My dog has two large lumps on his throat – what could it be?

Our question this week was:

Dr. Debra – I have a dog about 10-years-old. He stays outdoors. I went to take his collar off and he has two large lumps on his throat. It almost feels like a human when the tonsils are swollen. What may it be?

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Ree Bowen

Answer

Hi – thanks for your email and question. You emailed that your 10-year-old dog has two large lumps on his neck/throat area. These lumps could be anything from a fatty tumor (lipoma) or other type of tumor, reaction to the collar, abscess or large lymph nodes.

Whenever I hear the scenario you mentioned, I worry about the lumps being enlarged are lymph nodes. A common cause of this in older dogs is Lymphosarcoma (Lymphoma) in Dogs (a type of cancer). I’d recommend that you have him examined as soon as possible by your veterinarian to determine the underlying cause.

A couple articles that might be helpful to you are Abscess in Dogs, Structure and Function of the Immune System in Dogs and Lymphosarcoma (Lymphoma) in Dogs.

Best of luck!

Dr. Debra