My senior dog has a hard, painless lump on her head. Is it serious?

Question

My 11 year old labrador retriever developed a large knot/growth on top of her head last Sep (abt 6 months ago). She has shown no symptoms, no change in appetite, exercise, energy, etc. It is not centered but more on the top left side. It is hard and she does not mind you touching it, rubbing on it, etc. She acts like it doesn't hurt and she is super-sensitive to pain. She currently takes the following meds: prozac 10mg/day, Dasuquin, Proin, and a bladder & thyroid natural supplement. Any ideas? Pet's info: Dog | Labrador Retriever | Female | spayed | 11 years and 9 months old | 89 lbs

Linda G, MS, DVM · Accepted Answer

Hello. This is definitely a tumor, but it is impossible to say if it is a relatively harmless benign one, or a dangerous potentially aggressive malignant tumor. My guess is that this is very benign & will cause no great harm to Poochi. It can continue to grow, but may not ever affect her overall life. The best thing to do is to have your veterinarian perform a fine needle aspirate where a few cells are removed from the lump & examined under the microscope. Hopefully, all that will be seen are benign fat cells ( lipoma ), but if highly differentiated cells are seen, this would indicate that removal is advised. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

My senior dog has a hard, painless lump on her head. Is it serious?

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