Soft lump above tail

I posted a photo of Bertie in the Christmas thread earlier and it's the first pic i've taken of him where this lump is clearly visable, maybe someone here has seen similar conditions on their dogs. We know he has a skin condition (probably eczema) on his lower back which causes dry, itchy skin, don't know if the two are related.

I first noticed it about 3 years ago, luckily he allows me to examine and touch it. It feels like a water blister or liquid cyst, doesn't affect him in any way and isn't painful when touched. After a few weeks it began to shrink and eventually disappeared then became visable again after another month or so. It has been coming and going like this for the past 3 years. My family didn't want to take him to the vet incase it was cancerous or life threatening but after so long it hasn't gotten worse or any larger so rather than put him through any unnecessary surgery or treatment we've left it alone.

That kind of looks like a hernia or inflamed anal sac. I think you probably should take him to get it checked out, if that was accidentally "popped" by something, you would be risking a huge infection.

Yikes! Thats definitely a vet worthy lump.

That's what I thought it might be, something to do with the anal glands, but it's actually above his tail and nowhere near the anus. He needs his nails clipped so i'll ask the vet to check it out when i'm there.

One of my dogs has a similar tumor. The vet drew a sample of the fluid from it and tests came back later telling me it wasn't cancer, just fat. Because he's 11 the vet advised us not to operate unless the lump bothered him. Its worth having the aspiration biopsy done.

Has he seen a vet in these 3 years and what did they say ?

At that size I would get a vet to check it out.

Hope it's nothing more then fatty tissue.

Thank you all for your replies, I really do hope it's just a cyst or lipoma. Apparently they're common in older dogs, especially labradors.

Lipomas (fatty tumors) are very common in some breeds, especially as they get older. However, it is ALWAYS smartest to get any lump checked by a vet to make sure it is not harmful. Also, I've seen some lipomas become VERY, VERY large to the point where they effect the dog's quality of life. It is best to get them seen and removed before it gets to that point.

hope it's nothing too serious. it's definitely worthy of being checked out though. good luck ..sending positive vibes your way and keep us posted!

Great news, it's just a harmless lipoma! Because of Bertie's age it was reccommended to leave it alone since it isn't causing any pain or restriction of movement .
He has had it for 3 years now, it comes and goes by itself anyway but if it ever got really big or started to affect his movement then and only then will he be back to the vet to have it removed.

He also got his nails cut, so no more sliding about on the kitchen floor