fatty tumors in senior labs

[mincon]

I have a 12 year old yellow lab that started getting fatty tumors when he was about 8 years old. Twice we have had them removed. Now that he is older we are certainly not opting for any type of surgery. To date, none of the tumors have been cancerous. Just ugly! I am now worried that they will cause him discomfort. The vet seems to not worry about them. He also has been very arthritic, his gate is off and seems lame. I have tried Cosequin and other types of GS/MSM/etc and even meds from the vet...nothing seems to show a significant change. Now I am wondering if the fatty tumors are causing his lameness.

Any experience or suggestions always helpful.

[labwrangler]

My 12 year old also has many fatty tumors, including a very large one on her side, two big ones on her belly, and one right near her left front "armpit" (or is it legpit?). We've never had any removed and our vet isn't concerned about them either. Bella has no problem with lameness, even though the one under her leg is in a bad place. I'm no expert but I think the lameness or arthritis has no connection to the tumors. Maybe you should talk to your vet again about other options. Hope your boy can get some relief.

[talleyJudy]

Another thought would be to find a veterinary Chiropractor - a licensed veterinarian that has had additional chiropractic training pertaining to dogs.

http://www.avcadoctors.com/

http://www.animalchiropractic.org/

My Auggie has benefited greatly from just two adjustments recently; her movement looked very stiff, she was very awkward when getting up from a lying position and the muscles of her back legs would quiver after very mild exercise. After the first adjustment all these things looked like they were resolved and she felt much better and rested much more comfortably. I took her for a second adjustment/tweaking a week later more for my peace of mind to be sure that the adjustment was 'holding'.

[Tundra Aries]

My 12 year old also has many fatty tumors, including a very large one on her side, two big ones on her belly, and one right near her left front "armpit" (or is it legpit?). We've never had any removed and our vet isn't concerned about them either. Bella has no problem with lameness, even though the one under her leg is in a bad place. I'm no expert but I think the lameness or arthritis has no connection to the tumors. Maybe you should talk to your vet again about other options. Hope your boy can get some relief.

Ditto, Aries has, many, many, many of them and vet isn't concerned with them.

[cconaway]

Interesting that this question came up. I was just going to post a question about the fatty tumors (lipomas). Our girl who is a little over 13 has many small tumors but has slowly developed one large one right above her front leg towards her bely. Originally the vet said don't worry about it. Well the tumor continued to grow and we didn't realize how much b/c Nala was overweight.

She has lost weight over the past year and we now can see how big this tumor has gotten. It's just smaller than a volleyball. We are going to the vet to have it aspirated again to make sure there is no cancer. We have considered removing it but are concerned b/c of her age. We are at a tough point with our girl (tumor, incontinence, weak back legs) and just want her to be comfortable. One thing we have noticed is that if she lays on the side with the tumor at night, she wakes up panting quite a bit. I think it's putting pressure on her lungs a bit.

I will definitely post what I find out.

[rottnlab dad]

It's just smaller than a volleyball.

Holy cow! :surprise: I can definitely see how that could cause some discomfort.

Bella is just 7 and we recently found a couple of small lipomas (one on her stomach just below the sternum and one on her side near her right armpit). We had the vet check them out because it was our first experience with these things.

[Snowco Labradors]

Limping would not be caused by fatty tumors unless they are so large and obstructing movement. Most likely it is arthritis.

Look into Lubrisyn or Trixsyn (hyaluronic acid). People are getting wonderful results with these products. Talk to the companies about dbl dosing to start - then going to maintenance.

http://www.lubrisynca.com/about/faqs.aspx

http://www.trixsyn.com/

[imported_nellies mom]

Interesting that this question came up. I was just going to post a question about the fatty tumors (lipomas). Our girl who is a little over 13 has many small tumors but has slowly developed one large one right above her front leg towards her bely. Originally the vet said don't worry about it. Well the tumor continued to grow and we didn't realize how much b/c Nala was overweight.

She has lost weight over the past year and we now can see how big this tumor has gotten. It's just smaller than a volleyball. We are going to the vet to have it aspirated again to make sure there is no cancer. We have considered removing it but are concerned b/c of her age. We are at a tough point with our girl (tumor, incontinence, weak back legs) and just want her to be comfortable. One thing we have noticed is that if she lays on the side with the tumor at night, she wakes up panting quite a bit. I think it's putting pressure on her lungs a bit.

I will definitely post what I find out.

My last lab had a lipoma the size of a football on her side. It could not be operated on since it was wrapped around her lungs.

[Georgia Peach]

Our vet jokes that she can't examine Chipper anywhere w/out feeling a fatty tumor. He's 11+ years and is riddled with them. He has a couple of large ones on his abdomen and private parts, several around his ribs, and a few around his shoulders. So far, he's okay, but limps some, due to arthritis. His vet said that the tumors could obstruct movement if they become wrapped around his joints, not because of pain, but due to the obstruction. He still loves a 2.5 mile walk daily, but has starting resisting jumping up in the back of the truck lately. I guess he's earned a "lift up" in his old age!