Ear infections in dogs is a common and painful condition. Even though dogs are far more prone to such diseases than cats, you should not ignore your kitty’s ears. A lot of times ear infections are just one of the many clinical signs of another underlying problem. If not treated on time infection can travel to middle and inner ear and can have serious consequences.
Hopefully this post will help pet owners assess the situation at an early stage to prevent distress to their pets.
There are few common reasons your pets get ear infections. -
Skin disease- Ears are a part of skin, so any health condition that affects skin can cause ear problems as well. This is by far the most common reason for pets to get ear infection. It is important to make sure your pet does not have an underlying serious health problem.
Allergies- Another common reason for ear infections. Common allergies that cause ear problems can be Environmental (like pollens, grass) Food allergy, Fleas.
Parasites-Like Ear mites, Demodex etc.
Foreign Bodies- Foxtails/grass awns/ grass-seeds are usually, but not always, a very common cause of acute ear irritation and infection in summers. Some other foreign bodies can be small toys, vegetation, mulch/tan bark etc.
Anatomy of ears- Dog with floppy ears is always going to be at a higher risk of ear infection than dog with erect ears. Closed ear flaps trap moisture and heat which gives organisms like bacteria and yeast a perfect place to grow.
Ear hair- Some furry breeds have bunches of ear hair inside the external ear canal which can trap moisture and cause irritation if not groomed well. You should always tell the groomers to remove the ear hair if your dog has it.
Lifestyle- Pets who love swimming are prone to ear infections due to excess moisture staying back. Always clean your dog’s ears after any water activity.
Licking ears- This is not a common reason but I have come across a few multi-dog households whose dogs get ear infections as they lick each others ears as a part of normal play activities. There is not a lot of research done on this but worth a mention here.
What you should be doing at home to prevent ear infection-->
- Weekly checks on your pets ears- note any smell, exudate, redness or heat.
- Note any behaviour changes- head shaking, scratching at ears, head tilt.
- Routine grooming with special attention to ear hair removal if your dog has a visible bunch of ear hair.
- Clean ears using a gentle liquid ear cleaner after any water activity like - swimming, grooming/bathing, staying outside in rain etc.
An effective way to clean the ear is to fill the ear canal with the cleaning solution, place a cotton ball in the ear canal opening, then gently massage the ear at the base to the allow the fluid go back and forth in the canal. Cotton ball will absorb excess solution and it holds onto the debris as it comes up from deeper part of external ear canal. You can clean the ear multiple times until the cotton ball comes out fairly clean. Do not use Q-Tips to clean the ear canal. - Thoroughly look at your pet’s ears and skin after outdoor activities for any foreign body.
- Using external parasite prevention routinely.
At any stage you are concerned about your dog’s ears make sure you have them checked and treated appropriately, if needed.
Great post @jsekh, i'm a vet too sure we learn important things from your posts! I 'll follow you see you!
Thank you. Good to see fellow vets on steemit.
Thanks for a wonderful post about cleaning ears on pets. I am a veterinarian and most of the ear problems I see seems to be related to food allergies. I want to recommend this book about the topic : http://amzn.to/2ubMnlW [ How To Clean Your Dogs Ears In 5 Easy Steps ] Disclaimer: I wrote the book.
when was young, i really wanted to be vet, but in Indonesia its a profession that not familiar at those days... sad
Keep that dream alive! There is a lot to do within the field not only as veterinarian. You can be an assistant, technician, etc... Right now seems to be a need for veterinary technicians.
thank you so much, you inspire me so
You can work with dog rescue organisations in Indonesia if you still want to work in related field as there is a lot of demand for volunteers for NGOs and NFP organisations. This can be a great start and you can work up into becoming vet assistant/nurse/tech. Good luck!
Thank you. You have done a great job bringing up this information in your book. Thumbs up !!!
Awesome book @fenequedvm and great post @jsekh! My puppy is going thru a bad infection and I was told to clean his ears regularly. I am hoping the book will help :)
Thank you. Almost half of my patients every day during summers come for ear infections and allergies. As @fenequedvm says it is so important keep ears clean because it is just another part of managing your pet's allergies. And always try to figure out what is the culprit. Food allergies are so easy to determine and can be easily controlled as well with right approach.
I recommend to my clients to clean the ears once or twice weekly to them healthy. It is very important to remember the recurrent ear infections are usually associated with allergies to food. Most dogs are allergic to foods that contain chicken and beef.
Good to know ! thank you for the tip!!
gws buddy...
If you follow & Upvote me, i will follow & Upvote you...!
sure
Congratulations @jsekh! You have received a personal award!
Click on the badge to view your Board of Honor.
Do not miss the last post from @steemitboard!
Participate in the SteemitBoard World Cup Contest!
Collect World Cup badges and win free SBD
Support the Gold Sponsors of the contest: @good-karma and @lukestokes
Congratulations @jsekh! You received a personal award!
You can view your badges on your Steem Board and compare to others on the Steem Ranking
Vote for @Steemitboard as a witness to get one more award and increased upvotes!