My dog has a red, peeling ear bump. When should I worry and see a vet?

If this just showed up, I would recommend having a veterinarian take a look at this. It may be a type of tumor that needs to be removed called a mast cell tumor. I would err on the side of caution and have the veterinarian look at this and perform some additional testing on it. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! If it truly was not there yesterday, this is most likely to be a bug bite (tick, mosquito, spider, bee, other), dog/cat bite (if he was wrestling with any other friends lately), or some other random trauma (crashing through a spiky bush or catching it on something). If you're unsure how long it's been there, add cyst, benign or malignant tumor, and others to the list of possibilities. I'd slap some neosporin on there twice daily and watch it. If no improvement in 3 days (or if worsening at any time), it's time to see the vet. This goes for any accompanying facial swelling, vomiting, or diarrhea, as these could be signs of serious allergic reaction. Best of luck to you and Lucky!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I’m sorry to hear Bella has a bump on her ear. I do recommend all new growths new evaluated by your regular veterinarian to determine if they are malignant (cancer) or not. I would keep your appointment, but if you are very concerned you could call and see if they have any earlier availabilities. Good luck!

It may be a benign growth (sebaceous adenoma) or not. You can monitor it for rapid change or growth and then have Pumpkin seen by your veterinarian or you can schedule an exam sooner. Whichever choice you make, your veterinarian may aspirate the mass to collect samples for pathology and identification. He or she may also surgically remove it and submit it for pathology. If the bump starts to bother pumpkin, place an e-collar (cone) on him to prevent scratching and schedule an exam.

I would recommend that you have this little mass checked out by a vet, but I would not consider it an emergency. You could wait until Monday if your vet is not open. If Nala is scratching and causing it to bleed, you may need to have her wear an e-collar to prevent further damage. It could be a histiocytoma, but a vet would need to get a small sample of cells to examine under a microscope to rule out other types of tumors that can look similar. http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=1676

Hello. Because of this lesions' change in size & color, I would recommend just having it removed. It looks like a melanoma, but would need histopathology to definitively diagnose it. It is small so removal should be pretty easy. This would be a good time to have your veterinarian take a good look deep into Moka's ears. You may not see any infection, but there could be inflammation or even a foreign body like a grass awn down near the ear drum. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

That does look to be a mass. A mass is a collection of cells and can be benign (inflammation, cyst, some tumors) or a malignant tumor. Given the age of your dog this may be a histiocytoma, but as many skin tumors can look alike the best plan to confirm this is for your vet to perform a needle aspirate for cytology. That way you will know for sure if this can be monitored or if it needs any therapy. I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!