I have a little dilemma, wether to go to the vets (again) or leave things and see what happens.Just a bit of background, my 9yr old GS has been treated for SLO in the past but we seem to have things under control with a raw diet and biotin supplement. He also lost a toe which we then discovered was due to bone cancer. Now we discovered a lump which was different to the other 'normal' lumps he has, they're usually on the leg muscle but this one is behind his elbow on the right side. I asked a vet nurse who happened to be at class on Sunday to have a look and she said keep an eye on it as it's near the lymph glands. After sanding his nails today I checked the lump again and could also see another smaller lump nearer his belly about 2inches away from the original one. I had thought that my clipping his coat was patchy but wonder now if his coat is thinning? His skin is a bit flaky still (on Viacutan and Herbolistic supplements)  My dilemma is do I go to the vets as I am a bit paranoid about him or try and wait and see what if anything happens?

If you are worried then pop him along to your Vet :)

If in doubt I go to the vet. Always.
I hope it turns out to be nothing to worry about .

I was always taught to go to the vet for any lumps and bumps. More than likely it's nothing serious, but always best to get it checked out. :-)

That's what I thought, thanks guys. I'll phone in the morning and get him checked out.

Well, we popped to the vets this morning and had his lumps checked out. Two look like fatty lumps and nothing to worry about, the other had something else on the slide so that's been sent off to the lab. However his thinning coat and low temperature leads the vet to think thyroid so to rule out parasites he had some skin scrapes and a blood test. I should get some test results back later today and the slide results tomorrow.

The bad news is I think the bank balance is terminal :(

Fingers crossed he is ok :)

The bad news is I think the bank balance is terminal LOL

Know the feeling on that score !

Hope everything comes back ok for him.

My friends old BT has just been diagnosed with a thyroid problem, the tablets he's on have given him a real boost.

The vet had to send off a sample so that won't be back for nearly a week. Doing a little reading and I'd like anyone who knows about these things to correct me if I'm wrong please. Am I correct in thinking that Hypothyroidism is the sign of an under active immune system? and Arthritis the sign of an over active immune system, the same as SLO? If that's right should I ask the vet to check for Cushings, as an over active immune problem? Just trying to get my head round things so I can adjust his raw diet if necessary

It depends on the kind of hypothyroidism or arthritis - there are immune forms of both (the majority of canine hypothyroidism is autoimmune, but some cases - like my boy's - are not).  That doesn't necessarily indicate that the immune system is over or under active - just that it's gone a bit wrong, so to speak.  Untreated hypothyroidism can cause a poor immune system though (as proper thyroid function is essential for every body system).

Cushings is to do with adrenal function/hormones - but it can appear similar to hypothyroidism.

Thanks. Their test for hypothyroidism was negative which is why the vet wanted a more detailed test done. I'll wait and see what that shows but if thats negative too I'll raise the issue of Cushings as, like you say, can appear similar to hypothyroidism. I was looking into the immune system stuff as he's has loads of problems with his nails that were diagnosed as SLO ( an immune problem). I'll just ask the vet lots of questions and get him to tell me the whys and wherefors :)

The vet phoned yesterday to say it's not hypothyroidism, got test results back early. Now he's going in on Monday to test for Cushings. If it's not that the vet suggested he could have a periodic hair loss, apparently it can occur in this breed but I don't have any more details. Fingers crossed for Monday.

So far so good, it's not hypothyroidism and it's not Cushings. The vet has taken some skin biopsies to see if anything shows why he's losing his coat. He's clipped, not stripped and it's really visible now that he's got white skin underneath :( More good news was the fact that all his lumps were fatty lumps and no problem. Back on Thurs to get results of biopsies and urine sample as there was blood and protein in that.