Dog Concern

[sourdough doug]

My son has a Labradoodle, with a large "fatty mass", that the vets call a
subcutaneous mass.. Initialy, the vets took a syringe sample an found nothing malignant and to leave it be. Well, it may still be "non", however it is getting very large (located on his breast/chest area) and in addition to hampering his activities, finds it difficult to get comfortable when lying...Presently, it is almost the size of a softball..The vets that I have spoken to do not want to touch the problem, so I am looking for help from anyone, having their dog with possibly the same situation..The dog is about 10 yrs old. Both my son and myself are very concerned as he is family....
Any help is very much appreciated. I've maybe been watching to many vet shows on the tube and am finding it hard to believe that we cannot do something for our dog.....Thx

[58thecat]

jeepers that too bad, my lab has a small almost golf ball size growth but it doesn't hinder her, if id did I would explore surgery to have it removed.

[rena0040]

I had a husky with similar masses that started around the same age, 9-10. First was on her shoulder blade area then next on her chest. Both were diagnosed the same way, syringe and smear. She wasn't very active by that age and would get sore hips with too much activity so she got used to them and lived to 14 years 10 months. Hopefully yours adjusts and lives a long and healthy life.

[sourdough doug]

Appreciate the present response. At the same time, we are looking to find the feasibility of having it removed. Cost is secondary..
Don't mean to sound "flippant" about a serious matter but some of those TV vets, remove some humungous tumors...with good results..FWIW..

[Red Bullets]

Might be the same story other vets have told you but you could try the Delton Vet hospital in Edmonton. Jeff Person is a second generation vet and I would trust him. Maybe he would do such a removal on compassionate grounds. His father, Micheal, was one of the two best orthopedic dog surgeons in the province 25 years ago.

[EZM]

It really boils down to the age/health of the dog, the risk associated with the surgery, and the benefit. It's really hard to compare a "annoyance" like maybe a small mass where it doesn't effect the dog versus something "large and intrusive like that big and growing mass" that impacts the comfort or quality of life for your dog.

Like you, we have a couple aging dogs, and these are things you just have to work out on a case by case basis.

Sorry not to give you a YES or NO here - but there is so many factors here to consider and nobody wants to see a loved one and your pet uncomfortable or in pain. Sometimes I wish my dogs could speak and tell me. Tough decisions.

[sourdough doug]

Thx RB, I will give Delton a call next week and get another opinion.

And Thx EZM, Yes I know there are many factors involved in what one might think is just a small procedure on a larger object but I have to check out all alternatives. Like I said in the OP....he's family and you all know what that's about

[sundancedan]

When we put our dog down last year, we probably let it go to long, but the vet said you can tell a lot by a dog's coat.

How's the coat? Is he shedding excessively? Our Shepherd's coat went down hill just before we put him down.

[gordfishing]

So here is my story
My dog Sam a 11KG Heinz had a growth for two years on his hip, it became the size of at least a fist after two years it started to grow and the skin was busting , The vet gave her best thoughts. Sam is 15 years.
We don't know if its cancer but odds are its secondary , we could have amputated the rear leg but the vet suggested that the cancer was probably throughout some where else.
so the decision was trading the dog on your time or his, do you want to wake up at 3am in the morning and rush because he is in extreme pain and bleeding uncontrolled or say good bye on your terms
We chose to say good bye, its tough we all want our dogs or pets to live until 30 but they all still pass just like us.
Listen to your vet
It is difficult but after a 14 month absent of no dog after 25 years we have Archie a 8 month Ozziedoodle and he is wonderful and brings a lot of joy tour family
Tough decision but do what is absolutely best for the dog

[^v^Tinda wolf^v^]

Not sure how much help I can be but I had a boxer with lumps that I had removed. I would look for a new vet. No pet should have got to this level without having the mass removed. Just my opinion.

[sourdough doug]

Thanks to all for your feed back. I have been in contact with a Vet. and feel satisfied with the talk we had, being very positive. All this, of course is pending the results of preliminary blood test samples. Hopefully I will be able to report back the outcome in the near future.....Thx again....

[HunterDave]

Why is the Vet reluctant to remove the mass? Is he concerned that the dog won’t survive the procedure? Maybe you should seek a second opinion.

[jef612]

We had a softball sized lump removed from our 11 year old labs ribs. It was diagnosed when she was 9 as a benign fatty lump about golf ball sized, and it remained stable for a year or so. It then quadrupled in size to the point where she was having trouble laying down on the side with the lump.
Initially the vet didn't want to touch it. Not harmful to her and pretty much just an eyesore. Not worth the risk in her opinion. But when it got bigger and the vet agreed to do the surgery - she was very clear about a couple of things:
1) The dog was old and there was a chance she may not survive the surgery
2) Recovery time is longer in an older dog
3) Even though they remove the lump - there is no guarantee that it won't come back. She estimated 50/50 chance. How long it takes to come back is unknown.
4) Many dogs that have one lump will develop others. Mine had 5 or 6 other lumps that I didn't notice but they were there. So just because you remove that one, doesn't mean that another one won't pop up.

With all of those proviso's understood, we did the surgery. Dog survived. We had a couple of tense moments and trips back to the vet but she made it. Lump reduced probably 90% in size. Not sure if what was left was scar tissues or fatty tissue. Dog made it another 8 months after recovery and then died of lymphoma after developing lumps under her chin. We noticed those lumps in October - she was gone in December.

I can't help you much with your decision - just telling you my story. If I had it to do again I would probably chart the same course.

[-JR-]

My small dog has two large lumps also the size of two large soft balls on his side .
When it was only one lump it was soft like fat . Now he has two side by side and they are hard . Had it test $200. Was told it is not just fat as once told, but Cancer. Cost is around $4000. plus they said they should remove some of his bad teeth as he is 15 years old so total bill $5000.
Kind of pricey for a dog that has a 15-18 year life span.
He is 15 now .
He feels no pain ,its just an eye sore for us.
Was told he might not make the surgery of his age .
What would you do ?

I think they should of told us what the price was to have it removed before we wasted the $200 on the test. And that they would not do it anyways because of his age !

[58thecat]

Thanks to all for your feed back. I have been in contact with a Vet. and feel satisfied with the talk we had, being very positive. All this, of course is pending the results of preliminary blood test samples. Hopefully I will be able to report back the outcome in the near future.....Thx again....

hope nothing but the best for your pup and of course you folks as it is a very hard to see something you truly love have pain/difficulties.

[CptnBlues63]

Why is the Vet reluctant to remove the mass? Is he concerned that the dog won’t survive the procedure? Maybe you should seek a second opinion.

I'm curious about this too.

I have an almost 3 yr old Pug that has a small fat pocket on her belly (it was checked with the needle/microscope method) that's quite small and not a bother to her. Vet advised we leave it alone and keep an eye on it. FWIW, we had another dog who passed some time back who had the same thing and we never had it removed. In both of these cases, it wasn't bothering the dog.

Since in this case it is bothersome to the dog, I would wonder why the vet would not want to remove it.