Ear infections in dogs are quite common, but cause a lot of irritation to your poor dog. Ear infections are normally no big deal as long as you treat the problem. You can easily tell when they are having a problem, but you should know the symptoms of a dog ear infection.
Symptoms of a dog ear infection are
Frequent head shaking
Head tilted to side
Excessive ear scratching or rubbing
Inflammation in ear
Redness
Tenderness
Bad smelling ear wax
Trouble balancing (rare and indicates a severe problem. Take your dog to the vet right away!)
Some treatments for a dog ear infection are
You should give your dog some vitamin C if your dog has an ear infection, which will decrease the inflammation in their ears. Start with a small amount because it could cause your dog to have diarrhea if you give them too much. If your pet gets diarrhea lower the dose until you find a good one that your dog can handle.
Try making a solution with water and white vinegar, this will help clean the ear and remove some of the excess wax. Mix one part white vinegar with two parts of water and drop a couple drops into the dog’s ear. Rub and massage the ear to move the solution around then get something to pat the inside of the ear dry with. This will help with the majority of yeast ear infections. If there are any cuts in your dog’s ear, do not try this method.
Putting warm compresses on the ear will help with the inflammation and pain which are common in dog ear infections.
Trim the dog’s hair near the ears; this will improve the air circulation and cause less irritation.
When your dog plays in water or is given a bath, be sure to dry their ears. If you don’t then yeast can grow because it grows best in warm moist places, which can cause your dog to have an ear infection.
Clean your dog’s ears with a cotton swab (do not use a q-tip, they can hurt your dog). This will prevent earwax from building up, which could be causing your dog’s ear problems.
You can try giving your dog apple cider vinegar in their water. You should add about two tbsp to a cup of water, which will help their ear infection from getting any worse.
Put a drop or two of cod liver oil in the dog’s ear to help with the ear infection. You can break a vitamin E soft gel and put a drop in their ear too. This will help the pain that your dog is going through.
Mites can also cause ear infections, so make sure your dog doesn’t have any mites or fleas. You can buy over the counter powders, which will kill and get rid of fleas and mites. You sprinkle the powder on your dog and they are protected from the critters. My dog had problems with fleas since she was a baby, and none of the anti-flea medication helped. I bought Sentry Natural Defense Natural Flea and Tick Powder for Dogs and Puppies, and let me tell you, it worked like a charm. It even smells good and she rarely has any flea problems anymore. If she does, we simply sprinkle some of the powder of her and the fleas are killed. All the ingredients are natural, safe for children, and tested by vets. I highly recommend using this product.
If nothing seems to be helping your dog, you should take them to the vet to be checked out by a professional. The vet will examine your dog’s ears and find out what the problem is, and which most likely prescribe antibiotic. You should get either eardrops or oral medication. Do not let the problem keep going on because it causes a lot of irritation and suffering for your dog. If you do not treat your dog’s ear infection then it could get worse.
Some complications of dog ear infections are
Your dog could start to get facial nerve issues because the spreading of the infection into the face, which will begin to affect the nerves. This is called Otitis media.
Deafness is a common complication; this is caused by the dog eventually having their inner ear damaged. This happens because of bad hygiene, environments that aren’t healthy, and owners that aren’t taking proper care of their dogs.
Your dog could get a sarcoma from their ear infection, which is a tumor in the ear canal, and other tumors are possible to grow. These tumors will require surgery to remove.
Bacterial meningitis could occur, which happens when the infection finds a way to the brainstem area and causes an abscess in the brain area. This is rare, but very serious and hard to treat.
