Ear Infections

.

How Do I Know if My Pet Has an Ear Infection? 
Dogs with ear infections usually show signs of pain and will even shake their head or rub their ears on the furniture or even across the floor. The dog will usually scratch at it alot or even yelp when you try to look inside it. The ear will typically have an odor to it.  Symptoms of a possible ear infection are an abnormal dark brownish or yellow discharge, and/or if the skin in or around the ear seems bright red, bleeding or just irritated.

Are There Different Types of Ear Infections?
Most ear infections are either bacteria or yeast. However, your dog may have picked up Ear Mites.   Your pet could  just has too much “dirt” built up in his ears.  Foreign objects (like foxtails & grass) can lodge deep in the ear where you can’t see them and can cause infections, irritation and even abscess  Your veterinarian will need to collect some of the infection from the ear and then look at it under a microscope to determine which one your pet has. Some ear infections are potentially chronic or even just common in certain breeds of dogs.

What are the Treatments for Ear Infections?
Well, that depends on the type of infection your pet has. Most of the time you will need to clean the ear thoroughly and then apply medicine either inside the ears itself, (which is the most common) or your vet might prescribe some oral antibiotics  Possibly both treatments will be prescribed. Do NOT ignore ear infections, they can become extremely painful & cause deafness.

What Causes Ear Infections?
Ear infections can be caused by something as simple as getting a little bit of water in their ears when you bathed them. It does not take much moisture to get down into the ear to start a yeast infection. If your dog has chronic ear issues, then there might be an underlying health issue, like allergies or thyroid condition which are known to cause ear problems. Also, certain breeds are more prone to developing ear infections.

How Often Should I Clean My Pets Ears?
I would discuss this with your vet because some breeds require a more demanding “ear care routine” than other breeds. It can go from daily cleaning, weekly cleaning to bi-weekly.

What Should I Clean My Dogs Ears With? 
Click on each product name to see some really good ear cleaning products.

You may also want to consider purchasing some “kelly forceps”  ( these are only used on certain breeds, so do your research first so you don’t waste your money) Kelly forceps are used to pull the hair out of dogs ears. Not all breeds have hair inside there ears. ~ Just lift up your dogs ears & you can visually see for yourself if they do or not. If they do, it’s very important that hair is plucked out because it can harbor all kinds of bacteria, dirt, infection, moisture and WILL contribute to your pet getting more ear issues etc…. IF you have your dog professionally groomed every 4 ~ 6 weeks, then most likely the groomer is doing this for you so you wouldn’t need to invest in doing it yourself. If they aren’t, then they are not a very good groomer.

To Pluck Your Dogs Ears ~  Just fold your dogs ears back or lift up your dogs ears. If you notice swelling or redness, don’t pluck ~ as that might be an infection. So make sure you contact your vet. Before actually plucking the hair you want to removed the moisture inside the ear so that the hair will come out easier. So sprinkle just a little bit of the ear powder inside the ear canal. With the kelly forceps, grab a small amount of ear hair and just pull it out. It’s very similar to girls plucking their eyebrows. Once you have all the hair removed, then clean the ears. Pluck your dogs ear hair maybe once a month, if you do it more than that – it can cause irritation which can lead to infection.  Again, if your dog IS getting professionally groomed every 4 ~ 6 weeks, then your groomer should be doing this for you ~ so you wouldn’t need to.  Kelly Forceps (Hair Pullers)

Disclaimer: We Are NOT Licensed Vets.  DO NOT try to diagnose or treat animals based off this or any other information you find on the Internet.  This page is just BASIC INFORMATION  to help bring awareness to the different health issues that are common in pets.  If your animal is having any kind of medical issue, please seek PROPER professional treatment from a licensed vet who is trained and set up to handle such matters.