I have an 11 years old alaskan malamute with an open tumor below is right hear which is really worrying me.

My dog had a lump below his ear which was diagnosed by a vet as coming from an ear infection. The vet shaved the lump and sent me home with some antibiotic and ear drops. A few days later, my dog managed to get the lump pierced and it kept opening up. I went back to the vet and they denied me service mentioning that my dog is not easy to handle.

I went to a different vet who diagnosed the mass/lump as being a tumor and recommended surgery. However, I am really concerned about it due to the location and the age of my dog.

I am keeping my dog with a pro collar and the tumor seems to be drying up and forming scab. The collar is mostly to keep him from touching with his leg when he feels the occasional bleeding.

I know some would say to do the surgery but I am scared of the anesthesia on my old dog. He doesn’t seem to have pain (if only they could talk )

So the question is can the tumor close back up and have the skin grow back on it? I feel like he opened it up because of the itching from fur growing back up after the first vet shaved him.

What are you thoughts on this? I could use all the suggestions i can get.

Thank you for your time and sorry for the long post