My dog has large lumps on ankle!

Hi. I just joined this forum to see if I could find information about the lump on my dog's right rear hock joint.

My dog's name is Kelly, and she developed a small bump on her "ankle" (hock joint, to be technical) in late March. She saw the vet on 04/01, and the vet said that it didn't seem to bother her but to keep an eye on it. Now it is mid-May and the lump has turned golf-ball size, and she has developed three additional lumps on the other side of the same joint. She still walks, runs, plays and eats, just like normal, but occasionally, when she is standing still, she does lift that leg in the air off and on. I have a pic of her leg but it is awful to look at.

We have a vet appointment for her on 05/26. I originally thought this was a hygroma, then a mast cell tumor, and now I'm thinking that it could be osteosarcoma! I have no idea how we are going to afford diagnostic testing OR treatment for her, either. I am scared to death. I just love this dog so much. I have been researching this growth since the minute I saw it and I would love to be wrong about what it is, but I'm pretty sure I'm correct. Has anyone else's pet gone through this?

I've attached the photo that I took yesterday. It looks awful.

Oh, poor thing. Only a vet can diagnose the lumps. My female has two huge lumps under her tummy that have been there since she was 6 or 7. She's currently over 11. She kept getting them and there isn't a point in continuing to put her through removals, especially as she aged. They are not cancerous and there's no point in removal at this point. They don't affect her at all. My previous dog had a noncancerous lump on his elbow that cropped up when he was about two and he lived to be over 15. He did die of cancer, a malignant squamous mast cell tumor buried in his facial bones. Osteosarcoma is a very painful bone cancer that often requires euthanasia, so hopefully it's not that. Good luck at the vets.

Hello LuAnn and welcome . I am sad to see your dog has a nasty lump. It must be such a worry for you.

Although dogs can present with similar symptoms in many conditions, in some instances like suspicious lumps it is impossible to say what it is until the content of the lump is fully examined .

I think it is almost always best to do a biopsy when a lump first appeared to determine what it is.
This lump has certainly grown rapidly hasn't it .
Until the vet sees what the lump is made of no one can really tell you what it is.

I am sorry I cannot give more help or reassurance to you.
I wish you and your dog well for the appointment on 26th.

Does the lump feel like tissue or bone? Is it rock hard?
I had a dog with bone cancer, I initially thought he'd sprained it but on closer inspection it felt like bone and sprains feel like tissue damage, much softer.
A simple x ray will diagnose bone cancer, if left and the bone is affected it will eventually snap. There's no cure either, they can amputate but by the time it's shown itself it's already spread. so hoping it's not but better to be prepared.

Good point. If it's rock hard (like my boys cancer) it probably means trouble. Those are almost always cancer. An amputation will cost around $3000 which is very expensive, and they may still need to treat the dog with chemotherapy etc. Probably not affordable or practical for you. I'm hoping it's not a cancer, but only a vet can truly know. My vet (been a vet since the 80s) had but to take one look and feel of my boys face and knew what it was automatically. Sadly his prognosis was extremely poor and he was euthanized that same day.

These things often don't require biopsies with experienced vets. A simple X-Ray or even very close examination can often tell you how serious it is. The growth rate of the tumor and the way it looks does scare me into thinking it's a cancer. Gosh, I hope not. Wishing you luck and hoping doggy is okay.

Until you get a diagnosis from the vet, there is no point in thinking its this or that.

I will say if it is osteosarcoma then your dog would be in pain, and be showing it , as it is a very painful aggressive cancer.

Get your vet to do an initial x-ray, and go from there.

Exactly, you need an xray and then you might know the facts. You say you love your dog which I don't doubt, so don't bury your head while the dog suffers, the longer you leave it and since January is a long long time the worse the prognosis is likely to be. At least once you have a diagnosis you can work out how urgent or not treatment is.

Sorry you're in the US and the different way of writing the date threw me it's April not January. Just get it checked for your own peace of mind as well as the dogs health.

Thank you all for your responses. The main lump, the first one, is firm but still squeezable...like a boiled egg. The other ones are very soft and moveable, like packets of liquid. She does favor that leg when she runs, which I saw her do this morning.
Monday is a holiday, which is why her appointment is set for Tuesday. I will update after that appointment. Thank you again.

The vet did not indicate her thoughts on what the swelling might be. She did prescribe an antibiotic, an anti-inflammatory and pain medication. The next step will be xrays and a biopsy, as soon as we come up with the money to pay for them!

Did the vet not do a needle biopsy where they draw fluid from the lump, cheap option. They do send it off for testing but can usually tell you there and then the likely outcome, if the fluid is clear and oily it's a safe bet it's a fatty lump. If the fluid contains blood you'll need to be prepared for bad news. Not foolproof but better than being in the dark.
They sound more like fatty lumps tbh but I've never seen them on joints although it's possible apparently. It would affect her ability to run as whatever it is, it's clearly affecting the movement of the joint.