Why does my dog keep shaking his head and scratching his ear?
I worked in veterinary dermatology for a few years, so ears are one of my specialties! Ears are part of the integumentary system, so all kinds of ear problems came through the dermatology department.Your dog most likey has an infection which can be yeast OR bacteria, or both, or it is inflammation from seasonal allergies, or both of these things. This time of year is huge for allergies to flare up, and many dogs get itchy skin and often inflammed ears that itch. Dogs can develop seasonal allergies at any age, but usually by age five most who will have allergies develop symptoms in those first years of life.Mites are less likely, unless this is a puppy with a weak immune system, or it could possibly be Scabies mites. (Typical ear mites prefer kittens, so it is rare to see any appreciable ear mite infection in adult dogs.) Scabies LOVE the ears, and this will be especially evident if there is any roughened scabbing along the ear margins. (Scabies also primarily affect the elbows and hocks so check those areas too for any skin irritation or crusting.)Go to your vet and have an ear cytology done. Please do not put alcohol, vinegar, peroxide, or any other homemade concoction into your dogs ears! Most things are caustic to the skin and can break down the inner ear tissues, making treatment much harder and painful for the pup.
Why is your dog scratching his ear constantly?
He likely has an ear infection, not necessarily in the outer ear but deep in the ear canal. That can drive them crazy with an itch that cant be reached. If its not that, it could be a tooth ache. Sometimes the pain travels up the jaw to ear canal. Smell inside the ear if it smells bad its likely an infection. An effective ear wash with a pleasant smell clove oil, is Veterinarians best.A good friend had a big lab who swam in the lake every morning. Their home was waterfront. The vet treated his ear infections so often, the next step was a drainage tube to allow infection to drain externally. I had been given a bottle of Veterinarians Best ear wash to keep in my foster care bag. I tried it on a mangy poodle mix who was just scratching his ears so bad they were bloody. It worked in 3 days. I told my friend, she got some used it daily after his swim for about a week, clearing up the infection. Afterthat she dried his ears witha pieceof gauze and dripped 3drops daily into eachear. Her vet didnt believe his improvement. Her vet began tos sell this product since it worked so well.
My dog scratches her ears until they bleed. How can I stop her?
She scratches at the tips of her ears and now there all bloody and scabbed over. My vet will be gone for the weekend, I tried taking her earlier but they wernt there. :( How can I keep her from scratching at them until I can get her to see a vet. I've tried wrapping them up with gauze but she just shakes it off. Im thinking about one of those cone things. But ive never used one so i dont know if she would still be able to scratch her ear. any advice?
My pitbull mix puppy keeps scratching his ear, I cleaned it, & this brown gunk was on the cotton ball. What Is it?
Your dog has an ear infection. The brown gunk is the discharge. This is actually fairly common and completely treatable.Make a solution of 1/3 cup each of vinegar, hydrogen peroxide and water. Add several drops of tea tree oil or a teaspoon of olive oil.Soak the cotton ball in the solution and place it in the dog’s ear. Fold the ear flap over and gently massage the ear so that the solution can penetrate and help break up the discharge. Remove the cotton ball and let your dog shake his head to help expel more of the discharge. Take a clean cotton ball and gently wipe the visible gunk that is still in his ear.Caution-Only do this in an area that is easy to clean and when you are not wearing nice clothes. That gunk can be slung several feet.Repeat the process of cleaning the ear until the solution is used up or your dog has had enough and it is upsetting him too much. Repeat the process one last time with a dry cotton ball to soak up any excess fluid that remains. Give him a treat for putting up with the treatment. This will make it easier the next time you need to clean his ears.You will also need to take the dog to a vet to determine the cause and if other treatment is necessary. The dog might need antibiotics for a bacterial infection, anti-fungal medication or even treatment for ear mites. Follow your vets recommendations. He may insert some ointment that needs to left alone for several days. In this case, do not clean the ears. The reason I suggest cleaning the ears first, is simply that the more gunk you can remove, the better your puppy will feel. I have also found that the cleaner the ears are before the ointment is inserted, the faster it will heal.
My dog is constantly scratching his ear?
When I read the question, I thought you had a lab.... and you do! This happened to two of our labs... it's nothing serious if it's the same thing.. your vet will just give you drops to be put in his ears every day. The drops will calm down the problem, but you'll have to keep doing it daily... Now, that's only if your boy has the same thing.......... good luck to you! :)
How do I keep my chocolate labs ears clean?
