My senior dog is pawing at a dark lump in his ear. Tick or cyst?

It would be best to have it looked at as soon as you can him examined. It may just be a cyst but it could also be an abscess or a tumor. I'm glad it is not bothering him but that doesn't necessarily mean it's not something worse than just a cyst.

This looks like a normal old dog skin cyst that has developed. These are usually bengin and stem from the hair follicle. I wouldn't be too concerned if it stays this color. If the color changes to pink or red, then I would recommend having it examined by your vet and tested to ensure it isn't cancerous. However, if it stays like this there is little reason for concern. Thanks for visiting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach about your concerns for Mr. Stitch. : ) Best wishes and take care.

It looks a bit like a cutaneous horn. The only way to know for certain is to have it examined by a vet. A cutaneous horn is rarely cancerous, but it can be irritating and it will continue to grow. Removal is commonly recommended for these.

This may be a cyst, or a small abscess, or an irritated tumor. Since Snoopy is an older dog, I recommend having this swelling looked at by a vet sooner rather than later, to make sure it's not a cancerous tumor. It probably is just a cyst, and nothing to worry about, but the only way to know for sure is to have your vet look at the swelling and potentially take a small sample of it with a needle to look at cells under the microscope for a diagnosis. This is called "fine needle aspirate and cytology." Hope that helps!

Thanks for visiting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Considering how far this appeared and the glistening appearance of this swelling, this appears to be a possible engorged tick. I recommend confirming that suspicion by looking really close for where it comes into contact with the skin to see if you can visualize rhebtick legs. You may have to pull up on the body of the tick a little to see clearly. Then proceed to remove this tick using tweezers or a tick removal kit from your local pet store. There are videos on YouTube that demonstrate how to remove ticks successfully. You want to make sure you grab it close to the skin so that you remove the entire tick head along with the body. Do no place any oils or any chemicals on the tick or this will only agitate it. If you don’t feel comfortable removing it yourself, then take Taco in to your vet for removal. Then discuss with your vet about after care and possible prophylactic treatment with antibiotics to cover any potential tick borne diseases. There is only a slight chance this is a mass, at which point a vet visit is recommended to get samples from it to determine what kind of mass it is and how we should proceed treating it. I hope this helps and best of luck with your pet Taco moving forward. Take care.

This lesion/lump needs to be checked and analysed as there are many conditions and types of tumors that could look like that. take Henry to the vet, they will perform a fine needle aspiration on the growth and send it to the lab for analysis. when the result comes, the vet will advise what needs to be done according to the diagnosis.

Please know that without seeing Snoopy in person, there is no way for me to say for certain what is causing his lump. It could be a cyst, an abscess, a benign tumor, or a malignant tumor. Any suspicious lumps should be examined by the vet. The vet can perform a test called a fine needle aspirate on it. To do this, the vet sticks a small needle into the lump to get a sample of it's cells, and examines the cells on a slide under a microscope. It's usually painless to the animal, and relatively quick to perform. Once the cause of the lump is diagnosed, the vet can discuss treatment options with you. I would take him into the vet on Monday to have this lump examined and diagnosed so it can be treated as needed. Good luck, I hope this helps!