Breast Cancer In Female Dogs - Mammary Gland Tumou

In female dogs, the nipples are of course designed to provide milk and colostrum for puppies, and the mammary glands, which lie in rows above the dog’s nipples, are responsible for producing this milk for the pups. The mammary glands themselves can also develop tumours that may be either malignant or benign, and this is something that owners of female dogs, and particularly dogs used for breeding or that are unspayed for another reason, should be aware of.


In this article, we will look at mammary gland tumours in bitches in more detail, including the risk factors for their development, how to identify a problem, and what can be done to treat them. Read on to learn more.


What are mammary gland tumours?


The mammary glands are, as mentioned, glands present above the nipples of female dogs, and that are responsible for receiving chemical signals from the pituitary gland that tells the body to produce colostrum and milk in preparation for an impending litter.


While male dogs have nipples, their mammary glands are inactive, other than in very rare cases where the dog’s pituitary gland sends confused messages that can lead to lactation in males.


In the female dog, particularly in unspayed bitches, tumours can and sometimes do develop in the mammary glands themselves, and this type of tumours is one of the more common types that occur in female dogs. These tumours can be either malignant or benign, and it is not definitively known why they develop, although the root cause is highly likely to be due to a combination of both hereditary traits and a hormonal imbalance.


What sort of dogs are at risk for mammary gland tumours?


Mammary gland tumours almost exclusively affect female dogs, although in very rare cases, they can affect males too. Unspayed bitches are at particularly high risk for such tumours, and they are much less common in spayed bitches.


Certain breeds and types of dog too seem to present with mammary gland tumours more oft