My wife and I recently discovered a lump on our Black Lab's neck. We noticed something strange last summer when we saw a small lump in her mouth. Unsure what is was, we asked around and were told that it was a block salivary gland and that it would drain itself. We left it alone but paid attention to it. Within a couple weeks of first noticing it, it disappeared. Weeks later after a very lengthy walk we noticed it came back. Again we kept an eye on it, and again it went away.

Then we saw nothing for a month or so. Thinking that the gland had finally fixed itself, we were relieved thinking that it could not be comfortable for her to have a swollen lump in her mouth.

About five weeks after we had seen anything, we noticed a lump in her jowls area, right above where her collar would sit. This was concerning, considering the size of the lump as well as the location. The lump was soft to the touch and didn't seem to bother our dog when we touched it. We decided to take her to the vet after seeing that lump was getting bigger, then smaller, then bigger.

The vet said that it was indeed a salivary gland issue and it was common in Black Labs (not sure if other dogs are affected as well). He said that because it wasn't hard that we could relax, Mother Nature would correct it. I asked if we should "express it"(rub and squeeze it so that the fluid would come out).
The vet we should not so this but instead we should leave it alone. He said that if it was bothering her or causing breathing problems, he could put a needle in and drain it. The reason he didn't want to do that now was because putting a needle in would expose her to infection and at this point it wasn't causing her any problems, other than it looked weird.

So, we will continue to keep an eye on it. Occasionally we touch it to make sure it hasn't hardened or that it has become painful. She doesn't pay it any attention to we know it doesn't bother her.



It was scary for a while before we found out. We figured it was cancer or that we would need to have an operation but thankfully we didn't!

Make sure you see a vet if every you discover such a lump, especially one that is hard and causes your pet obvious discomfort. You might want to make sure you have Pet Insurance as well. Surgery can be very expensive folks!



Tags: pet, health, lump, Black, Lab, advice, pets