You must have experienced different types of ear infections in dogs, but ear injury such as ear tip injury, lesion, pest bites require a completely different solution.
Most of the time, they are easily treatable while other times they can life-threatening. The most common ear injury in dogs is ear tip injury where the tip of their ear is either slicked by any sharper object or bitten by another animal. Most of the time it's harmless.
Ear Tip Injury
Ear tip injury is one of the most common ear injuries in dogs. One of the most common causes of ear tip injury is infections. Other times, it's caused by a fight with another dog, errant branch slicing through the soft skin of the ear, pest bites, or something like grass or seed gets stuck in their ear canals.
Most of the time it results in ear swelling or blood blisters. Dogs often make a mess when they shake their head when they're bleeding.
Treating Ear Tip Injury
Ears are slow healers because dogs are constantly moving and shaking their heads around and disrupting the healing process.
It's easy for blood blisters to form after an ear injury. Known as auricular hematomas, these often recur and require intervention by the veterinarian. Auricular hematomas are blood-filled cysts located on the inside of the pinna (the soft outer part of the ear). The vet will drain the hematoma and apply stitches in the blistered area to help the skin heal.
It may take to heal mainly because dogs aren't used to getting their ears wrapped by a bandage. You can try using different sets of bandages, bandanas, or sweatbands to keep your dog's ears immobile.
Immediate Care
If your dog is shaking its head:
Check the ear closest to the ground.
If a small object is visible -- a grass seed or pebble, for instance -- try to remove it with your fingers or tweezers.
If you can’t get the object out, bandage the ear flat against the head to avoid further damage and take the dog to the vet for treatment.
If an ear is bleeding:
- Using absorbent pads (such as cotton pads, clean towels, or sanitary towels), apply pressure to both sides of the bleeding ear flap for several minutes.
- Do not remove the pads.
- Instead, bandage them and the ear flat against the dog’s head and take the dog to see the vet the same day.
If an ear is swollen:
- To prevent any further shaking or damage, bandage the ear flat against the head immediately,
- Take the dog to the vet within 24 hours.
- If your dog shows signs of disequilibrium (losing its balance):
- Ensure the dog’s safety by keeping it in a single room with a few objects as possible to fall against.
- Take the dog to the vet the same day.
Ear Infection
Dogs are prone to different kinds of ear infections where bacterial infection reigns supreme. A dog can develop a bacterial ear infection when there is underlying inflammation, moisture, allergies, Endocrine disorders, autoimmune disorders, Wax buildup, and injury to the ear canal.
As many as 20% of dogs experience some form of ear disease.
Dog with loop ears such as Labrador and Border collie is more prone to bacterial infection. Otitis externa, Otitis media, and interna are three of the common ear infections in dogs.
- Common signs of a dog ear infection include
- Head shaking
- Scratching at the affected ear
- Dark discharge
- Odor
- Redness and swelling of the ear canal
- Pain and itchiness
Factors that may cause ear infection in dogs to include:
- Moisture can create a prime growing environment for bacteria and yeast in the ear.
- Allergies such as allergic skin disease.
- Endocrine disorders, such as thyroid disease
- Autoimmune disorders
- Wax buildup
- Foreign bodies
- Injury to the ear canal
- Excessive cleaning
Treating Ear Infection
A precise diagnosis of a dog's ear infection is important to ascertain the required treatment. Visit your veterinarian as soon as possible.
Your veterinarian will start by looking for different causes of ear infections.
- Duration of any symptoms, such as pain, swelling, discharge, and odor.
- If your dog has any allergies or other underlying medical conditions.
- If your dog is on medication.
- What your dog has been eating?
- How often you clean your dog’s ears and which products you use.]
- If you’ve trimmed or plucked the hair in your dog’s ears.
- Recent activities, such as baths, grooming, or swimming.
- If your dog has a history of ear infections when they occurred, and how they were treated
As a treatment, the veterinarian will thoroughly clean your dog’s ears using a medicated ear cleanser. In cases of severe chronic disease where other treatments have failed, the veterinarian may recommend surgery such as a Total Ear Canal Ablation (TECA) that surgically removes the ear canal, thus removing the diseased tissue and preventing the recurrence of infection.
You must strictly follow your veterinarian's recommendation for mediation, treatment, and recheck appointments. Lapses in your dog’s treatment may lead to the recurrence of the infection. Hence, you must also finish the full course of your dog’s medication, even if your dog appears to be getting better.
How to prevent Ear injuries and Ear Infections in Dogs?
To prevent possible ear injury and ear infection in dogs, you must do the following:
- Clean your dog’s ears at least once a month, more often if your dog is prone to ear problems.
- Look inside the ear to check for dirt, scratches, parasites, or discharge. Then give them a good sniff.
- There shouldn’t be any unpleasant odor.
- Moisten a cotton ball with mineral oil and gently wipe out the ears, going no deeper than the first knuckle on your finger.
- Keep ears dry and clean. Avoid using drying agents on a regular basis—if there’s no problem they can dry out the ear too much, and if the ear is oozing there’s a reason for it. Drying it up without treating the cause leads to more ear problems.
- As a precaution, make sure to thoroughly dry their ears after swimming and bathing to prevent moisture buildup.
Here is the detail info graphics on how to tell if your dog has ear injuries.
Get in touch with Urban Pet Hospital & Resort, the best doggy daycare in Urbandale, and certified veterinarians to learn more about preventing ear injuries and ear infections in dogs.