You may remember that Little Monkey was at the vets recently. She had her teeth scaled and polished. One back molar was looking pretty bad and it was impossible to tell how bad without scraping off all the plaque. September is dental month at my vets, with 10% off, so I took advantage of that.
Why are her teeth bad?
She is 11 years old and eats poop. What can I say? She’s a dog!
Since the main expense of the dental procedure is the cost of the anaesthetic and all the drugs, intubations and hospital stay, I took the opportunity to have a few small procedures done at the same time. These niggly little things weren’t enough to warrant an op on their own, but I had been advised to get them seen to if LM ever did have an anaesthetic for something else.
So it was that LM had a few lumps removed at the same time. She had some quite large *lipomas on her chest and groin and *adenomas on her eyelids, one of which was already bothering her and left untreated could start scratching the cornea. Although all these lumps were suspected to be just fatty tissue and therefore benign, the chest lump was a bit suspect as there was some protein in there as well.
The photo on the left shows what her chest looked like the next day, and on the right is a week later.
And this is her groin area. The bruising in the first photo was due to tiny burst capillaries that the vet just couldn’t tie off. As you can see from the second photo a few days later, it cleared up very quickly.
Results
It turns out her teeth are in good shape and strong and the worst tooth wasn’t too bad once the plaque had been scraped off. Her gum was scraped away a bit too, but that should grow back.
The eye lumps were tiny, but as they were inside the lid they caused irritation.
The groin lump was removed very quickly with no problems, but the chest lump turned out to be two lumps; one just under the skin and one under the muscle. This explains the protein found in the sample when aspirated.
She was operated on quite late in the day as the vets had a lot of animals to spay for rescue organisations, so LM was pretty groggy when she came home in the evening. She still ate a small meal and would have eaten much more, but it wasn’t advisable after an anaesthetic. She was fine, if a bit sleepy. The only problem was that because she was confused from the very recent anaesthetic she was looking all over for Mr Spaghetti Legs. She was OK again in a day or two.
She’s had her stitches out now. I took her a day early because after healing extremely well for 10 days, I noticed a large lump in her groin area and it was warm to the touch. (See photo above taken one week after the previous photo.) Also she started licking it, so it must have been bothering her. I was worried it might have become infected, but it turns out that it was a *seroma; inflammation caused by rubbing of the external stitches (that she has now had removed) and the internal stitches, that can take up to 8 weeks to dissolve. Although I had walked her on the lead this whole time, she is still a very active dog and will dash madly round the garden with sheer joie de vivre!
Well they just do! Lipomas are often found in middle-aged to senior dogs of a certain breed (LM is a lab-cross), twice as likely in females and more likely in obese dogs. So LM ticks two out of three boxes here; she’s obviously not obese!
There was one other cause I found, which fits LM to a tee. I read that dogs that race round like a mad thing can damage their tissues in certain areas, like the groin, and then lipomas grow as a sort of healing thing.
Don’t panic if you find some lumps on your dog; just ask your vet to check them out. Most lumps will be a benign lipoma and you won’t have to remove them. I opted for removal of these two on LM, because they were very big and the chest one was suspect. The body can start doing funny things when lumps start growing. I wouldn’t want them possibly to develop into cancer later on. However, LM has a few more smaller ones which we just left.
There is just one more incident to relate and this involves the . . .
Cone of Shame!
Watch the movie “Up!” if you don’t know what I am talking about.
The first night LM was trying to scratch her right eye. It was the only thing bothering her and I think because the stitches were right in the corner of her eye and probably pricking her.
I couldn’t have her scratch the wound open and get it all infected, so I grabbed the Cone of Shame that I had ready and popped it over her head. I don’t bother with attaching it to a collar, as I have found it works very well this way.
The poor dog just sat absolutely motionless and stared at me.
I had expected her to instantly try to get rid of the cone, but she just sat still.
Then I heard her making a funny gurgling sound as she breathed.
I went over to check and realised that the cone was too tight!
LM has a tiny head, but quite a large neck and the Cone of Shame was as I had used it for TJ, who had a bigger head than LM, but obviously a smaller neck.
Poor LM! I dragged the cone off immediately. She didn’t try to scratch again!
And here she is. All healed up nicely and ready to dash around like a maniac again.
Today’s Vocabulary
Lipoma = A benign tumour of fatty tissue
Adenoma = A benign tumour formed from glandular structures in epithelial tissue
Seroma = A pocket of clear serous fluid
You’re welcome!
Or you can just do as I do and call them lumpies!
Bless you for all the love and care that you give to your furry companions. 🙂
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Aw Thank you Genie 🙂 They are so worth it, and more than repay me 🙂
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Aw poor LM what a lot of work to get done but I’m glad that you were able to get them sorted all at once and that she’s back to her normal self 🙂
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Thank you Laura. 🙂 Yes, it was best to just get everything done and she really is fighting fit again. Dogs are amazing! 🙂
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Brilliant to hear that she’s fighting fit. They really are resilient and just get on with things 🙂
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Its amazing how fast they recover. I wish I was the same! 🙂
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So glad LM is doing well!
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Thank you Sarah 🙂
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Whew! Glad LM is all good now. I agree, if they are going in for anesthesia, might as well get everything done at the same time. I’ve been very lucky with my boys teeth, they love bones and stuffingless toys. Whenever I go to the vet, they comment that they have such clean teeth and I do a very good job brushing them. (Doh!!) I just stand there and smile.
