Hey all, this is just a good thoughts/prayer request for my baby Max. I'm taking him to the vet after work today to have a few things checked out & I'm a little nervous! I know that many of you are animal lovers like me and extra good thoughts & prayers never hurt :)

My sweet baby Max is a German Shepherd mix (age 9). He's got something going on with his ear, I'm not sure if it's an infection or yeast but it's paining him something awful. I noticed him scratching at it a little night before last but he seemed fine & wasn't doing it excessively. When I got home from work yesterday though, he had the inside of his ear almost raw from scratching & was shaking his head alot. I doctored him up as best I could & made plans to take him to the vet today. Now, the ear I'm not overly concerned about - that's easily fixed. What makes me nervous is what I discovered while checking out his ear.

In an effort to keep me from looking in his ear, he rolled onto his back for tummy scratches and right away I noticed something that didn't look quite right. I felt around and he's got a lump about the size of my thumb on his tummy. He didn't seem to experience any discomfort at all when I inspected, palpitated & prodded at it. What concerns me though is that it is rather firm, kind of like pushing on a piece of fruit (firm but with a little give). He's also got another lump about 4" away from the first that is about the size of a large marble & the same consistency.

I'm trying not to borrow trouble & worry over nothing but when it comes to odd lumps I can't help but be concerned. I know I'll feel better once we see the doc but in the meantime, please say a prayer that it's nothing.

Thanks!

Is the lump easy to move? We've had our girls develop fatty tumors, generally on their belly but as it turns out, several on their lower chest. One had one on her side, lowdown.

The vets have never been at all concerned about them as they are common at that age and when they move around (you can sort of move 'em around) they have told us what they think it is. They aren't painful. They can biopsy them but in our case, each time they said they were confident it was nothing and let it go. I hope that is all it is.

Our old girl, Sapphire, had them for years and they never caused her a bit of trouble.

Lipomas in Dogs: Benign Fatty Growths (http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+2111&aid=455)

The benign ones are common and called lipomas.

The marble sized lump was more mobile when I pushed around on it, as it was in a spot where the skin is looser. The larger lump didn't really move much but he was laying on his back so everything was stretched taut. I tried feeling of it while he was standing but he was being a wigglebutt so I couldn't get a good handle on how smushy or mobile it was. A fatty growth is definitely what I'm hoping for. He's got a couple of other places on his back that are a little lumpy but the doc has looked at them & said not to worry. I was just a little more concerned about these places on his tummy because they just feel a little different to me.

Thanks for the link, I already knew a little about fatty growths but this was very informative!

Please let us know if you find out anything.

They swabbed his ears & the doc said he's just got an over abundance of the regular yeast & bacterias that are always present in the ear. She said it's probably just seasonal allergies that got him all stirred up (which doesn't really surprise me, he's always had allergy problems off & on). She washed out his ears & gave me some medicine to put in 2x a day for the next week. We'll go back in 7 days for a checkup.

As far as the lumps go, you nailed it PQ! She said she feels certain that they are just lipomas but we're going to do a needle biopsy just to be on the safe side. Max is doped up right now on benadryl and is resting comfortably with his best girl Chloe.

Thanks for your concern :)

Oh, thank you for letting me know. I hope (and expect, since the vet saw it) it is just a lipoma. If it is this much of a relief to ME, I imagine you must be ready to dissolve into a puddle. After my good girl, Jezebel, got cancer, I tend to be on pins and needles about such things. Glad Max is able to get some shut-eye with Chloe and that his ears will be fine. Where do you take him (you may have said this in another thread)? I think I know where we are going to take our girls (they are due for shots, next month) but am still open to a good vet if it is highly recommended.

Even though I live in Moore, I take them to Neel Vet on N. McArthur. Usually they see Dr. Boatsman but just as he was coming into the exam room he got called to the ER to treat a baby hit by a car. His specialty is emergency & general surgery. Dr. Meeks saw Max instead and Max LOVED her. She sat down on the floor to exam him, did half the exam with all 87 pounds of him in her lap lol. She spent a lot of time with us & was very thorough.

I do feel SO much better now that the vet has said she thinks it's nothing to worry about. SUCH a relief. I was so upset last night when I found the lumps & I worried all day about it so when she said she felt like it was fatty growths I wanted to hug her lol.