My senior dog has painful lumps, losing weight, and no appetite. Why?
Updated On September 23rd, 2025
Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Medium (23 - 60lb) | Female | spayed | 13 years and 9 months old | 45 lbs
My 12 yr old dog is getting lumps at a rapid pace (3 or4 a wk) and is rapisly losing weight. Her appitite is now diminishing and her spirit is fading fast. The lumps are painful if touched too hard and didcomfort shown whe gently touched.
2 Answers
Most Helpful Answer
Published on October 5th, 2021
Please have her checked by your vet as soon as possible. This is not normal and although any lumps are concerning, any that are painful or rapidly growing are very suspicious for underlying issues such as cancer. Early diagnosis and treatment is vital to improve outcomes and reduce undue pain and discomfort.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Related Answers from Veterinarians
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Published on March 22nd, 2017
Poor sadie, these signs are very concerning and indicate severe illness. Diabetes, kidney disease and cancer would all be possibilities, please arrange an urgent veterinary assessment for her immediately
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Health & Wellbeing
My 14 yr old bishop has a 2" soft lump on top of her tail. She is blind. She has growths all over her body but 2 on rt leg she keeps chewing on. How do I know if she is in pain? I can't afford to have tests run on her and she's too old for surgery.
Poor Lily! These lumps look quite irritated and ulcerated. She may already be experiencing some degree of pain and discomfort from these lumps, as indicated by her chewing on them. Other signs of pain in dogs include a decreased appetite, lethargy, and abnormal vocalization. When it comes to surgery, age is not a disease, so if Lily's physical exam and pre-operative blood testing is normal, she is likely to do well with surgical removal of these lumps. It may be worth discussing surgical options, as well as pain medication options, with Lily's vet. I hope this helps and that all goes well!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
My dog has lost a lot of weight in 3 weeks and is now struggling to walk... she is a 17 year old jack russel nearly blind and deaf. Sge does have lumps on her but has had these for four years. Help :(
So sorry Poppy is having this problem. There are many possible causes including kidney disease, liver disease, endocrine diseases, cancer, musculoskeletal issues, infections, etc. The only way to know the cause is to have a vet do a workup with blood work and x-rays. If she has had the lumps for many years then they are likely not related to the problem but your vet could aspirate them to confirm. Please call your vet and have her seen as soon as possible.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
I have a 11 year black lab that has almost stopped eating she has lost tons of weight and her hair is now coming out. I found a lump on her stomach what could be causing this.
Poor sadie, these signs are very concerning and indicate severe illness. Diabetes, kidney disease and cancer would all be possibilities, please arrange an urgent veterinary assessment for her immediately
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
My miniature schnauzer/ brusselngriffin mix is 11 yrs old. Recently she had a small marble sized lump on her abdomen. After she was groomed i have now counted roughly 17 hard nodules all over her body. 2 very large ones on her trunk. Her temp axilla
i am afraid these could be benign or malignant tumors. Since Nealy is an older dog, this is not uncommon. Lipomas (fatty tumors, usually benign, they can actually be hard) or mast cell tumors come to mind when looking at your photos. It could also be a very extreme allergic reaction to possibly a shampoo at the groomers. 1) do not panic 2) make an appointment with your veterinarian for an exam. He will likely want to take a so-called FNA (Fine Needle Biopsy) where he takes a small amount of tissue through an injection needle, puts this on a glass plate and looks at it under the microscope. This will give your vet an idea what he is dealing with. He may also send this material to a lab to be examined. Once you and dyour veterinarian know what type of mass you are dealing with , you can discuss treatment plans.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
Hi there. I have a male cat who is about 12 years old. I feel a couple of lumps -- one seems fatty, the other is definitely attached to something inside. He's losing weight but other than that, nothing to note. I don't want to take him in because
I'm sorry to hear that your cat isn't doing terribly well. There are several different possibilities here. One is that his weight loss is completely unrelated to the masses. As cats get older, they're more likely to develop conditions like hyperthyroidism or kidney disease, which can lead to weight loss. While neither of these conditions can be "cured," both can be managed to some degree with certain medications or diet. The other possibility is, as you mentioned, that these masses could be cancerous. I completely understand not wanting to pursue extensive treatment for cancer, but before making the assumption that it is cancer, I'd try to get some more information. For starters, I think it's perfectly reasonable to take your cat to the vet for an exam and some bloodwork to check his organ function. There's a chance that your vet may find something that's not terribly difficult to manage, but you don't know unless you look. I would expect that your vet would recommend trying to diagnos
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
Hi, my 13 year old Jack Russel has had some lump come up in neck, I think it's her lymphnodes, they are quite large and feel like several clumped together on either side of her neck. They have not gone down since I noticed them 2 weeks ago and today
Thanks for using Boop by Petco! I would recommend Roxy be evaluated by a veterinarian as soon as possible. If they are enlarged lymph nodes throughout her body, it could be due to a development of lymphoma, or an infectious disease, for example. An early diagnosis of either (or another underlying issue) would be very beneficial for treatment. I would recommend she be evaluated by her regular veterinarian, and any necessary testing done. Good luck!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
My jack Russell is 19, never had a reason to take her to the vets before, she's become really skinny, got a few lumps and bumps and she sometimes loses control of her bowels and her walking is all disoriented, what do you suggest?
