One of our bassets has this problem- it almost looks like a brown tar and is very thick. He has an autoimmune disorder and I figure this is related to that. When we bathe him (once a month or more if needed) we use an ear wash. Do NOT use cotton swabs. For some reason, they cause more wax to be produced. Several times a month, I use a thin wash cloth on each ear that I rinse with warm water and wring out well. I very carefully clean out what I can get to and switch to other parts of the cloth so I don’t spread the ick. I then take a dry washcloth and dry his ears. He used to be stressed about getting his ears done but I pet him for a long time and give him treats so he is fine with it now.
What dogfood do you use? We do not allow wheat, soy or corn. Many dogs are allergic so this may contribute to his ear wax. Since our dog was diagnosed with cancer, we now use Blue Buffalo Basic Turkey and Potato. They actually appear happier since we switched. They definitely have more energy.
Good Luck!!!!
She could have an infection , or she could have ear lice.
Dose she shake her head a lot vigoroously, you know the fwappa , fwappa long shake? If so , liely an infectio of ear wax.
Try some warm baby oil, and some long cue tips to clean out her ears comletely, getting all the ear follicles completely clean.
Then check her in 24 hours. You can see then if its an infection bccuase the discharge will be coear but mucous like, or maybe a bit pussy. .Then you know its infection.
If you see meore dark ear wax the next day after cleaning, its ear wax build up and her ears can be douched gently with warm water.and then repeat the cue tip cleaning.
The ear infection, if mild, can be treated with a mild solution of hydrogen pyroxide rinse, using a douche gently.
Keep rinsing her ears and cleaning with cue tips every day
and the infection should clear in a weak.
If the infection turns septic, the smell is REALLY rotten, and you have to take her to the vet immediately for antibiotics.She also will growl if you try to touch her ears if its a bad infection.
If its ear lice you need to get a special kind of oil from the Vet to treat them.But essentially its the same process, daily cleaning with oil and cue tips.
Take the pup to the vet for the first round anyhow.
If it's a bad/persistent case, your vet has a lot of options. There are ear washes, ear drops, etc. Here's what we did:
My chocolate Lab had the persistent ear crud, waxy and dark. Fungal. We went at it from both sides of the problem - topical and diet. There's a cluster-bomb type eardrop called Otomax - has an antibiotic, steroids, and an enzyme in it to break up the crud. Do this OUTSIDE the first few times. You put in a few drops and then massage the base of the ear to work it in well. Dog will probably shake and scatter droplets of the stuff all over. Same goes for ear wash. The Otomax bottle says not to use ear wash, if your dog's ears are really FULL of crud you might want to use the wash to clear things out, then switch to Otomax. Do NOT use Qtips. Leave that to the vet. Just use a cotton ball or tissue to wipe the surface of the outer ear. If you simply can't resist, at least keep the Qtip vertical so it doesn't turn the corner to the eardrum, but all you're going to do is jam the stuff down in there and make it harder to get out. Resist temptation.
As for the inside aspect -- most ear issues are related to skin issues, i.e. allergy issues.
We switched the dog first to AvoDerm, a dog food designed for sensitive skin. It has avocado meal and fish oil etc. in it. It worked pretty well, but what really cleared her up was switching to a non-grain food.
There are several good ones - Evo and Blue Buffalo come to mind, but we settled on Taste of the Wild because it is no-grain but has a lower protein content than most no-grain foods, and the Lab is an old dog (11 in March) so we don't want to overload her with protein. TOTW is made by Diamond, which had the Chinese melamine episode, but I figure once burned twice shy and they're going to be VERY careful about their sources from here on out. Diamond other than that one instance has been a pretty good dog food company.
. . . just my two cents. Go with what your vet says - he's seen the dog.
Sounds like yeast infection, and a vet visit is in order for the proper meds. My mini poodle is prone to them as he has floppy ears. It is more common in dogs with floppy ears than pointed ears.
Bacterial and/ or yeast infection. The vet should be able to spray something in his ears or give him a shot. Unless you are good at giving medicine to a dog whose ears hurt do not opt for the medicine you have to give in the ears. I can pop a pill down an animal in no time flat; but ears are the worst.
You might want to keep boittle of Epi-Otic around the house. You can squirt that in his ears to keep them clean. Dogs just get these infections; some more than others.
Don’t use vinegar until you know what the problem is. If there’s an open sore or a lot of irritation, it will sting and she won’t let you near her ears again.
Your vet needs to examine your dog’s ears.
Best thing to do is for now, wipe a little mineral oil in the inside of the ear, while waiting to get in to your regular, good vet.
Mineral OIL, not mineral spirits.
