Help, Plz help diagnose my aging dog ! !

Hi,

My friend has an 11 year old beagle/brittanyspaniel cross.
and over the past 3 years he has developed lumps, first at the base of the tail, now spreading to the ribs and his glands seem to be swelling and hardening along the throat. he had the lump checked 3 years ago, and it was said to be a buildup of fat cells (nothing serious)

since then he has developed more lups covering greater mass,
as well as developing cataracts.

My friend is wondering what to do? should he contact the vet again? last time he was told the dog was fine. in hindsight we think the vet was just being nice. or should he just let them poor old guy live out hsi life?

any advice info liks or crossrefrences would be much appreciated.

Thank you in advance, Milo

 

Hi Milo,

I think your friend should take the dog to the vet, the lumps may well be fatty tumours and harmless but they are not usually hard, the big concern is the hardening around the throat, I wouldnt leave it to chance. 3 years ago there may have just been fatty tumours but that doesnt mean that nothing else has developed since then.

Heres a link on cataracts, the vet should take a look at the eyes also.

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_cataracts.html

Cataracts can lead to Glaucoma which is painful.

Good luck.

 

Go to a diffrent vet. Porky, my stepfathers old lab, developed all kinds of lumps around the age of 14. We had alot of them removed. They weren't causing "health" problems, but they were causing some discomfort.

 

I am going thru the same thing now, my dog is only 9 and he has lumps all over, luckily they are all benign. I get them tested as they pop up to make sure thay are not cancerous. and havnt had to remove any so far. He has both soft and hard ones. I would get him to the vet to have them checked out, especially the ones on the throat.

 

Older dogs do tend to develop a host of lumps and bumps as they age. Most are benign, but it's best to have them checked by a vet. Just because one lump is benign doesn't mean the next one will be.

Dogs with fatty tumors do tend to develop more over time. Usually they don't present any problems, but sometimes they need to be removed because they're in a place that causes the dog discomfort. For example, a fatty tumor in the "armpit" will interfere with the leg movement.

Those cateracts might not be cateracts at all. Dogs develop cloudy eyes as they age. It's called nuclear sclerosis, and it's a normal part of the aging process. But you need to know for sure.

Really, dogs should be seen by their vet on a yearly basis. Elderly dogs more often than that. Just like humans, they can develop a host of medical problems that will shorten their lives if not caught early. Kidney disease, heart problems, liver disease, diabetes, and thyroid problems to name a few. They need regular checks for parasites, too. A dog who hasn't been seen by a vet in 3 years could possibly have worms, at the very least.