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My 9-year-old dog has a 1-inch lump on her belly. What should I do?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Blue Heeler | Female | spayed | 8 years and 6 months old | 59.966 lbs

The attached image appears to be a growth on the belly of our 9 yr old stumpy-tailed Blue Heeled desexed cattle dog. Could you please help us identify this growth which is about 1 inch long? Our dog is healthy and active. Thank you for your kind assistance.

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1 Answer

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Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on March 23rd, 2018

There are a couple of things this lump on Heidi could be such as a benign tumor, a cyst, or a malignant tumor. Unfortunately without seeing her in person, I can't say for certain what it is, so I recommend a vet visit. Any suspicious lumps 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 lump 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 take her into the vet in the next couple of days to have this lump examined and diagnosed so it can be treated as need. Best of luck!

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