Question:
HI there
I was petting my girl this morning, and felt a lump by her ribcage on the left hand side. She's a 12 year old Border Collie/Husky/Shepherd mix, and I'm wondering if I should be worried, or just keep an eye on it and see if anything happens with it.
Anyone have thoughts on this for me?
Thanks!
Rob n Cody

Answer:
I would have a vet take a look at it, if I were you.

It is better to be safe than sorry

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Is the lump hard or squishy, does it seem to move a lot when you push it from side to side or does it stay firm and stationary? Some dogs of that age get benign fatty tumours, but only a vet can tell you for sure what that is. Good luck and let us know how she fares

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It is probably just a fatty lump, which happens when the get older but I would have the vet check it out. It is really easy for them to test it, they just withdraw some liquid and look under microscope (at least that's what our vet did).

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My b/f's mom has a dog that gets lumps all over him and when the vet tested they were benign and he said the malignancy rate was really low, so lumps aren't necessarily dangerous but you don't know unless the vet tests them.

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so lumps aren't necessarily dangerous but you don't know unless the vet tests them.
Often there is no way to know for sure just by looking at the lump, so a needle aspirate is a good way to test is the lump is harmless or not and I would not play the wait and see, because if cancer it needs to be caught early inorder to remove sucessfully without further need of treatment or risk to the dog

Answer:
Originally Posted by OntarioGreys
Often there is no way to know for sure just by looking at the lump, so a needle aspirate is a good way to test is the lump is harmless or not and I would not play the wait and see, because if cancer it needs to be caught early inorder to remove sucessfully without further need of treatment or risk to the dog

I've been there too many times. Sometimes with good news,sometimes not so good. Please get it tested.

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First of all, welcome to the forum and we'd love to see pics of your girl.

I agree that a trip to the vet is necessary. Good luck and please post with an update.

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Hi Everyone
Thanks for all your advise....I have decided to take her in and have it looked at. I figure if there's one, there may be more, and my vet's "experienced" hands may find something that I've missed. She's far too important to leave it to chance. Have tried to post a pic, but it's not working.....but trust me, she's adorable!
Will keep you all updated, and thanks again for the help
Robin and Cody

Answer:
Good luck Keep us posted. (just repeat to yourself ; fatty lump fatty lump !)

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