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My senior boxer has a hard belly lump & mucusy poop. What's wrong?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Boxer | Female | spayed | 11 years and 4 months old | 70 lbs

My 11 year old female boxer has large hard bulge in abdomen extending mostly to her left side, passing small amounts of mucusy stringy poop. She is drinky lots and urinating properly. No vomiting. This has been going on for a couple of weeks

3 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on April 23rd, 2017

I would have Abby seen by a vet for this bulge which could be a mass. Unfortunately in senior dogs, there is always a chance a mass could be malignant. It could be compressing her intestines and colon leading to small amounts of poop being passed. Any suspicious masses should be examined by the vet. The vet can perform a test called a fine needle aspirate on it. To do this, the vet sticks a small needle into the mass to get a sample of it's cells, and examines the cells on a slide under a microscope. It's usually painless to the animal, and relatively quick to perform. I would have Abby seen by a vet first thing on Monday to have this mass examined and diagnosed so it can be treated.

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    Answered By Dr. B. DVM, DACVIM (Oncology)

    Veterinarian

    Published on April 25th, 2019

    That looks to be a mass. A mass is a collection of cells which can be benign (inflammation, benign tumor) or a malignant tumor. The only way to know what it is is for your vet to sample it. Typically we start with a needle aspiration for cytology to the lab. In most instances this can help diagnose whether a mass needs to be removed surgically. In some instances needle sampling will not yield a diagnosis and then the options would be removal with biopsy or monitoring. I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

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    Answered By Dr Stafford, BVetMed, MRCVS

    Veterinarian

    Published on July 11th, 2017

    If the vet could feel something there is a chance it might be a mass, but it would need to be tested to determine if it is cancerous. At the same time it could be an issue with the anal gland such as an abscess. I would wait and see the results if the xray and try and not panic about it in the mean time. It is always best to get to the bottom of these things. Best of luck.

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