We’ve had Labs, Labradoodles, and Pointers in the family over the years, all with floppy ears, and all love to be in the water. Inevitably at some point in the summer one or more of the dogs will develop dirty ears that indicate a possible fungus or yeast infection: excessive scratching, head-shaking, tilting the head to one side, and stinky ears that smell like cheese are all tell-tale signs.Flushing their ears with a mix of warm water with vinegar and rubbing alcohol will clear it up in most cases. My formula is half water, 1/4 white vinegar, and 1/4 rubbing alcohol. The acidic vinegar kills yeast and the alcohol dries out the ear. Stand over your dog and pour it in, massage the area below their ear to break up any debris (you should hear/feel it squishing around in there), then release them to shake it out. Clears up any issues with 1 or 2 applications, a couple of days apart, in most cases. For milder cases or for more frequent cleaning you could probably omit the alcohol from the formula.For one tougher case of itchy ears I’ve used Zymox ear treatment with success (search on Amazon), when nothing else would work.
Our dog constantly scratches her ears. I clean them with water, but need a safe way to clean a dog the ears?
cleaning the ears with water will actually do more harm than good. when you clean the ears, you need to use a product specifically made to clean the ears; but check with the vet first, some are better than others depending on what your dog is predisposed to (allergies, yeast, rods...) at this point it would probably be best to take the dog to a vet to make sure no infection has developed from the water exposure. some people might recommend using water and white vinegar to clean the ears, however, that has such a terrible smell i don't recommend doing such. Do not put hydrogen peroxide in the ear, if there is any damage it will only make things worse. I clean my dogs ears twice a month when i bathe them, i use a product called OtiRinse (purchased at my vet). I fill the ear canal up with the product, massage the base of the ear for about 30 seconds, then let my dog shake his head. After that I wipe the ear (where I can see) with a cotton ball. Never stick anything (cotton ball, Q-tip) into the ear canal as you can either puncture the ear drum or or pack debris deeper. I hope my advice has been of some help to you, good luck.
Any suggestions for putting eardrops (for infection) in my dog's ear?
I have a Labrador Retriever/Chow mix. She weighs around 55 pounds and is a very stout dog. She also has a bit of a temper. When we take her to the vet, she literally has to be put down via a knockout shot and be flat out laying on her face before they can do what they need to do (heartworm test, shots, etc.) It's a disaster for usually 3-4 people at the vet holding her at once to try to get her held enough for the vet to give her the knockout shot to do other things. She's THAT paranoid of the vet. She was once stung on the nose by what I think was a bumblebee. Her nose/face kind of swelled up and ever since she has always been paranoid about a buzzing noise or any potential thing that could "get her". So anything that buzzes, she seems to attribute to bees/flies/things that poke her. Her ear is bothering her. I can tell that it's red and flaky looking inside with possibly little red bumps. It seems to be another ear infection in her right ear. I have tried to wipe it out and clean it out as best as I could given her franticness. I had to put a muzzle on to do that (she will bite me...she has always been a mean-tempered dog). She's a very loving and playful dog most of the time, however. It's just at the vet and during certain situations (like trying to get her to eat her wormer tablet or get a shot at the vet or drops in her ear) that she flips out. Even with a muzzle on, she literally screams bloody murder when I try to hold her down and put the drops in her ear. We have drops that she was given before when she had a similar condition. Even the vet couldnt get the drops in her ear then (which is why we still have them), so she ended up having to get a shot and take pills instead. Would the vet issue some pill form meds/antibiotics to her without her coming in? I can't tell you what a freaking disaster it is trying to take her to the vet. Apparently, our dog isn't the only one...the other people at the vet who own dogs have told us their own disaster stories. Getting her "trained" professionally (I'm not sure why that's the first thing people cling to - when a dog is in a panic, "training" or not...they will do what they wish)...I doubt that would help at all. She already knows the basic commands that I have taught her, but does not listen to them when she's scared or in a panic.
Today my pet dog scratched me with its paws and it cut deep into my skin causing blood to flow out. Should I be worried?
Since you mention that it is a pet dog - I assume that it was just being playful. The bigger / heavier the dog, the deeper the gash would be. It is a daily occurrence me and I just clean with a disinfectant.But - ensure that you cut their nails once in a month, especially of the front paws and let them not lick the would. If that happened, wash with plenty of water and disinfectant. If they have not been properly vaccinated for rabies ( ARV) you need to consult your doctor.The very correct procedure in such a case is as mentioned by fellow quern, Dr.Rashmi Pradhan.