Dog Ear Infection Pain Relief

Dog ear infection is one of the most common complaints seen during consultation in small animal practice. Many dog owners are still unsure about recognizing the early signs of this most uncomfortable dog health problem.

Prevention is very simple: just make it a habit to clean your dog's ears once or twice a week with an adequate ear cleaning product for pets and pluck redundant hair off the ear canal!

This will help to remove built-ups of wax, debris and dirt from the external ear canal and improve ventilation of the L-shaped, long external ear canal.

Recognize the Signs of a Dog Ear Infection

Itchy, Reddened Ears

This is usually the first symptom and indication that something irritates the external ear canal: your dog starts to scratch his or her ear flaps or the area behind the ears. Frequent head shaking and/or reddened skin of the ear pinna follow usually.

Painful Swelling

The skin and tissue of the ear flap and the external ear canal becomes red and swollen due to the constantly irritating factors and mechanical causes listed above.

Touching an ear is very painful and your dog will usually not want you to do so. Inflamed ears are often held in a slightly different position, hanging down more or are being held closer/ farther away from the head. When he scratches his ear/s he might whine or whimper.

Bad Odor

Shortly after the onset of an ear canal inflammation you will detect a bad odor or smell of the diseased ear. Bacteria, fungi and parasites are the cause for this, as these micro-organisms turn wax and debris into puss that smells strong.

Managing Dog Ear Infection and Pain

Prevention is the best management. So, ideally you can do quite a lot for healthy dog ears by creating and following your own routine of ear hygiene:

Can I treat my Dog's Ear Infection with Home Remedies?

Treating an ear disease successfully requires first a proper diagnose!

An ear examination with a veterinary otoscope reveals very important information:

What causes the ear problem? Bacteria, fungus, yeast, dog ear mites or a foreign body? Is there an underlying systemic skin problem, like an allergy or a hormonal imbalance (malfunction of the thyroid gland), that causes recurrent or chronic ear health problems? Imagine, you treated with a home remedy and the cause would be a grass awn!

Pussy, very smelly ears that seem not to respond to topical treatment can be caused by bacterias like Pseudomonas spp. which are very hard to eliminate. A bacterial culture and sensitivity test to determine the most effective antibacterial treatment is crucial.

Fungal and yeast infections need to be identified via mycologic culture. Unfortunately such a lab test delivers results only after about 10 days. In the meantime ear drops are used that contain broad spectrum antibiotic, antifungal and antiinflammatory components.

Dog Ear mites can sometimes be seen with the aid of an otoscope. However, every very itchy dog ear infection and brown-black cerumen (ear wax) is highly suspicious for mites. If no live earmites are detected, a microscopic examination of cerumen will most likely reveal their presence.

Foreign bodies, such as grass awns or parts of grass stems cause usually a pussy, therapy resistant ear infection on one ear. A foreign body is mostly stuck in the horizontal part of the ear canal in front of the ear drum. A penetration or rupture of the ear drum is a possible complication.

Is the ear drum or tympanic membrane still intact? - This is a vital question, because ear drops are contraindicated in case of a ruptured ear drum. Also, an infection of the middle and inner ear is more likely in this case and requires an aggressive systemic treatment.

Your vet will determine the treatment plan tailored to your dog's needs.

In most cases a topical ear medicine helps to reduce dog ear infection and control pain well. Follow your vet's advice and prescription to a T. Be prepared for repeated rechecks to ensure everything is healing fine until the problem is resolved. More severe cases need systemic medication to control infection and pain and some recurrent and chronic conditions will require surgery.

Natural Ear Remedies for Maintaining Dog Ear Health

Clearly, there are effective natural ear remedies available and these are OK to try as preventative treatments once your vet agrees to them.

Vinegar Based Ear Cleaner

Mix clear water and white vinegar 1:1 . This solution can be used to flush ears once every two weeks. The vinegar creates a slightly acidic environment which prevents overgrowth of most bacteria, yeast and fungus.