Lipomas in dogs are a common benign mesenchymal tumor and are usually not life-threatening, but surgical management may be recommended if dogs develop discomfort and exercise inconvenience. To date, studies showing the relationship between body condition scores (BCSs) and the incidence rates of lipomas are rare, and definite risk factors are still unclear. The purpose of this retrospective, case–control study was to investigate the relationship between lipomas and obesity or high BCS. A total of 185 dogs were included in the study. There were 133 dogs diagnosed with lipomas in case group and 52 dogs without lipomas in control group. The diagnoses of control group included panniculitis, granulomas and non-neoplastic disease. To explore the relationship between BCS variables and lipomas, the binary logistic regression analysis was used. The results showed that, in dogs with lipomas, there were significant differences between those that were obese and those that had optimal body conditions. Dogs with BCS≥7 had a higher risk than dogs with BCS≤6, and the odds ratio was 5.04 (P-value<0.001). On the contrary, seniors had a higher risk than adult. In conclusion, obesity and senior factor increase the incidence of lipomas in dogs with non-malignant skin mass.