Sick dog with a growth

[eric29]

My lab has been not up to par for the last couple weeks. She hasnt been eating normal, usually she scarfs down her food morning and nite. The last couple weeks it been a struggle to get her to eat much at all. With extra coaxing and some treats put in her dish she'll eat some but not the whole thing. She has also been very warm to the touch and a warm nose. Friday nite i found a growth on the lower part of her ribs by her belly. Since finding that ive noticed it was hard for her to use ab muslces, like trying to get up off her side. But she has had no problem going for walks and runs daily. The growth is about the size of your hand cupped and seems to be pretty hard.

The vet wont be able to see her till tmrw afternoon and ive been scared wondering what it could be. Any one have any ideas.

[B-man715]

Do you think it could be a hernia? That might explain the abdominal pain and lack of appetite. Is she [PoorWordUsage] normal?

Whatever it is I'm sure she'll be fine overnight (since it's been bugging her this long). I hope it all turns out well for you!

[Ufatz]

Stay cool. Labs can come up with the darndest things and in the end it all works out. I'll bet the vet makes a determination in very short order and tells you about the fix They can develop cycsts and simple tumors that are readily removed and the dog is bouncing around again in no time.

It's hard not to worry about your pal (we've all been there) but just keep an eye on the dog and wait for tomorrow.

Be sure to let us know how it all comes out so we can hoist a cold one to your healthy pal.

[CaptainMusky]

This sounds eerily similar to a growth my shorthair developed. It was so strange, it almost appeared overnight. The lump itself didnt appear to bother him, but I went to the vet anyway. The first vet told me it was cancer without doing anything but look at it.

He said there was nothing he could do for him. He then sent me to the U of M where they did xrays, biopsies, etc and determine it was NOT cancer at all, but some kind of bacterial infection.

They put him on an antibiotic (batril) for like 15 days and the lump nearly disappeared, but shortly after getting off the meds it popped back. So they performed surgery to remove it. Cultured everything and still said no cancer. He was fine for almost a year then it came back again. Same procedure again and a year later it returned. Vowing not to put my dog or pocketbook through another surgery I said no to another surgery. The lump would grow and swell over time, but he was never in any pain or show any issues. No idea what it was. He died 2 years later.

It bumbed me out so bad because these were his prime years and they were all cut short by whatever it was.

I hope this isnt what your dog has and you get it figured out soon. Good Luck!

[Ufatz]

It sure would be helpful to get a follow up to the original post. A lot of us worry about the health of our four-footed pals and the more we know the better.

[eric29]

Sorry for not getting back to you all. It turned out to be just an infection. The vet was worried bout how hard the lump was but he took xrays and all came back good. She was put on to 2 different antibiotics and within a couple days the lump was gone and she was back to her normal self. The vet suspected that the infection could have been from a small wound from a cat, but also could from a stick or many other thing.

The wife just had to have that cat and now it costed me an expensive trip to the vet!!

Sorry again- work has been hectic