It was interesting to hear the lumpies are related to “crazy running around”. If true, my boys will be lumpier than my gravy in the future 😉😉
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Yeah I really should clean LM’s teeth more often – but Poop! :p
I’m hoping she’ll eat less of it now she’s an only dog – and so far it seems to be so. Yay!
You’re boys will probably be free from lumps, cos males are half as likely to get them and I don’t think Border Collies were one of the predisposed breeds either. 🙂 Hopefully the crazy running will just keep them fit! 🙂
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I’m very glad to hear that she is doing well 🙂
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Thank you very much 🙂
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Awe, poor LM. I’m glad to hear she’s doing better and recovering well. She such a sweet dog!
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Thank you Crystal. 🙂
Yes, LM is amazing – quite back to her usual mad self! 🙂
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That’s Great! 🙂
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🙂
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Glad she’s healing well but must have been tiring for you too during this time. Take care and hope for better days. 🙂
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Thank you 🙂
The timing could definitely have been better, with the old boy SL passing that day. As for LM, she’s right back to her usual daft self 🙂
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🙂 🙂
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Scary, hope LM recovers quickly.
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Thank you 🙂 Apart from being a bit bald still, she’s actually back to normal 🙂
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Poor Little Monkey! So glad she’s up and at ’em!
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Thank you 🙂 Yes, dogs are totally amazing. She’s bouncing fit again 🙂
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doggy hugs, glad your babe is on the mend.
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Thank you 🙂 Yep, she’s back to her usual nutty self 🙂
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We brush Gabbie’s teeth daily. She is elderly and eats soft food. Dogs that are anesthetized for dental extractions can pass away easily (which scares us). We still have Lola, my Mother-in-law’s dog, and she hates tooth brushing; we may end up having Lola permanently, which is OK by us! 🙂
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I wouldn’t opt for dental with a very old dog – SL had very bad teeth, but was far too old to anaesthetise, as you point out. LM is strong and healthy, and hopefully this is all she will ever have to have done. Not bad that it is the only thing in the 9 years I’ve had her. 🙂
Lola is lucky to have you (and Gabbie) to look after her 🙂
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Dental issues with dogs is a complicated (serious) thing that many people neglect; so good that you are concerned and doing something about it! 🙂 Lola continues to be very resistive (because of years of my mother-in-law not cleaning her teeth); we’ll keep trying!
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Aw, I’m sure little Lola will get used to having her teeth cleaned soon 🙂 It is something that is often neglected in dogs. 🙂
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I had the teeth cleaning done a couple of times for my dogs too. It’s so expensive! I started brushing their teeth in the hope I wouldn’t have to do it and that made a bit of difference.
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It is expensive, you’re right, which is why we did all the other little things. 🙂 I can’t complain tho, as this is the first time in the 9 years I’ve had LM, that she’s had Anything done.
You’re also right about the teeth cleaning and I really tried – but the poop eating thing! :p I’m hoping that now she is an only dog again, she’ll stop all that nonsense and her teeth will be OK for the last few years of her life. 🙂
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I’m glad she’s about ready to start running about like crazy again. 🙂
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Oh yes – Already doing so 😀
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That’s great! 🙂
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Thank you 🙂
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Awww bless, glad she is all better now, wounds healed nicely, is she now back to doggy self? lol x
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Thank you Sam 🙂 Yes, LM is all back to normal 🙂
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After all that and then you nearly aspirated her ( I think thats the word) 🙂 Glad she is all well and lumpies free 🙂
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I think asphyxiated? But yes, poor thing, she’s fine. 🙂
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Ha ha, glad you are more with it then me 🙂
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🙂
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Brave sweet girl!
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Yes 🙂 She takes it all in her stride. 🙂
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Glad LM has healed so well, and so quickly. Dogs never cease to amaze me with their healing process. It’s nine months since Maggie’s op, and you would never know she’d had any surgery as there is no scarring visible. She had a complete mammary strip on one side due to three lumps in that area. UP is one of our favourite films, though Maggie didn’t have to wear the cone of shame as we covered her with a blanket and she knew to leave her wound alone. She too had a descale and polish whilst under, and one back tooth looked a goner. But as soon as it was all cleared of plaque, it was fine. She rarely chews which is why the plaque builds up. We gave up trying to brush her teeth years ago!
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Wow – hard to believe it is 9 months already since Maggie’s op! Time flies. She really did have a big op, poor thing, and you’re so right – animals recover much better than us after surgery. LM is completely back to normal. 🙂
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I’m so glad to hear it, bless her. Treats by proxy.
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Thank you 🙂 Yes, lots of treats 😀
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Really occurs naturally but thank God it is sustainable
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Thank you 🙂
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My pleasure
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I am glad LM is all good now. Wow! Those lumps certainly looked big to me. Glad all benign and she is good in teeth and health. I was especially touched by your statement that LM had SL in her mind after waking up groggy. Amazing that dogs can miss dogs they lived with. LM and SL must have been really close. 😊
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Thank you GH 🙂
Yes, dogs are very much creatures of routine and I’m sure that when LM came home she expected things to be as she left them, having forgotten that the old boy had gone. They did get on very well together, all because SL knew how to reassure LM. 🙂
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