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My senior chihuahua has a growing, dark lump. Should I get a second opinion?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Chihuahua | Female | spayed | 8 years and 3 months old | 11 lbs

My chihuahua (with a dash of min pin) Honey is approximately 7-8 years old and within the last few months she's developed a growth on her back that concerns me. My fiancé took her to the vet and he shrugged it off as a normal benign growth some small breeds get, but he did no tests. Since then it's grown slightly and become a little bunchier - like a cluster of grapes. It has a bit of dark area that you can see in the closeup picture. Generally it doesn't seem to bother her. Should I worry?

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2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Daniel Fonza, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on August 5th, 2017

Hi there and thank you for your post! From your pictures this looks typical of a benign wart like growth thay we see in older dogs. The most common we see is what is called a sebaceous adenoma. Basically a benign growth of the glands in the skin. However, that being said, it requires more than just looking at it to diagnose it. If you want a more specific accurate diagnosis, the most accurate way is to have it removed and to send it out for histopathology (A test to determine what it is). Your vet can also perform an FNA test where a needle is inserted into the mass and looked at under the microscope. If Honey has bad teeth and is in need of a dental cleaning, you could have this removed at the same time and sent out for testing. Let me know if you have any other concerns!

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    Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

    Veterinarian

    Published on

    Thank you for providing pictures of Honey's growth! I am sorry that your vet didn't listen to your concerns about it, and I would be concerned that it has grown bigger and now has a dark area to it. In my opinion, it would be worth having a fine needle aspirate (FNA) done on it, as any growth in a senior dog has the potential to be malignant. The FNA will help diagnose if the growth is benign or not. To do this, the vet sticks a small needle into the growth 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 think it would be a good idea to take Honey into another vet for a second opinion and to have the FNA done on it. I hope this helps!

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