Anyone got any experience of this? One of my older labradors (11) has a smallish lump on his leg. It started months ago when it was just a rough patch of skin near his hock. looked just like a hock callous but on the top of the hock instead. Very slowly I've noticed a slight swelling under it, then a few time over the last few months it was red and a bit sore looking like he had knocked it but it kept drying up again and covering over. now for the last few weeks it has been red looking but not healing over. Does this sound like the start of 'something nasty'? would you expect that kind of start? I'd like to think it was just a warty thing but I suspect not :(
I've just covered it to stop him licking it (only bothers it in the evening in his bed) and give it a chance to recover. (it's flattish, (without a neck) and ovalish, about 1.5cm long)

It isn't something I really want to make a vets visit off. a) because he is not good in the vets. has a real phobia of any kind of difficult surface under his feet and totally freezes on their floors. It's a case of carry, Drag or the (very entertaining for the staff) 2 towel routine for him to walk on. also b) and this is the main reason, I'm confident it is not an infection but a growth of some description and that there is no treatment I would consent to for him. He's happy as Larry ATM, looking a bit stiff in the joints these days but still runs wherever he likes.
thank you

My vets I worked at would go out to the car park to look at something like that ....just to get it checked , and take it from there.

The main problem is the position I think. Top of the hock is going to be a difficult place to remove the growth and surrounding skin and then be able to close the wound whilst allowing movement on the joint.
I went through the same procedure with my old bitch a couple of years ago. She had a growth removed from her front leg and ended up with an absolutely huge wound where they had to cut to be able to stretch the skin to cover the hole they had made. She did heal well and had a couple of good happy years afterwards before a stroke ended her life. Hers looks almost like a smooth wart if that makes sense

One of mine had a grade two Mast Cell tumour taken off a while ago, I only became suspicious as he had a few small lumps and one of them was slowly growing, as it turned out it wasn't that one that was the MCT, it was the tiniest one !.
Your one may be a hystiocytoma, which can look very red and sore but is usually harmless. but you really need to go to the vet, if it is a MCT then getting it off asap could be a life saver.

Hopefully that will be the case for my girl who has gone in today to have her toe amputated.

My vet has, in the past, come out to the car when requested if it was practical.

Hopefully that will be the case for my girl who has gone in today to have her toe amputated.

Hope it all goes well for her, did your vet do an aspiration or are they just taking it off ?, I came to an agreement with my vet not to do aspirations any more as whatever it comes back as. the lab always say " take it off just in case " it was a waste of money and an extra stress for Spud.

Since Spuds one he's had another grade 1, but that was over a year ago now and nothing since.

Yes he did, then they had her in to cut out as much as possible, because of where it was left dirty margins so they've taken the whole toe off.  Just picked her up she's still a bit groggy but managed to eat some chicken bless her. Will have to wait to see what the lab says now and bandage change every 2 days.
(sorry to hijack thread)

aww poor thing, keeping everything crossed for her.

Thanks for responses everybody. Sassinak, glad to hear your girl did well afterwards, just wondering, if you had the choice again would you still have had the op on her? 
I'm in the vets frequently ATM with my old girl so I might take him in with me for them to have a look. Trouble is I imagine they'll offer to take it off and as you say, it's not in a good place to remove easily, and it would be hell to keep clean as we live in a sea of mud at this time of year.
At the moment he is healthy and happy, I really don't want to end up guilted into operating just so I'll feel we've tried something if its not in his best interests. I don't know how fast these things progress but he surely only has a couple of years left at his age anyhow and quality is far more important than quantity. 
I am always surprised that so many people will operate on older dogs without question. (not aimed at anyone in particular or this thread especially). Can I ask you all, is there a cut off for age/condition where you would stop invasive treatments? would you take everything offered if it would buy a few weeks/months? how far is too far?

hope she is recovering well.