Bacterial and/ or yeast infection. The vet should be able to spray something in his ears or give him a shot. Unless you are good at giving medicine to a dog whose ears hurt do not opt for the medicine you have to give in the ears. I can pop a pill down an animal in no time flat; but ears are the worst.
You might want to keep a bottle of Epi-Otic around the house. You can squirt that in his ears to keep them clean. Dogs just get these infections; some more than others. I have been through this. It’s usually what it is.
I also find the GNC vitamins for dogs are great.
It’s a yeast infection. My dog has the same problem. Typically caused by food that includes grain. I have a boxer/pitbull with the same problem. I switched him to Evo, a high protein, grain free food and it didn’t cure. Then I put him on a completely raw diet (all raw chicken). He likes it and he’s been on it about 7 weeks but the ears are getting worse. People told me it would but I’m certainly hopeful it stops.
I cannot put ANYTHING in my dogs ears anymore; he’s completely jaded. Particularly for anything that stings and ACV WILL sting.
Alot of labs & lab mixes have ear problems. I have to take my yellow lab in every 3 months to have his ears really cleaned out plus I use ear cleaner about 3 or 4 times a week. He took over our swimming pool which causes more ear problems. Finding a vet is great advice. Also, there is various online dog catalogs that carry ear cleaning solutions.
Easy. Ear mites. Get some drops from the vet to get rid of them.
My dog gets that, too. The vet says it happens when dogs with floppy ears get water in them, and the water can’t evaporate. He recommended ear drying agent drops which I bought at PetSmart. Use them after every bath or swim. The ears and discharge cleared up and the smell went away.
Clean your dogs ears with ear cleaner once or twice a day until it clears up, and then make sure you clean them every week. Ear cleaner can be found at any pet store.
If your dog shows signs of pain or if it doesn't clear up after a few days, then call your vet.
My GSD has had that problem. I thought it was mites, so I treated him for that.
The poor guy just got worse, so I took him to our vet. It wasn’t mites, it was a yeast infection and he has an allergy. The vet fixed us up with the right stuff and we think we are close to determining the cause of the allergy, so he’s fine now.
My advice: take him to the vet. I should have sooner and if I had, my boy wouldn’t have suffered for so long.
Just take him to your vet...... soon.
Vet time.
But don’t be hughly worried, at least not yet.
My dog would get discharges from his ears and the vet explained it to me that this is one of the primary ways dogs react to allergy type things. Not much in the nose and sinuses and skin, but their ears cans react like that.
Vet will clean it out with a swab probably and might give you some ear drops/spray to use.
Maybe a week long steroid scrip.
Please take your pup to the vet!
You need to have the ear examined and the problem identified before you go just treating without any direction. The treatment may also be a change in diet and maintenance of the ears a couple of times a week for life. A culture or smear will identify the offending problem but the veterinarian will have to do this.
Please take your dog to the vet. These home remedies don’t have any lasting affect. The dog may need antibiotics. I didn’t keep my cocker spaniel’s ears as clean as needed and the infection got out of hand. She eventually needed an operation to remove part of the ear canal. Please don’t procrastinate with this. You and your pet will be sorry.
Do go to the vet. I've used all the usual vet remedies and they work well on one of my dogs. But the other? It's almost like cleaning my girl's ears causes an infection. Ottomax cleaning alone doesn't work, but cleaning with ottomax and a little antibiotic for the infection she's prone to after seems to work.
Also? Do a search for 'Blue Powder ear cleaner for dogs' and see what you think. I've read on the springer forums it's the miracle treatment for ear infections. I've not tried it yet, but I might when I run out of the prescription drops.
Good luck!
This is a subject I know a lot about.
I have a cat who has had the worse time with ear problems.
Just like you described.
Brownish black matter coming out of his ears. I cleaned with everything.
First I thought it was ear mites.
Used the ear mite cleaner for 6 months. Still came back and worse. It wasn't ear mites.
I took him to the vet at least 6 times. The vet thought it was bacterial. So he gave me oral antibiotics and an antibiotic ear cleaner. 10 days later......problem is back.
I received at least 3 other cleaners from the vet. Didn't work.
I used all of these natural “cures” I have seen listed here. Didn't work.
Here is what DID work.
Zymox Otic Pet Ear Treatment with Hydrocortisone (Not the cleaner/wash, but the enzymatic solution)
You can buy it through Amazon. The reviews are amazing. I love it. Best thing I ever bought for my cat that worked.
I used it once a day for 7 days as stated on bottle. Now I use it once every 2 weeks to keep the problem from coming back.
Make sure it isn't ear mites. A vet can tell you. If it isn't....... trust me.....try the Zymox with Hydrocortisone. It will save you money and time.