Odd for dog not to sleep on its side?

Factual Questions
1

My dog has a fatty tumor on her left ribs (I had it tested - totally benign). She’s had it for a couple years now. I don’t think it’s gotten any bigger BUT she has gotten thinner and is now at an ideal weight where I’m able to feel her ribs when she’s standing. She was never seriously overweight before, but she weighs even less now.

I’ve noticed that lately she is sleeping “upright” like this (minus the cat) more instead of sleeping on her side like this (minus the dalmation).

She still sleeps on her side, but not as much as she used to. It’s summer now and she sleeps more on the hard floor than on the bed or on her dog bed because of the heat. Just now she just moved from sleeping “upright” on the hard floor to sleeping “upright” on a soft bed. She used to always sleep on her side…I rarely saw her sleeping like this.

I am wondering if her new lack of fat is making her tumor uncomfortable for her and I should have it removed. But then I also wonder if it’s just me projecting human feelings on to her. I mean, if I was thin and had a lump sticking out of my ribs I’d avoid sleeping on it too.

But it could also be that she’s just sleeping this way now, because she’s older (6 and a half). Or maybe she saw some other dogs doing it on TV and thought it’d be a nice way to sleep. Or maybe it’s just more comfy in the summer.

I don’t want to put my dog through unnecessary surgery if it doesn’t bother her. The vet has always said removal was up to me. The tumor doesn’t hurt her when I touch it.

So…is it pretty normal for dogs to sleep like this? When I Googled “dog sleeping” images I found a lot of dogs sleeping like that but a good bit of it was art, not candid photos.

2

One of my dogs usually sleeps on her side, the other one kinda flip flops between ‘upright’ and on her side. The will also both sometimes sleep on their stomachs (not curled up) and ever once in a while on thier backs with their legs sticking up in the air.

3

My dog almost always sleeps curled up, the way the dog in the picture with the cat is. He’s sleeping “upright” right now. He’s young and thin.

4

My dog also sleeps in the upright curl. This is her default sleeping position, though she also uses the side sleep. If she is on the bed, however, she will often sleep on her back with her legs kicked up in the air.

5

That dalmatian is soooo cute!

Anyway . . . I read somewhere that dogs love to sleep on their backs, but they will do so only if they feel very safe and secure (presumably because it leaves their belly exposed). Ours do it a fair amount of the time, and they also often sleep curled up or on their stomachs with chin on or near front paws.

IF the vet isn’t concerned about it, I would say she’s fine.