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Fatty Growths cysts & skin tags

Basenji Health Issues & Questions
  • Our dog are now 10 & 11 and both have developed many non cancerous fatty growths, skin tags and cysts. Our vet biopsied them and said they are all non cancerous and old dogs get them. Do your old basenjis get these or are ours unique?

  • All dogs get them, not just Basenjis… and it is common, some more then others

  • Yep common. While I have been lucky and only had a couple of dogs (not basenji) get them, I always have them checked because it can be cancer.

  • Blaze had five. Two on his neck, two on his ribs, and one on his hip. You can have them removed, but I wouldn't recommend it. They can grow back and are not a real discomfort. For Blaze, we switched his regular nylon collar for a wide leather martingale collar, and we always had blankets where ever we went so he could lie down on something cushy (to not irritate the bigger one on his ribs)

  • Spencer has been living with lipomas since he was 8 or 9– so almost six years now. They've never given him any trouble, and they have grown fairly slowly. He has one on his chest that's gotten quite big, but we watch it and the vet has always recommended leaving it. He does have an eyelid cyst that has been removed twice and keeps coming back. It's just part of getting older, I guess.

  • Nicky at 14 has a large lipoma on her side but it doesn't bother her, she has a few 'warts and tags' too but my vet and I just watch for changes and otherwise don't bother them. Ed at 12 is getting a couple of little bumps too. Normal.

  • My older ones have quite a number of these. I just monitor them and have the vet check them when they are there. None of them have had to be removed. If any of them were at a location where they were bothering the dog, then I would probably have them removed.

    Jennifer

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