Dog with lumps/cysts?

heno86

Hi, I have an American Pit Bull who has 3 lumps on his body like cysts which he’s had for years at this stage... He’s been to two vets, the first (who isn’t particularly nice/helpful matter of factly said they would need to be removed) the second who is a much friendlier guy and seems less financially motivated said there was no need to remove them....can anybody shed some light on what’s the general treatment or protocol here? Should they be removed? Should he be X-rayed ? Thanks

sdp

Hi my little man has a couple of lumps as well. hes 11, vet took a needle biopsy (fine-needle aspirate) and sent them away. thankfully they are Lipoma ( benign fatty skin masses) and no worries, did your vet offer to do any tests on him? I think the cost was around 60 euro

LizzeyBenett

heno86 wrote: »

Hi, I have an American Pit Bull who has 3 lumps on his body like cysts which he’s had for years at this stage... He’s been to two vets, the first (who isn’t particularly nice/helpful matter of factly said they would need to be removed) the second who is a much friendlier guy and seems less financially motivated said there was no need to remove them....can anybody shed some light on what’s the general treatment or protocol here? Should they be removed? Should he be X-rayed ? Thanks

My dog got more and more of these as she got older the vet wasn't concerned and they didn't bother her they were more like fatty lumps so I wouldn't worry too much, if they were worried they would take a biopsy . I dont know where you are located but i always went to the vet in palmerstown her name is Susan she was also very helpful , but they are a bit more expensive so be warned i never minded as they took such care of my dog it was worth it.

heno86

The first vet that said to remove them , he said he could do tests but it was going to cost a good bit between the operation and analysis being sent off and seemed to just push the surgery, the second just assumed they were benign much like your own dog and was very casual about it, but they seem to be increasing in size. If he had fur you wouldn’t even know he had them but he has short hair and is red in colour so they can look very prominent when he lies down etc. I might just go and request the tests that you had done

heno86

LizzeyBenett wrote: »

My dog got more and more of these as she got older the vet wasn't concerned and they didn't bother her they were more like fatty lumps so I wouldn't worry too much, if they were worried they would take a biopsy . I dont know where you are located but i always went to the vet in palmerstown her name is Susan she was also very helpful , but they are a bit more expensive so be warned i never minded as they took such care of my dog it was worth it.

It always throws me off when a vet doesn’t seem to like dogs and made remarks about him being very friendly “for a pit bull” and they’re “usually aggressive” 🙈 he just seemed to be trying to get money out of me, just a bit worrying that they seem to be enlarging , I may get the analysis that was suggested

LizzeyBenett

heno86 wrote: »

The first vet that said to remove them , he said he could do tests but it was going to cost a good bit between the operation and analysis being sent off and seemed to just push the surgery, the second just assumed they were benign much like your own dog and was very casual about it, but they seem to be increasing in size. If he had fur you wouldn’t even know he had them but he has short hair and is red in colour so they can look very prominent when he lies down etc. I might just go and request the tests that you had done

Do you have pet insurance ? Would be worth looking into its really worth having when things like this crop up. but all depends on dogs age.. they wont cover pre existing conditions so fyi if you get it you will have to go to a new vet or it wont be covered

tk123

Bailey has a few now. They've all been tested - the vet did FNA and dyed them in house and all fat so no need to send off. He's had to have one removed - it was on his paw and had started to annoy him. My current vet and the one before have the same opinion - if it's not bothering him there's no need to remove them.

Outkast_IRE

My border collie suffers with the odd subaceous cyst , as they are a double coated breed they seem more prone to them. They can last year's and eventually surface and need a clean out. Had a few tested over the years and subaceous cyst was always the answer

heno86

Thanks for the replies, general consensus seems to be that they’re usually harmless and the fact that they aren’t bothering him he’s probably fine. May get the test mentioned when he’s next in for a check up to be on the safe side!

Our vet recommended we get a lump removed from "armpit" of dog. There was a good month of suffering after. He was trying to get at the stitches so we put a lampshade collar on him. This meant he couldn't clean himself which drove him nuts. I couldn't walk him for 10 days so he had cabin fever. Of course the test came back as benign. Next time I'll just get the test.