It was a debate that we had with ourselves at the time.
She was examined thoroughly and there was only the one lump found. I must be honest and say that I hadn't expected the operation site to be as extensive as it was. I thought they would slit the skin, remove the lump and stitch back up. Afterwards it was pointed out to me that they have to remove the skin over the lump, plus a safety margin in case any tumour cells are in the layer immediately under the skin. I think a lot depends on the character of the dog as well. Topaz was subdued for a couple of days and then wanted to get back to normal (she found the enforced cage rest quite annoying !) I would have it done again for her as she had a couple of very good active years afterwards and it was a totally unrelated stroke that she died of.
But as you said quality of life has got to count for a lot. I have had my beloved Siamese put to sleep this week. Very sudden illness - from perfectly healthy hunter to partially sighted and with apparently no knowledge of how to eat, drink, urinate or defecate - within a week.  We decided to put him to sleep as he hated being confined and would not have been able to go outside even if they had got his other problems sorted out. It turned out to be Toxoplasmosis and he was not going to recover but we had made the decision before we knew this, his happiness came first.

I know there are no guarantees in this life but I feel that I want assurance that the animal's life is going to show a fairly major improvement before I would put an elderly animal through an extensive and potentially painful operation. I have to be able to tell myself that I am prolonging life for the animal's sake not mine !!

> Can I ask you all, is there a cut off for age/condition where you would stop invasive treatments?

To be honest I really don't feel age should be a major consideration, the condition of the dog is far more important. I've had a Goldie undergo major surgery (to remove his spleen) at 13 and a half and he lived for almost another 4 years. At just over 17 he developed an abdominal tumour and then I didn't feel it fair to put him through surgery, so I called it a day. In other respects he was still a reasonably healthy, active dog. I currently have another older Goldie (just over 12) and he is already looking and acting older than Charlie did at the same age and I'm not sure I'd put him through major surgery. There are so many other considerations, and "age" is only one of them.....

is there a cut off for age/condition where you would stop invasive treatments? would you take everything offered if it would buy a few weeks/months? how far is too far?

I think it's a bit of a juggling act, I agree with Pedlee, condition would be my first consideration, plus how the animal would cope mentally, age would come in last,if the animal was very old and wouldn't cope mentally I don't think I'd go for surgery, especially very invasive surgery.

I feel quality of life out rules quantity regardless of age, my 16.5yr old cocker was in good health till one Sunday evening, he refused his meal which was unheard of, within an hour he started to pass fresh blood from his rectum and collapsed and died within minutes, had I had time to get him to the vet I would not have put him through surgery, he had lived in good health to a very good age for the breed and was only ill for a matter of an hour, I had got my first dachsie a year before which had given him a new lease of life.

Getting no warning of impending death as in humans it comes as a big shock but eventually I was able to focus on the great life he'd had, the great company he had been for my son and myself.

BTW I got him from Mayfield Kennels in 1989 before I knew better, he was testament that not all the pups from there were poor quality and sickly, I would not recommend others go there as I am older and wiser and now know where those pups come from.

Same as Pedlee & Celli, age is only one consideration. My dog is 10.5 only in years, not decrepit at all. My first thoughts were to leave well alone, but as she is otherwise good in herself I felt she'd cope with the op although she's not that keen in the vets but neither am I at the dentist. I spoke to 3 different vets and the last one said if she were his dog he would amputate the toe and take it from there. Although she was a bit wobbly when she came home and cried a bit next morning before the Metacam kicked in she's been pretty much back to normal, having a bandage change every other day so they can see how it's going and I've got a collection of drip bags to put over the bandage before she goes out. Fingers crossed.

> Your one may be a hystiocytoma, which can look very red and sore but is usually harmless.

My girl (no longer with us) at 9 years developed a warty, raspberry like lump right on the bend at the front of the front pastern.  As it kept getting knocked it was removed and tested, vet thought it likely the above but it was a Plasmacytoma, similar thing.

It was a pain for them to have enough skin to pull together and for it to heal with the constant flexing, and there was a bit that never grew the hair back fully.

Off Topic, but for anyoen picking up on a search:

> BTW I got him from Mayfield Kennels in 1989 before I knew better, he was testament that not all the pups from there were poor quality and sickly,

With dumb luck nature being what it is some with the worst start in life can still turn out OK, (just as with the best breeding rearing and health screening/checking sh*t can happen) but as you say not to be advised, and not a risk I would take, and would always go for a well breed puppy where the risks of things going wrong were minimised.