Dog care, symptoms, health issues, and dog health advocacy from an owner's perspective. In loving memory of Jasmine.
In dogs, in spite of its menacing appearance, histiocytoma is a benign skin tumor that results from abnormal growth of histiocytes, white blood cells responsible for attacking bacteria and other foreign matter in the body. These cells can be found mostly on the skin surface but also in other tissues that are in contact with the outer environment, such as the…
One of the most common things dog parents ask online is the identification of a lump or bump they found on their dog. With rare exceptions, identifying the bump on your dog is impossible, even if you include photos or videos, It’s not just hard, it’s impossible. Nobody, not a veterinarian, not even a veterinary oncologist can look at a…
Mammary gland tumors are the most common type of tumor diagnosed in unaltered female dogs. Mia’s story Mia is an 8.5 years old Irish Wolfhound. When she was about 7.5, her mom found a small, pea-sized nodule on her belly. Senior dogs do get the odd lump or bump. It was small so she wasn’t overly worried. Particularly because the…
Dr. Nancy Kay wrote a great article, Don’t Just Do Something, Stand There, pointing out the fact that both doctors and veterinarians often feel obligated to prescribe something even though the situation does not call for it. Why would this be a problem? It reminds me of an episode of House MD, where a teenager went to a doctor with…
A lipoma is a soft, round, moveable lump or bump of fatty tissue under the skin. Lipomas are very common benign masses in dogs. Because the dog tolerates the mass, they’re usually identified at a checkup or spotted by owners when petting or grooming their dogs. However, each new lump requires examination to ensure that it is a lipoma and…