my dog has a horiiable ear infection and i need to know some antibiotics that i can buy at a local pet store?

Question

My dog has had an ear infection for quite some time, I dont have pet insurance and at the moment not alot of money to take him to the vet, I’m very concerned about my dogs ear. They are very red and very swollen and each ear feels thick and heavy.
He makes noises when he constantly scratches his ears.
There is very dark earwax and a stinky odor coming from both ears.
His ears now have scabs on them and small open wounds because he scratches too much.
I’m now to the point of using gloves and pain reliving Neosporin all over his ear inside and out. Its got to at least if anything feel better. I have purchased from a pet store ear might drops that are not helping at all. I am looking for antibiotics that I can buy at a local pet store. A little bit about my dog Toby he’s a mix of Boston terrier, British pit bull, lab mix type animal and he has floppy ears VERY CUTE BOY!!!!
I need some major advice on what I can do and\or buy for my boy.
Any advice besides advice on taking him to the vet.

Answer 1

you are not going to get any other advice other than taking him to a vet. antibiotics are prescribed by the vet. he needs to be seen by a vet so he can properly diagnose what the problem may be.

GET HIM TO A VET ASAP!!!

Answer 2

yep, sure sounds like he's had it for a VERY loooonnnnnggg time....do you know if you let it go long enough he could end up deaf, tear up one of the scabs and bleed profusely, and who knows what else....assuming you have a vet that considers you to be a customer, not a first time visitor, they should be willing to make some sort of payment arrangements. You can't buy antibiotics over the counter for dogs or people, and in any event, it may be something like a yeast infection that would not be cured by antibiotics. Office visit should be somewhere between 35 and 50 depending on where you live, ear cleaning maybe $15, and meds another 15 - 20 bucks- in all probably not more than $100, and they can show you how to properly clean and check the dogs ears to prevent future problems.

Answer 3

Sounds like mites and there is no over the counter meds that could possibly work on a horrible infection like this one. Did you not notice this before now? If you would have taken care of it before it got that bad then yes, you could get an ear mite med- BUT you didn't and you can not buy antibiotics from a local store, they must be prescribed by a vet. So there's no way to get around the fact that the dog must see a vet for treatment. If treatment is not given the dog could potentially loose its hearing!

Answer 4

You HAVE to take your cutie to the vet - this infection sounds terrible and is probably going to need strong oral anti-biotics. If you don't treat it, it might very soon require draining, or surgery, or placement of tubes in his ears. (We had a dog that had tubes . . .very costly!)

You need to manage the problem for the health and comfort of the dog as well as to manage your vet costs. The vet will be able to help him. Plus, this could be a very advanced ear infection or worse- buying pet store stuff won't help your cutie and will only waste your money. It would be like if you had strep throat and you tried to cure it by buying lozengers from the drug store . . .no relief and no cure.

Is there a local animal shelter nearby? They might either offer low-cost vet care, or be able to point you to a low-cost vet clinic. If they can't, maybe you should call up your local pet store and ask if they know of any low cost vets. I know the pet stores do low-cost vaccination clinics, and I think animal shelters do too. Maybe they also offer other services. Otherwise, take the dog to the vet, charge it, and pay it off as best you can. There's really no other option, sorry to say.

Dogs with floppy ears . . .they are prone to ear infections. My dog gets them a lot - there was this ear wash the vet gave me to use once a week to help clean out her ears - for 17 dollars or something, and she hasn't had an ear infection since. But she did get them prior and they weren't that bad but she needed oral meds.

Answer 5

You wrote "Any advice besides advice on taking him to the vet." The Vet is what he needs before this gets worse than the picture you have already described (Scabs, open wounds, odor). Call some area Vets and explain the situation. Maybe one of them will work out a payment plan with you. Call your local animal shelter. They may be able to give you the name of a Vet that would be willing to help. Call the ASPCA. They may be able to help get care for him. If this has been going on for quite some time (as you wrote), it's time to realize that although you may have been doing everything you know to do, it's not been enough.

Answer 6

You can NOT self medicate!!!! You have absolutely NO idea what type of infection this dog has and self medicating can cause some very, very serious harm.It most likely is NOT mites since dogs do NOT commonly get ear mites and by using the OTC mite meds you could very well be making things much worse and all that more difficult to treat.

A proper diagnosis needs to be made by a vet and proper treatment and meds need to be given.
Be responsible and get your dog to a vet!!

Answer 7

I found zymox on the internet for $8.99. I forgot where the link was so look at different pet supply stores. It worked on my dog. The vet got 35 dollars out of me for it. When he told me to continue for a little while I found it on the net. Make sure you get the one with the cortisone. The following is what showed me how good it was. You don't need the vet to get it but it might be a good idea to have the vet check your dog out. Zymox usually costs under $20 a bottle
It comes either with or without hydrocortisone. I usually recommend using it with hydrocortisone since this helps with the reddness and itch so common in ear infections
I tried it in my own ear infection: it was great. No irritation. Good results overnight.
I obviously like this product. If your pet has had chronic ear infections and you haven't had great success with previous treatments, ask your vet for a trial of Zymox. If he or she doesn't know about it yet just let them know they can get it easily from most veterinary distributors and they will probably be pleasantly surprised.
Good luck.

Answer 8

Ear infections need a vet's appointment because you will need a Rx. My 3-year old Lab was found to have yeast in her ear yesterday and they vet put her on Panalog, which was only $17 from the vet.

Remember that any infection can get into the blood stream (systemic infection) and lead to worse illnesses and possibly death. You should never let any infection go without seeking a vet's expertise.

Answer 9

Sorry, you can't buy antibiotics without a prescription. My first thought was yeast infection then other people said mites. I'm sure it's driving him crazy, that's why the poor thing is scratching and has scabs. You love your dog, that's obvious, take him to the vet to get a proper diagnosis and treatment. Good luck.

Answer 10

No way to deal with this except see the vet. This is only going to get worse without proper treatment. No OTC medication will do the job in this case. Sorry. A vet visit is necessary. Stop with the neosporin ointment. It keeps it moist and that's not good.
Your dog is suffering and deserves to have medical care. You sound like you love Toby. He's a good dog and needs good care.

Answer 11

My dog has the same name with yours, Toby. He's a 12 year old shihtzu and he used to have that same horrible ear problem when he's a puppy. It's common problem for dogs with floppy ears. I'd tried many prescription meds from my vet, but couldn't cure the infection.
Maybe you can try this: bring him to the vet or dog salon to have the ears cleaned,and given antibiotics for the open wound. It's better to have professionals do this, they can clean thoroughly. Then at home you can give him 8in1 Ear Mite Remedy. You can find it in your local pet store. Not expensive, easy to apply and effective you wouldn't believe before you tried. Put a collar to prevent him scratching the open wound.