Any Veterinarians on Sawmill Creek ?

[Clarence Martin]

Are any of the members of Sawmill Creek Veterinarians ? My old Pointer was to the Vet for his check up last week , and he has a huge lump between the rear legs. Vet said nothing she could do ,( I think she is about 3 years out of Vet School ) :rolleyes: . I know when the old Vet was in there before, he stuck a needle in and drained it down to almost nothing. My dog had the same thing a few years ago, so I know it can be drained , but this young Vet says she can't because it's too big.. Dang cyst, boil, or whatever it's called, is about the size of an Orange.

Can something like that still be drained once it gets that large ?

[Michael Schneider]

Clarence,

I am not a vet, but we have and have had multiple dogs with the same situation as yours.

We have one big dog, that has a very dense fur coat, and we missed a lump like the one you described. (actually much bigger in the neck).

The vet used a large gauge needle and drained it.

Our vet has been practicing for ~20 years.

I don't want to second guess your vet, but I would get a second opinion with some old guy or gal if you can find one.

One things that helped greatly. We used a big beefy heating pad on the infection (the "tumor" was just puss).

Heat draws blood to the area, and that helps drain the infection and prevent it from reappearing.

I had the job of holding him down for 20 minutes with the heating pad on his neck (110lb wonder dog). This was very useful after the "tumor" was drained.

The draining pulled out the bulk of it, and the heating pad helped get rid of what was left. We ended up with one of these. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003H503HK/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1 that prevented a second vet visit to for another draining.




Take care,
Michael





Are any of the members of Sawmill Creek Veterinarians ? My old Pointer was to the Vet for his check up last week , and he has a huge lump between the rear legs. Vet said nothing she could do ,( I think she is about 3 years out of Vet School ) :rolleyes: . I know when the old Vet was in there before, he stuck a needle in and drained it down to almost nothing. My dog had the same thing a few years ago, so I know it can be drained , but this young Vet says she can't because it's too big.. Dang cyst, boil, or whatever it's called, is about the size of an Orange.

Can something like that still be drained once it gets that large ?

[Bill ThompsonNM]

Hi, I am a veterinarian. Get another opinion. If its a boil or cyst it can be drained. If its a tumor it can be removed No such thing as too big. Big tumors might require extensive skin healing, but still possible to remove them
Bill Thompson. DVM. PhD

Needless to say that's not the doctor you want operating on your dog

[Dave Sheldrake]

A good vet is worth more than gold (my 20 cats think so as well) Find one like Bill, Clarence and value them like your life :)

cheers

Dave

[Clarence Martin]

Well, I took my old GSP into the Vet's office today. Saw the older Vet. He took a real good look my dog after he got done shaking his paw and scratching his back ! LOL My Dog's Vet LOVES German Shorthaired Pointers!:D He took him in the other room to get a scraping to put under the microscope to see what that thing really is . Turns out, it is something called a Lipoma (SP?) From the way he described it , it is a fatty tumor that is common in some dogs and is benign. So, just going to let it be . Not affecting the Bladder .


Vet did give one bit of bad news.....

The dog has to go on a ..... DIET!!!!:eek: Weighs 81 Pounds. wants him down to 75 lbs. Said it might lessen the Lipoma. Not guaranteed, but it might.

Vet bill was good. Only charged for the office visit!:)

[Larry Klaaren]

I am a veterinarian. I don't get a lot of time to get on Sawmill Creek, but there are always dog things going on in "Off-topic"!
The first vet may have had an experience that influenced her choice, or there may be something here that we don't know about, but it is pretty standard to insert a needle and either drain a swelling or take a cell sample and look at it to see what it is, which if I understand the thread correctly, is what the second vet did. I would be surprised if a lipoma got smaller, but why not try it? A lipoma is a growth made up of fat cells. I don't remove them unless they are unsightly, or if they inhibit the dog's movement, or the dog is somehow traumatizing them. Or if the owner just wants them removed and is aware of the costs, risks, etc.
BTW, there is a lot of benefit to keeping your dog at an ideal weight. They live longer, they have less chance of diabetes, less liver problems, less arthritis (from weightbearing on the joints), and there are several other advantages. The way to tell if your dog should lose weight is to feel the dog's ribs. If you can easily feel the ribs, you are probably in a good weight range. Ideally there would be nothing between the skin and the ribs. You should also see a waist if you look from above, and if you look from the side, you should see a "tuck" where the tummy slopes up toward the hips. Just FYI. Love my Golden Retriever and my Rat Terrier!

[Tim Morton]

I would like it if a "vet" could pm me about my 5 year old yellow lab. Perfect health...i came home a few days ago and found him laying dead on the floor. Its been a rough 3 days...and i would just like some insight as to how it may have happened.