In this article we have included two excellent videos about dog ear infections recorded by vets, The first is titled: “How to Diagnose and Treat a Dog’s Ear Infection” and the second is “How to Treat a Dog’s Ears for Infection”. We hope that these videos and our copies of the text will be useful to help you solve your dog ear grooming problem.
Dog Care Tips : How to Treat a Dog’s Ear Infection
Let’s talk about how to treat your dog with an ear infection. Ear infections are very, very common for dogs to have. It has to be diagnosed by a veterinarian first to find out what’s going on in that ear.
Could be a yeast infection or a bacterial infection or just lots of inflammation from allergy. So there are lots of different things that we are treating.
Once the ear infection is diagnosed, your veterinarian will prescribe you with a type of medication that will treat either bacteria or yeast or both or inflammation of the ear. Ear mites are something that we see a lot of times too, especially in cats, and so your veterinarian will provide you with medication appropriately to treat that.
Your veterinarian also may or may not want you to clean the ear first, and the best way to do that is to apply a cleanser to a gauze pad and then with your fingertip go inside the ear very gently and remove any debris that may be there first.
After cleaning, then you can apply the medication which generally is going to be maybe take five or ten days, it just depends on what’s going on in that ear. But just always be careful. Ears are very sensitive and dogs don’t necessarily like you messing with them too much..
As found on Youtube
Hi, I’m Dr. Aimee Beger veterinarian, and today we’re going to be talking about treating your dogs ears naturally at home.
Ear infections, you’ll typically know your dog has an ear infection if you smell a very sweet smell or a very malodorous smell coming from your dogs ear, and of course if you see any debris, brown debris, yellow or white puss pouring out of your dogs ear, you know for sure that he has an infection.
We do recommend four ear infections to treat your dogs infections with a veterinarian approved cleaning product and possibly antibiotic or anti-fungal if needed.
Some things people have tried at home however to treat their dogs naturally are to use apple-cider vinegar and water, hydrogen peroxide has been used by some people and even rubbing alcohol in their dogs ears.
Other things that people have tried are just using tap water and/or using Q-tips or cotton balls to try to remove any debris that they may see in the ear.
As found on Youtube
Other References to Dog Ear Infection Around the Internet
L-Shaped Dog’s Ear Canal Explanation
A dog’s ear has both a vertical and horizontal ear canal, basically making the ear canal an “L-shape.” It is difficult for debris to exit the ear especially once it makes it into the horizontal canal or the bottom part of the “L.”
This anatomical feature of a dog’s ear canal is partly what makes dogs prone to ear infection.
Ear infections can be caused by a number of things, including debris or parasites in the ear, excessive hair growth, or other irritation of the ear canal. Recurring ear infections are often caused by the specific conformation of a dog’s ear, allergies, or other underlying conditions.
Keep an eye out for ear discharge, ear or head pain, redness and inflammation, foul odor, excessive scratching of the ears, and shaking or tilting of the head. Serious ear infections can even cause your pet to lose their balance. via www.pethealthnetwork.com
Ear Mites as a Common Cause of Dog Ear Infections
Ear mites are the most common cause of a dog ear infection in puppies and kittens. In adult dogs, it is yeast and bacteria that are the most common causes. It’s also critical to know whether or not your dog has an underlying condition such as food allergies or seasonal allergies were air infections could be a recurring problem.
If you believe your dog is suffering from an ear infection, you will need to take it to your vet. He or she will examine the affected ear using a device called an otoscope which allows visualization down into the dog’s ear canal.
This allows your vet to determine the extent of the ear infection and to diagnose if the eardrum has been ruptured or if there are polyps, foreign bodies or any other abnormalities present. Your vet will also gently place a swab into the dog’s ear canal for cytology – or microscopic examination – to determine what organisms are present. via www.justanswer.com
