My senior dog has a painless ear lump. Is urgent vet care needed?

This lump in Nico's ear could be a cyst, but it could also be a benign tumor or a malignant tumor. Unfortunately in a senior dog, there is always a chance a lump could be a malignant tumor. I would have Nico seen by a vet for this lump first thing Monday. 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.

Unfortunately I also can't tell by just a look, but in an 11 year old dog, there is always a concern any lump could be malignant. It's a very good idea to have Dime seen by her vet and have this tested.

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.

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.

This is likely just a cyst or possibly a localized infection. Since it isn't changing and your dog doesn't seem to be too worried about it, I wouldn't be too concerned. I would just wait for your vet to call you. If you haven't heard from them in a few days, I would call them to double check on the results. I hope this helps!

Thanks for sending there photo of Isha. From the photo the bump looks like a cyst but I think new lumps and bumps should always be investigated by a veterinarian. They can examine her and her ear and potentially take a small aspirated sample of the bump to look at it under a microscope or send to a pathologist. This is the way to rule out whether it is a tumor or not.

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.