How can i tell if my dog has an ear infection or ear mites?

Answer 1

You can get an indication of ear infection by smell (right up at the ear) plus the ear will look sore. Mites can only be diagnosed via slide/magnification but there will be a lot of black deep within the ear. If ear infection is indicated, a vet is needed to actually vindicate your guess and to properly treat it as antibiotics will likely need to be prescribed. Ear mites can be treated with over the counter medication but the prescription stuff will be more effective and quicker (they are "contagious" to other dogs in your house so time is important)

Answer 2

Has your dog been scratching at its ears lately?
Smell its ears. If they smell sour or odd, it is probably an ear infection.

Take her to the vet and have it checked out.
They can tell you if it's an ear infection or mites or just dirt. They can also flush her ears for about $20.

It's not a bad idea to smell your dogs ears often, so that you have some idea of their normal smell. Also, if you find out it is mites, you can treat those at home with a miticide.

Also, if your dog become prone to ear infections. It is very important to keep your dog's ears clean and dry. Every time you give her a bath, make sure to put cotton balls in her ears. And after swimming use a drying powder. You can also use an ear cleaner about once a week - be sure to use a drying powder afterwards.

Answer 3

Mites usually cause your dog to scratch at his ears and shake his head. I read on an on-line vet sight to gently wipe a q-tip in the dogs ear and smear the gunk on a piece of paper and look closely, he said you should be able to see mites wiggling out across the paper after a little while, searching for a new home, if it is mites. Mites and the scratching and all can cause bleeding, scabs & infection, depending how long it takes you to figure out he has mites and how much scratching at his ear he has done. So, you might also have to treat for infection or you have only cured 1/2 the problem.

The Lab we adopted had reoccurring stink ear, and I do mean STINK and black funky gunk. he would also scratch and shack and hold his head ****** to the side and his ears would get scabbed up and kinda puffy swollen from the damage he was doing scratching at them all the time. We treated for mites and infection and it never quite seemed to go away and always came back full force. It wasn't mites. We checked his previous owners vet records and they had been taking him in repeatedly most of his 18 months trying to cure this stuff. (We suspect it is why they gave him away) After much research on the web we figured out that he had scaring and swelling deep in the ear canal that we were not reaching or curing the problem with mite medication, antibiotics or cortisone. The best thing we found is a solution of acetic and boric acid in surfactants. It works as a cleansing and drying solution, MalAcetic Otic. There may have been other kinds but the key was suppose to be the combination of the 2 acids. I tell you we cleaned and treated and battled the black, gross stink ear for months and this stuff cured it right up, I was amazed! Because of the tiny canal we did have to pull his ear up and out a little and open the canal as we squirted the stuff in, then held him and rubbed his ear real good to make sure it was worked in before jumping back to avoid the splash back from his shacking head LOL. At first we would clean the ear opening out, just like they say to by wiping with a cloth but really, it didn't seem to make a difference, just as long as we got the solution worked down into his ear where you could hear it squishing when you were rubbing. Seriously, I am not advocating any particular brand or product, just sharing our experience. Of course, Labs being Labs they like to swim and when he gets water into that tiny scared ear canal the stink ear quickly returns so now we just prevent it all together by giving him a squirt in both ears every time he swims

Answer 4

You'll have to bring your dog to a vet and they'll take a sample and look at it under a microscope. Then they can identify it to see if they are ear mites or some other kind of infection, like yeast. They'll usually give you drops or an ear wash. If your dog is prone to ear infections, it can be because of food allergies, environmental allergies, or if the ear is long and pendulous (lots of hunting breeds have issues with this).

Answer 5

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RE:
How can i tell if my dog has an ear infection or ear mites?

Answer 6

You can't..only your vet can tell the difference..also be aware that dogs don't commonly get ear mites...so it is more likely you are dealing with an ear infection that must be diagnosed and treated by your dogs vet.

Answer 7

Possibly, if your dog constantly shakes its head, scratches at its ears, or rubs them against the floor or furniture. Sometimes, ear infections do make the ears smell funny too.

Of course, it is best to take your dog to the vet and have it checked out so that if it does have any sort of ailment, it can be treated and be happy :)

Answer 8

If your dog has ear mites he will be itching almost constantly also if he alous you to get close t his ears you can swab it or even just visual checke you will see alot of little black specks this it mite poop atthis point take him to the vet and he will give you a tube of paste to get rid of the mites.

Answer 9

Typically there is an odor, the ears are very itchy and there will be black goop inside the ear canal. Your vet can tell you for sure by swabbing the inside of his ears and looking under a microscope. Treatment is quick if done diligently.

Answer 10

OMG! I just went through this with my dog.. it was so nasty... He SMELLED funny I thought it was his fur or skin so i kept giving him baths.. was NOT the prob.. took him to the vet and was a sever infection in his ear.. was green and gross.. you will see mites.. they are black and clumped together.. you can get stuff at wal-mart for that.. you need to put it in and work it down then use cotton balls to clear it all out...