't concerned about that and just said it's one of those things that old dogs get.

[Alfie02]

Thanks for all the relplies guys

He went to the vets a couple of days ago and his lumps and bumps are just the usual warty type things, but he had a skin infection from chewing at them which was making them look very worrying. So he has some aniti biotics and they are already looking much better

[poodlefan]

I've got an aging white toy poodle girl with thinning hair, lots of freckles and some lovely lumps

I've had some fetching little cotton coats made for her summer outings so she still looks her best.

[ophnbark]

Thanks for all the relplies guys

He went to the vets a couple of days ago and his lumps and bumps are just the usual warty type things, but he had a skin infection from chewing at them which was making them look very worrying. So he has some aniti biotics and they are already looking much better

That's great news