Lumps/Cysts

Dear Dr. Mike,
My husband and I have owned a Weimaraner (named Cody) for six years now. We noticed in the past year or so that he has developed lumps on his body. These lumps are soft, easy to move and they seem to cause him no discomfort whatsoever. He has a two on his neck, one on the top of his right shoulder, two on his right upper chest, some on his legs, and also one large one under the crook of his back right leg. I took him to our regular veterinarian and had the one on his neck checked last year and they put a needle in it and informed me that it was a fatty tumor. He had his yearly check at the vet last Saturday and they discovered the two on his right upper chest and the one under his back right leg. At first, the vet wasn't sure if they were fatty tumors or not because she thought they were pretty close to the lymph nodes. So she called in the owner of the vet practice to check him out and he said he was 90% sure that they were just fatty tumors. He based this on his age and also the breed. He said once Weimaraners get older they develop so many fatty tumors that you can't touch the dog without feeling one. I am still a little concerned because I just want to be certain that this is nothing serious.

I also have a female 3 year old golden retriever in good physical shape. She has two lumps on her lower back. Our new vet said they didn't feel like cysts and to keep an eye on them to see if they grow. She has had them for about 4 months with no change. The largest lump is almond shaped about 1/2 inch long. Are these common and should I wait to see if they grow???
Thanks

The wonderful world of lumps and bumps in dogs, seems there are an infinite variety of cysts and tumors that pop up especially in some thin-skinned breeds like boxers and weimereiners. I usually base my recommendation on the dogs age, breed, character of the mass and physical exam often including a needle aspirate of the lump. Based on the information I glean from the exam I'll either recommend benign neglect......it's bothering you more than the dog, removal during another scheduled anesthesia like a dental cleaning or possibly immediate removal. I usually send the tissues into a pathologist so I know for sure what the goofy thing is and if it will cause us anymore problems.

Dr. Mike

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