My senior dog has anal gland tumors, how fast do they grow?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Anal gland tumors are usually adenocarcinomas. The good news is that in general they tend to progress rather slowly. With no therapy, usually it will another 1-4 months before you start noticing signs of the tumor getting the best of him. How long it will take depends on how advanced it is right now. This tumor does not tend to be painful unless it spreads to the bones which is rare but in that case you would notice limping for example. When they get big enough they can affect defecation for example and so the first indications you would get at home that the tumor is progressing and affecting him is if he starts having trouble defecating. Sorry for the sad diagnosis. I hope you get to spend some quality time with him. Good luck!

I see that Baobei isn't neutered, and a type of tumor called a perianal adenoma are common in intact males. There is a malignant version of this tumor called a perianal adenocarcinoma, and while it is is less common that the perianal adenoma, it carries a fair to guarded prognosis. I would have him seen by a vet to diagnose if this growth is benign or malignant, and the vet can discuss treatment options with you.

With no treatment, and depending on the severity and spread of the tumor, Shep may only have a couple of months left. I would speak to her vet who will give you a better idea of her survival time. I'm sorry you are facing this!

If your dog is happy and you feel that she has a good quality of life and can poop fairly easily, there is no reason to put her down. Listen to your dog. She will tell you when it is time to go. Your dog knows. Apart from that there are quite a few ways to control pain. 1) arthritis pain is probably the worst and worse than tumor pain at this stage. So if she is stiff and wobbly you may want to ask your vet about giving her an NSAIDs for arthritis (she needs to have normal kidney and liver parameters, though, but since you had surgery done recently, your vet may be able to use those blood work results). 2) if she cannot take NSAIDs, then there are other pain medicines available. The lumps under the skin either side of her anus could be filled anal sacs which could be expressed. They may not be tumors. Your vet may be able to stop the bleeding of the tumor by cauterising it, or you can get some Yunnan Baiyao powder or capsules and put the powder on the bleeding wound. It should stop the bleeding for a while.

From what I can see from the photo I think this looks more like inflammation or infection. Sometimes when dogs have diarrhoea they rub their bums which can lead to raw skin which in turn can become infected. Another possibility is an anal gland infection, these can burst out suddenly. There is always a possibility that it could be a tumour but it doesn't look like the typical tumours you get around the anus. With appropriate treatment an infection should heal within one to two weeks, whereas tumours would require more investigation/invasive treatment. I would chat to your bet about getting some meds for your dog if they haven't been prescribed already. Running bloods would also be prudent and may give further clues to the cause.

Hi, sadly it is probably an anal sac carcinoma. I think by the sound of the dimensions and the age of Tink, that it would be kinder to put Tink to sleep when she starts to be in pain. sorry to sound a bit brutal but we need to make Tink's welfare the main priority, I am sure she is a very much loved member of the family. Thinking of you at this difficult time.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! No, these are 2 very different tumors that arise from different tissues and also behave differently. Perianal gland tumors tend to be more benign in the vast majority of cases taking a very long time to progress as opposed to anal sac tumors which are malignant and have a chance of spreading. Good luck!