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My senior dog has a fast-growing belly lump. What could it be?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

My dog has a growth on her belly. It's been there for years. Recently it has started growing really fast. She is almost 12 years old. What could it be?

3 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on February 4th, 2017

This growth on your dog could be a benign tumor or a malignant tumor. Any suspicious growth should be examined by a vet. The vet can do a test called a fine needle aspirate on it. To do this, the vet sticks a small needle into the growth to get a sample of its cells, and examines the cells on a slide under a microscope. It's typically painless to the dog and relatively quick and easy to perform. I would have your dog seen by a vet on Monday to have the growth examined and diagnoses so it can be treated.

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    Answered By David Elbeze, DVM, MRCVS

    Veterinarian

    Published on

    Any growth needs to be checked and analysed as there are many conditions and types of tumors that could look like that. take her to the vet, they will perform a fine needle aspiration on the growth and send it to the lab for analysis. when the result comes, the vet will advise what needs to be done according to the diagnosis.

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    Answered By Ricardo Fernandez, DVM

    Veterinarian, Veterinary Oncology Resident

    Published on October 18th, 2017

    Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This could be a benign or malignant growth. This is most of the time differentiated with a test called a fine needle aspirate which is easy, cheap and pain-free. Sometimes, a biopsy is required for a diagnosis. Have Ginger evaluated by your veterinarian to have this test performed to try to sort out what the diagnosis is so that the best course of action can be determined. Keeping my fingers crossed that it is something benign!

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