Hi there and thank you for your question about Lucy. Lumps and bumps in older pets are not uncommon. Sometimes these are fatty tumors that generally do not cause a problem and are not cause for concern, but it's always good to have a veterinarian check these just to be sure. Loss of control of the bowels is also not uncommon in older pets just like it's not that uncommon in older people! However the disoriented walking and the weight loss is a concern that should be addressed by a veterinarian soon. Disorientated walking could be due to osteoarthritis or a neurological disorder causing her not to understand where her limbs are in space. Sometimes disorientation can be a sign of canine cognitive dysfunction (canine dementia). Weight loss could be because she is eating less due to pain from arthritis or it could be due to organ dysfunction or neoplasia (cancer). My best advice for you and Lucy would be to visit a veterinarian so you can discuss Lucy's history and current issues in detail
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
My dog is 10yrs old, she’s got a lot of lumps and bumps on her and some of them are getting bigger, she’s eating and drinking and playing normally, what do you suggest?
That's a great question! Unfortunately, as pets age, lumps and bumps seem to occur more and more frequently. Bessie should be seen by your vet to have the lumps assessed and to form a treatment plan. Without further testing, there is no way to tell if these bumps are due to infection, trauma or allergy, or if they are masses. Masses can be of a malignant (cancerous) type that can spread elsewhere and/ or invade the healthy tissue around them, or a more benign (noncancerous) type that is unlikely to spread. Cancerous types of masses are less common than benign ones, but I recommend making an appointment for Bessie to see your vet to have the growths tested and to guide treatment. Your vet may want to do a fine needle aspirate, which is where cells are removed from the growth using a needle and sent to a lab to be examined under a microscope to determine what the lump is and to guide treatment. If the lumps are getting bigger, seem painful, or have any discharge or blood, please get Bess
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
I was stroking my girl when I noticed she had a lump on her head. With her having allergies I thought it was a hive but felt it again and it is like a pea but small. It's hard but moves around but can be hard to feel depending on how you fuss her. It
If she hadn't lost so much weight in such a short period of time, I'd say it was fine to wait until Friday. Given the amount she has lost, which is a lot, I think it's best to have her seen by her vet before Friday for both this lump and weight loss. This lump could be a cyst, a benign growth, or a malignant growth.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
My friend's boyfriend has a senior dog that is always leaking. He is too consumed with video games,beer and cigarettes that he never takes this poor dog to the vet. But constantly brags about how long he has had her and how much he "loves" her. What
It could be that this dog (if she is spayed) has spay incontinence causing the leaking. This can be treated with medication. As for the lumps, it's always a possibility that any lump on a senior dog could be malignant. I agree with you, if they love her, they would take her into the vet for these issues. Dogs need regular health care, and when there is something wrong, they have to see a vet. Otherwise, they could be causing the dog to suffer. You can point that out to them, and tell them you spoke with a vet who strongly urged them to take her into the vet. I hope this helps!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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