I have just got back from the vets with my 10 and a half year old bc. He developed a cyst on his chest about 18 months ago, maybe longer. He also has a smaller one behind his shoulder. The vet checked it at the time and said it was no problem as long as it didn't get any bigger. The chest one has got very slightly bigger in the last month so I took him back today. They are going to take them both off tomorrow. The vet seemed to think as they had been there so long it is unlikely they are anything horrible but to be on the safe side and for peace of mind I have requested a biopsy.

Really I just wondered if anyone else has experienced anything similar? He is still as well as ever and the only change in him is what you would expect in an older dog, ie if he runs with a ball for half an hour he will be slightly stiff later on. He still does agility and flyball and leaps around like a loon and eats like a starved pig!

I am dreading dropping him off in the morning; I know I will blub like a baby all the way to work and worry about him all morning! I nearly started to cry in the vets today! :rolleyes: And he was so brave when the vet stuck a needle in the cyst to check if it was fluid. Didn't even flinch. Unlike his younger brother who was still screaming after his injection when the vet was on the other side of the room getting rid of the needle!

I don't think I have had a dog over 10 or 11 who didn't develop a lypoma (fatty lump) or two.  Is this what you mean a softish "fatty" feeling lump under the skin that moves about without being securely fixed down.  I feel it they do not give the dog any grief, for instance interfer with its comfort when lying down or moving, leave well alone.  With my most recent oldie I was tempted into having one removed from her chest when she was having a anaesthetic for something else.  Unfortunately even the small ones can have "fingers" stretching out under the skin and the incision she had to have ended up rather large.  She found it very painful to lie down and the recovery period was quite stressful for us both.  I would, of course, be guided by your vet who will have a great deal of experience in the feel of these things but if that is what it is I would not be tempted to do something just for the sake of it.

Yes Isabel, that describes it exactly. He has had them a long time and no, if they weren't doing anything other than being there I wouldn't have them removed but as one has got bigger there is the danger of them being the unfriendly type of lump. The sensible part of me who, if advising someone else, would be certain it was nothing serious is saying stop worrying. But you know how it is when it's one of your own...............!

Thanks for your reply though. This particular vet is very sensible when it comes to ops so I have no concerns about him doing anything which is unnecessary, which makes a nice refreshing change for a vet, eh?!

I'm sure it will be fine too, but if it is a worry to you I guess it will niggle away so best get it done :)

Just have to shout this from the roof tops - Laddie's test results came back today, everything is normal the cyst was benign. He is healing up well, check up at vets yesterday and the vet was impressed at how quickly he is recovering. He also checked his heart etc and said he was fitter than most dogs he's sees who are half his age! <<<Glows with pride>>> Must be the agility, flyball and 'sledding'.

Also had a funny moment in the vets. This bloke proudly showing off his young (and very beautiful) Samoyd bitch, going on about how they were bred to pull sleds as though he had invented it and his bitch was a champion sled dog who had single handedly won the Iditarod(sp?) race. All these people looking so impressed...As I left I said, 'Does she actually run in harness then?', 'No!' he says. 'Ah', I reply, 'My collies do, all three of them' and out I walk. :p

Hi claireH

glad to hear laddies ok.

and thanks for making me laugh with your encounter at the vets.... :-)
i'd love to know how this man's bitch did it...... without being in harness, maybe it was the power of positive thinking, i wonder if it will work for my mal  lol :-)

thanks again it made my day.

Sorry, that's not very clear is it?! His dog didn't run in harness at all, he was just boasting like people do. I hear it all the time with my collies with people saying, 'I used to have one of those, they are so intelligent aren't they, bred to be clever you know'. I ask what their collie did, expecting them to say, worked sheep or something and they say, 'oh, nothing, she was just a pet!' :rolleyes: It's almost as though, because their dog was bred to do something, they take the credit for it as though it was their personal achievement! It was funny though because his dog may well have been bred for it, but she couldn't and my dogs were bred for something completely different and they can! :p

lol i understand what your saying and know what you mean.... but i still found it very funny..... must be my sense of humour lol

a dog that doesnt run in harness but still competes and wins a sled race.....
it conjured up a very funny picture in my head when i read it :-)
i would have been inclined to ask the man exactly how his dog managed it...... whilst pointing out that iditarod is a sled race with 10 to 12 dogs and not just the one.... might have made him think twice about getting some knowledge first before boasting ... :-)

do you run your dogs on rigs or scooters? i ask as im thinking of training my mal to run when hes old enough and just wondered which was easier, safer more enjoyable.... etc