My dog has a bleeding, vein-like growth on her ear. What is it?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I recommend taking Sable to the vet to look at the growth closer and find out what it is. The vet can stick a needle in it and look at the cells under a microscope to determine if it’s cancerous or not. Because the tissue/skin is fragile it likely won’t stop bleeding and may need to be surgically removed. I would leave it alone until the vet looks at it so you don’t disrupt the blood clot that forms. Good luck and kisses to Sable!

I would recommend having Lily evaluated by the vet if this mass is getting bigger. any abnormal growth that is changing in size and shape should be assessed to make sure that it is not malignant. A needle aspirate may give your vet enough clues to determine what this is, or they may recommend surgical biopsy or removal. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Thanks for the picture! Sadly a lot of skin masses can look the same but the picture resembles a sebaceous adenima which are benign. The only way to know for sure is to either remove it and send it for biopsy or try to do a fine needle aspirate in it. I hope this helps and have a great night!

It is difficult to tell from the picture, but it looks like what you are seeing is a mass. We will commonly see benign masses in young dogs called a histiocytoma which can be itchy. Unfortunately, there isn't any way to determine what a mass it just by looking at it. Your vet can do a simple test called a fine needle aspirate to remove some cells with a needle and look at them under a microscope to determine what the mass is. If it is a histiocytoma, it will go away on its own, but Damon may need some medication to keep it from being itchy. I have attached more information on histiocytomas below. https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=1676 Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I recommend a vet visit when you can. This appears to be a mass or growth of some sort. The vet may recommend doing a needle aspirate to collect some cells to look at under the microscope to determine what it is.

Hello. This is definitely not a blood blister but a small tumor. I would recommend removal while it is quite small. Since Maddux is still a young dog, the chance of the growth being malignant is slim, but I would also recommend sending the tissue off for histopathology just to make sure. In most cases, surgical removal should be curative. Thanks for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Thank you for your question. I would suspect this isn't anything to be concerned about, however, because it is on an ear and likely to become a problem if it grows, I would have your veterinarian take a look. It isn't only the appearance of a nodule that we worry about, but how it feels, and if it is moveable, or attached to the structures below the skin. Those are things that I cannot tell from a photo. This looks like a small little growth that we would probably monitor over time, but it is an odd location, and it is better to be safe and have it checked out. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.