Does my dog have mites or an infection in her ear?

Question

My dog has one ear that I recently noticed has been very itchy, and she's been shaking her head like crazy. I cleaned it last night and used a cotton ball to eliminate as much disgusting black wax as I can. I know that this is not how her ear should be. She doesn't seem in pain, just very itchy. I'm using an over-the-counter mite treatment to see if the condition improves, but is there anything else I can do before taking her to the vet? I'm open to anything to either make her more comfortable, or to improve the condition.

Answer 1

Your dog can have either one or both, and only a vet can tell you for sure. Anyway............usually it hurts a dog when it's an infection, but it itches a lot when it's ear mites. You can see them under a microscope, but to a naked eye, it looks like a brownish/ red gooey stuff, with a very distinguished odor. Ear mites can cause permanent damage to the inner ear, and need to be medically treated right away.
An easy way to get rid of ear mites, is to put few drops of a vegetable cooking oil, i.e. Weston, in each ear, have to dog shake its head for few seconds, then clean the ear out with q-tips. Don't need to worry about going too far in with a q-tip, for a dog ear canal is shaped like the letter L, making it impossible to enter the inner ear. This should be done twice a day, for a week.
Now, I'm NOT suggesting here the "do-it-yourself" thing, as I don't recommend any treatment unless you know for sure, from the vet's examination, what it is.
In case of an infection, it must be treated with antibiotics. Left it untreated, the infection can permanently damage the inner ears, and worse, get into the bloodstream, causing kidney failure, and become fatal.

Answer 2

First of all, only a vet can diagnose your puppy's problem.
With that said, it is RARE a dog gets ear mites. Mites prefer to live in cats ears. If a dog has mites its usually because it is/or was in close contact with cats that have mites or came from a puppy mill that was having a problem with mites.
It is more likely an ear infection (yeast or bacterial) which is very itchy and causes that yucky, sticky black debris. You really need your vet to do an ear cytology to find out the type of infection so they can prescribe the proper medication.
In the mean time, to make your dog more comfortable you can use a non-medicated ear cleaner and clean the ears twice a day till you can get into the vets office.
Fill the ear with cleaning liquid. Massage the base of ear to loosen the debris. Wipe with cotton balls until clean & dry. You can go as far as you can reach with your finger and cotton without hurting the dog.
Good luck

Answer 3

I'm afraid your dogs REALLY NEEDS to see a vet.!When an infection starts, a pet will shake its head occasionally and will scratch its ear. This will often progress to the stage where the pet is obviously distressed. If you examine the ear, you will notice that the ears have a pungent smell. You may also see some discharge in the ear, especially in the ear canal. This discharge may be brown in colour, it may be yellow and look like pus, or it may contain blood - not something to ignore.!!!! Mites sometimes causes ear infections. These small creepy-crawlies move around inside the ear canal and cause ***great discomfort***. The ears of the dog or cat react to this irritation by pumping out a waxy discharge. This gunk is an ideal soup for bacteria, yeasts and fungi to grow in, further worsening the problem.!!!! Many owners will attempt to clean their pets’ ears by using cotton buds. Buds will often ramrod the wax down onto the eardrum. This makes it much more difficult to eliminate the infection, and may lead to a rupture of the eardrum. To clean the outer part of the ear, a cotton ball, not a bud, moistened with an ear cleaning solution will do well. Only clean the area of the ears that you can see. Even if mites are present, in many cases, bacteria or yeasts without ear mites cause the infection. There may also be foreign bodies present, such as grass seeds, which need immediate attention by a veterinarian. Your pet needs antibiotics or other prescription medications to solve the problem. Ear medications like this are not available over the counter.

Answer 4

Hopefully she won't have an infection. The best advice is to get an opinion from a vet. Usually with a dog, you can see and smell the infection. I would imagine by the way you've described her, it's a good chance she has ear mites, and has been around cats. What has worked the best of me, is that I used Paramite Dip on my dogs. It killed the mites in their ears and the fleas. Follow label directions. For me, I prepared the dip in an old gallon milk jug ahead of time, I believe it's one ounce of dip per gallon of water...and I used warm water. I bathed my dogs in my bath tub, and then after I rinsed them off, I stopped up the drain to the tub. I put a drop of mineral oil in each eye using a dropper (that way the dip doesn't burn their eyes). I then literally pour the prepared dip over the dog and slowly in each ear. This will make them want to shake their head....so be prepared. Make sure you cover the whole dog with the dip...using an old plastic glass or wash cloth. When the dog has been thorughly soaked with the dip, let it drain out the tub and I let the dogs go. I've always had old towels on the floor in the bathroom so they can rub themselves dry. I've never dried them myself, but let them drip dry. It's not the best smell in the world, but it sure takes care of the mites, fleas and ticks. It's never did me wrong yet. You can dip them once a week with the Paramite Dip. This can be bought at Vet clinics, pet stores, and feed stores. Best of luck to you.

Answer 5

Dogs will generally only get ear mites if they are in close living quarters with a cat that has ear mites. Mites do leave a thick, black waxy material in the ear. But, if there is redness, swelling, yeasty smell, pain...I would definitely be concerned with an infection.

Answer 6

Dogs don't commonly get earmites. Do NOT treat the ears yourself especially with an OTC product to do so can make the condition a lot worse and could even cause serious ear damage including deafness.
People should NEVER self medicate especially if they have no idea what they are treating for..many dogs have been seriously injured even killed because of it!!

Answer 7

I think it's very likely that your dog has an ear infection since that disgusting black wax is exactly what came out of our dog's ear when he had an infection (I'm willing to bet that your pooch has floppy ears as floppy eared dogs are prone to this problem). You'll need to go to your vets' who will prescribe antibacterial ear drops as well as antibiotics if she needs them. Your vet will also show you how to clean your dog's ears as it's surprising to see how far down the ear canal a vet will push the cotton wool.

Answer 8

If you see dark black-ish stuff and when you clean it it keeps coming back and the ear smells - yup! it is mostlikely mites....I have heard a light coating of vegetable oil will help,but have never tried it.

Answer 9

ear mites. my dog has a mild case of it in 2005. I used pet horizon's earrific. It cleared up after 3 days. After that, I cleaned it every week. (not too often please)

Answer 10

don't use over the counter stuff, 9 times out of 10 this makes the problem worse not better, just take her to the vet and let them prescribe something that will work