I would remove them while they’re small if they’re in an area where they could potentially impair range of motion (armpit for sure). Otherwise they’re just ugly if they are indeed, just lipomas.
I know I’m late to this thread, but just wanted to pass on my experience. Three years ago my 10yo Springer started to gain weight. Even though I cut back on his food, he started getting bigger & bigger, although never seemed sick. When it got to the point he looked like he had a beer belly, I had the vet investigate. She was concerned, we ultrasounded and found several nodes in his abdomen - scary. Took him to an internist and had more work up. (Mind you, this whole time all his diagnostics were completely normal, his energy level was as high as ever, his heart & lungs looked great). The internist saw the same nodes and mass in the abdomen on ultrasound, so then i got “the talk” before I opted to have the vet do exploratory surgery. The vet called me while still in surgery - not cancer - an 11 POUND flat lipoma. He said it filled up a whole bucket when he removed it.
Since then, I had one removed from his armpit that was starting to affect his gait, and the vet removed 4-5 smaller ones while he was in there. He told me that my dog was a lipoma factory, and unless they affect his bodily functions I should just learn to live with them. Right now he has 7-8 in various places, but no larger than golf ball size.
Good luck, watch them, but she’ll be fine.
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My 12-13 yo JRT mutt has had a couple that haven’t bothered him. However, he’s grown a new one in the last six months, between his rib cage and pelvis, that he has started occasionally licking. He’s never bothered the other ones.
He has been NQR this last week; nothing overt, eating and drinking fine, but hiding under the bed, eating a lot of grass, and just has passing moments of being “off”. He’s going to the vet today for a check up, but this thread seemed kind of timely for us.
My 10-y-o BC mix has a big one, about the size of a racquetball. The only time it has ever shrunk (and then grew back) was when she was on high dose steroids for thrombocytopenia. You don’t want to go on high dose steroids, even if it shrinks the lump, and it did return later. Tell her she’s beautiful the way she is, and believe it!
