Does anyone know the difference between dirty ear and ear mites?

Question

My dog had an ear infection before and ever since that I clean her ears once a week. The stuff that I use is Virbac Epi Otic ear cleaner that I bought from the vet. But even though I use that her ears still start to odor after a few days before the next routine cleaning. I read that ear mites can be hard to tell because they're really small and that they leave "crusty " stuff in the ear. I've always thought that when I clean my dogs ear it was dirt and earwax coming out. Can it be possible that she has ear mites? How can I tell the difference between just plain dirty ears and ear mites.

Also she likes to play outdoors in the yard (sunbath, roll around, play her toys, etc) but the grass has been treated with insect killer during this last summer.

Answer 1

What you might do is schedule an appointment with the vet to recheck her ears and DO NOT clean them until your vet looks at them. because if it is ear mites and you clean all the debris away they are almost impossible to see. Usually you can see them when looking through the otoscope as they move around on the debris, but if the debris is gone they are very hard to find. And yes it is possible that they are ear mites and the Epi Otic wont treat that. Talk to your vet. Good luck

dont use a qtip unless you know exactly what you are doing. A dogs ear canal is an L shape and qtips can break off inside their ear if you dont know how to use them on a dog. Also if it smells it is probably a yeast infection and they have certain meds to treat it but the vet will need to take a sample of the debris so again DO NOT CLEAN THEIR EARS UNTIL THE VET LOOKS AT THEM!!

Answer 2

I recently bought a dog and she had ear mites. I noticed that she was scratching her ears ALOT and she would whine while she was scratching. One of her ears was dirty but the other was black! When I took her to the vet he put a q-tip in her ear and there was so much black stuff that it was sad. He told me that's how you can tell if they have ear mites. You should probably call your vet and have the dog checked out. IF she does have ear mites make sure that you use the medicine for the full time the vet says or they can come back!

Answer 3

ok, an excellent sort of animals get ear mites there's no reason to no longer permit the vet see the ears. Plus any medicine you get from the vet is plenty greater efficient than something you may purchase OTC normally cats won't have copious quantities of ear wax,. If the ears are full of what appears like ear wax that's probable ear mites.

Answer 4

Ok, tons of animals get ear mites there is no motive to not let the vet see the ears. Plus any medicine you get from the vet is a lot better than anything you would buy OTC typically cats is not going to have copious quantities of ear wax,. If the ears are stuffed with what appears like ear wax it is commonly ear mites.

Answer 5

Ear mites are TINY bugs...you might be able to see them move on a q-tip after you clean her ears. WHEN YOU USE A Q-TIP YOU DO OUTER PART OF THE EAR (WHERE YOU CAN SEE) YOU DON'T PUT IT IN THE CANAL. I would call the vet. usually if they smell it is an infection. I would call the vet. either way she will need meds.

The insect killer will be ok AFTER 24 TO 28 HOURS. DO NOT LET HER OUT BEFORE THAT TIME. It will be fine having been done last summer.


GOOD LUCK!!!!

Answer 6

Ear mites usually come when you dont clean the ears. You can usually tell if you can not see inside the ear, that the buildup is so bad that all you see is black stuff. Its not necessarily odorous--just really dirty looking. And your dog would be scratching and digging its ears.

Your vet can do a better exam by looking down into the ear. But I think your pup is okay.

Answer 7

If the dog by chance has been around other dogs she might have ear mites.The mites are so microscopic that you can not see them with a naked eye I'd take her to the DOC just to make sure.