# Lipomas



## Jo Ellen

Daisy has quite a few too, I'd guess maybe a dozen. Some small, some larger. Most are around her neck and shoulders. She does have a few on her sides and some at the very base of her spine.

She's 8. I'm not sure what causes them but she has had her issues with weight. She's fine now but like you said, none of them have gone away. But they haven't grown either. They just pop up and stay the same forever apparently.


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## hotel4dogs

Both of my seniors do, and neither one is even slightly overweight. My Toby is underweight, we keep him that way because of his hips.
They're real common in labs and goldens and there's not much you can do about it. Sometimes they seem to spring up overnight. 
But, I do have each and every one aspirated when I first find it. The vet just does a fine needle aspiration and looks at it under his microscope, to be sure it is, in fact, a lipoma. 
Another thing my vet does (at my suggestion, puffing out chest in pride here) is he makes a lipoma map of each dog. He has a dog outline stamp (one for underside and one for back side) and every time he aspirates a lipoma he marks the location on the map of where it was on the dog, and writes the date. After a while they get so many, and some can be pretty close together, that you're not sure whether or not you've had that particular one checked so that's been helpful to both me and him. You might suggest that to your vet if he/she doesn't do it.
I've had a few removed from each dog, but only because they were unusually large and in a very bad location. For example, on my Tiny girl she had one that seemed to appear overnight, was the size of half an apple, and was putting pressure on her vulva and causing her to retain urine. While we had that one done, I had a couple other big ones taken off just because she was already under. Toby had one that was into the muscle on his chest, and seemed to be causing him pain when he would lie down so we took that one off. Otherwise, we just leave them alone. 
Guess we all get lumpy and bumpy when we get older!


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## Swampcollie

My ten year old has a large one on her back at the base of her tail. if her weight goes up it gets a little larger if she drops a pound or two it gets smaller. 

Her Vet isn't really concerned about it nor am I. It's just one of those things that age brings on in the golden years of life.


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## GoldenJoyx'stwo

My Cocker Spaniel had a few. Two become so large they had to be removed. She did very well after the surgeries and she was a senior. Her weight didn't matter. Two just took off in size.


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## BeauShel

My Beau has them and it seems like the keep popping up more and more. I had a couple of them removed when he was younger when they got large but now because of his health he cant be put under. He has even had a couple of fatty cysts come to a head and burst.


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## goldensmum

Holly had 2, Ginny and Ralph none - Hollys were on her right shoulder and the middle of her neck. They never grew in size nor did they seem to bother her in any way


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## Debles

Thanks everyone. Our vet has aspirated Selka's but I think I will ask for the mapping (Thanks hotel4 dogs) in Jan because I lose track of which ones are new or not. He has one right above where his front leg bends. I don't think it bothers him. I can always feel them when he is laying across my lap at night. They bug me but my vet says not to worry. Thanks for the reinforcement, everyone.


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## Ljilly28

Deb, if it makes you feel any better, my golden that lived way into his teens had lipomas starting at Selka's age. The dog body map is a great idea.


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## Debles

Thanks Jill. Selka's dad lived to be just short of 17. I am praying Selka follows suit.


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## Florabora22

Oh, Carmella had those things all over the place, and she wasn't overweight in the least. I'm not saying she was a big lumpy mess, but she definitely had her fair share of lipomas. Our vet also said they were nothing to worry about, and I don't think they really ever were. She lived to be 14.5, so I can't say they really shortened her lifespan.


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## Angel_Kody

Jester has one on his left shoulder. The vet said not to worry about it.. He's young (2 1/2) and not overweight. Should I be concerned? It sounds like everyone is saying they are common in older dogs :uhoh:


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## JimS

Kali, my senior lab as several also. In particular, one great big one on the inside of her hind leg, where it meets her body. It seemed to develop almost instantly....scared me to death. Her vet didn't think it was a lipoma until she drew fluid (or fat cells as the case may be) from it and tested it.


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## Dallas Gold

11 1/2 yo Barkley gets them all the time and he is only 58 pounds. We have them removed whenever he is having his teeth cleaned or if they grow too quickly and are not able to be aspirated or look suspicious. In several cases they were biopsied as non-lipomas, but fortunately some other type of benign tumors. He had one removed in September that was a large benign tumor on the side of his hip. On the day of the surgery we discovered a new one on his hind leg, near the bend--that one proved to be very troublesome to remove as it was near an artery--and it was a benign tumor, but not classified as a lipoma. I asked the vet for the name of the tumor but cannot remember it now. He's got another one on the same leg, in the back, discovered it yesterday.


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## BeauShel

Cindy,
Beau got his first one when he was around 3. I did have it removed and it was nothing. When you take Jester for his next vet appt the vet can usually tell by feel what it is and may aspirate it to double check.


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## paula bedard

Good luck with Selka's appt in January. Sam had a few fatty tumors also, he was about 6 when he developed the first one. I like the body mapping idea. I wish I had thought to ask my Vet to do the same. I will with Ike.


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