Help! Ear Problem??

[Erica&Riley]

Austin's Mom-

Riley did have black stuff in her ear on Tuesday when I first noticed her ear. But I cleaned most of it out and it didn't come back...that was my thought too, is this dirt or discharge? Her ear still has some red on the inside, but it doesn't smell. It doesn't seem to bother her...she is not scratching it or shaking her head anymore than usual. If it bothered her, I wouldn't hesitate to take her to the vet. Does anyone know what the other symptoms of an ear infection are? I posted a picture of Riley's ear in my gallery, if anyonw wants to take a look.

Thanks so much for the help!!

 

[Austin's Mom]

From what I read the other symptoms would be excessive scratching and head shaking, and rubbing that ear on furniture to try to scratch or rub it. The smell it the major thing, tho.

 

[j8kat]

Mateus is really prone to ear infections and often has brown/black guck in his ear along with a pretty red ear. His does usually smell as well, but he is good for not scratching or shaking them. He does occasionally, but not a lot. So, I would say do not rule out an ear infection. Do use the cleaner that was mentioned in an earlier post and if the problem persists, definitely see your vet.

 

[harleyboxer]

I work for a vet and I doubt that it is an ear infection. My dog is very sensitive to even the mildest ear cleaner and his ears get red and he gets bumps from scratching at it. He has also gotten the bumps from food allergies (there was no redness then). Were her ears red before you cleaned them? Ear wax usually comes out dark brown and unless there was a profuse amount accompanied with a lot of scratching and redness before you cleaned them I wouldn't worry to much. Normally if a dog has a problem the vet will send a dog home with ear cleaner and an ointment called Otomax that goes in the ears, so if you are still worried then take your dog in. I used ear cleaner from the pet store on Harley and had the same reaction that your dog had.

 

[harleyboxer]

Also i forgot to mention that after you put the ear cleaner in the dogs ear it will shake all of the dirt from out of the ear canal. That is why you are seeing so much gunk after the fact. Another thing, I went back and read that you used alcohol and water to clean out her ears and that is not good. The alcohol is probably what is bothering her ears and you should never put water down their ears. Water doesn't evaporate when it is down in the ear. Ear cleaners are made with alcohol and other similar ingredients because they evaporate easier. I made the mistake of putting water down my dogs ears to try to flush the ear cleaner out. If you think that she is producing more gunk than what was down in her ear canal I would take her in.

 

[Erica&Riley]

Just to let everyone know...Riley's ear cleared up on its own so I guess she didn't have an ear infection and it was just an allergic reaction. I won't be using that ear cleaner anymore, that's for sure! I have heard of some natural ways to make ear cleaning solution....does anyone have any suggestions how to do this?

Thanks for everyone's help!

 

[BeckyNC]

Tae has had a couple yeast infections in her ears. The last time we saw the vet, he suggested cleaning her ears with a solution of white vinegar and rubbing alcohol. Mix equal amounts of both.

My vet also told me not too clean too frequently. Doing so removes the "good" bacteria. Same idea as taking antibiotics too often.