My dog has a soft, red lump behind his ear. Is it an emergency?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! If Rudy is eating and drinking fine, it is ok to wait until his owners come home to have the lump looked at. It only becomes emergent if it opens up and drains. You could let the owners know you found and and see what they would like but I wouldn’t consider it emergent. Good luck and kisses to Rudy!

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!

You can take him to your vet tomorrow, it's not an emergency. this lump needs to be checked and analysed as there are many conditions and types of tumors that could look like that. take him 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.

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

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! 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!

This lump could represent a cyst like structure or a neoplasia (tumor) or a spot of infection. It is essential to have it checked by your local veterinarian as this could be sampled to determine its underlying nature. Your vet may want to perform an FNA (fine needle aspiration) or a biopsy to sample the bump. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!