moles on dogs

Question
I have a 5 yr old 1/2 terror and 1/2 Maltese female. She has several appox 6 lumps under the skin that has come out all over my dog. My son took her to the vet and she said they were moles.  She never did an xray or anything just felt of them. She didn't want to do anything for them. Does this sound correct? I just would like to know what you thought about them. The moles does not have a head on them, they are just pea size and maybe a couple of them are little larger.  lumps under the skin. Should I have this checked out further or do you think the vet is correct.

Answer
Hi Sandra,

As dogs age, it's not uncommon that they develop skin growths, many of which are benign.

While I can't diagnose your dog's growths, the exam your vet preformed sounds adequate. You didn't say what kind of growths your vet thinks your dog has,  but it must be obvious to her that no other tests are needed at this time. X-rays wouldn't have been preformed, as soft tissue doesn't show up on x-rays.

If you would feel better about it though, you could ask the vet to do biopsy to make sure it's not cancerous.

You should keep an eye on the growths, if you think any of them are getting larger or changing in color, then there would be cause for concern, and your dog should be taken back to the doctor.

A good way of keeping track of growths, is to trace them using clear plastic wrap and a permanent marker.  Be sure to write down the date the tracing was taken, and since your dog has several, write down the location. This way you can compare the size, and know if they're growing or not.

Best of luck,
Patti