Lipoma

Hi, New to the forum and had a question about my Maltese / Yorkie mix with several Lipomas mostly on torso. She is somewhat overweight and recently started on a diet. Vet aspirated a few of the Lipomas and said they were fat and benign. Is there anyway to get rid of these without surgery? If she loses weight can they dissipate? Saw some natural supplements online, do these work or waste of money? What is puzzling is we only feed her small amount cooked chicken & lean beef  mixed with vegetables once a day at dinner. And in morning a small amount of diet dry food like Science diet. Also once in awhile a "human grade" chicken jerky strip sold for dogs. We don't understand why she is around 4-5lbs overweight with what we feed her. Could it be the store bought meats, or veggies? Perhaps the hormones they put in meats? We thought about this but how could regular dog food be any better! Any ideas or help with this is greatly appreciated! Thank you in advance

Hello!  Dieting dogs can be very confusing, especially when you consider that advertising words for supermarket dog food are so poorly regulated.  They call food 'diet' food but that doesn't necessarily mean anything - theres nothing to stop me writing 'diet' on a packet of full fat food and selling it.  All food is part of a diet, but manufacturers exploit the word badly to make it look 'healthy.' The good news however is that if diets are done properly they work.  Lipomas and body fat can indeed be reduced through weight loss - which is often the recommended path nowadays if vets are sure what they are.

I don't reccommend buying supplements online without first consulting your vet.  Supplements add specific nutrients to the diet - the only thing I know about your dogs' dietary needs is that she needs energy taking away from it!  There is a high chance that supplements may therefore prove to be a waste of money.

Instead, see if you can book in for a diet consultation with your nurse or vet.  Many clinics have a specific nurse who takes this role on.  They will weigh your dog, work out what she needs to lose and recommend a food - and crucially, the appropriate amount to feed daily. For a tiny dog, this can often look to be a tiny amount of food - remember that we are used to seeing a reasonable amount of food for a full sized human piled up on a plate!

There are specialist diet foods that contain eg extra fibre, so that the normal amount of calories takes slightly more chewing.  There are also tricks eg weighing out the dogs' daily portion at the beginning of the day and then, if you must treat them, treating them from that bowl so they don't really get any extra.   Or to use an especially loved toy as a bonding tool instead.  Nurses can be very helpful in this department and are well worth chatting to.

Finally, I have heard it said that specialist diet food sounds expensive - and per bag, it can feel that way.  But given the list of things that you are currently feeding, it may not work out so badly in the end.  Lipomas are simply made up of fat - nothing else.  Certainly not cancer cells.  For some reason, with lipomas, fat is laid down in lumps, not smoothly over the hips as it sometimes can be.   Dieting will have a positive effect on true lipomas - not only on the lumps, but on your little one's health, too.   Hopefully your practise will give you loads of support.  Wishing the best of luck to you both.