Lumps found on a dog at any stage of life can be quite concerning, but only a small percentage turn out to be nasty. As with many other conditions, however, early diagnosis is key to managing the nastier varieties.

Information such as when a lump was first noticed, has it ever grown or shrunk and if there has been any discharge around it or any inflammation around it are all important to us when determining what our next step is.

Frequently we take a needle aspirate from the lump. This is a simple procedure which is very similar to giving an injection. The tissue sample collected is examined under a microscope to help our analysis further. This is performed in the clinic and we can give further advice after performing this procedure.