The struggle with your dogs chronic ear infections is real! I feel your pain, your dogs pain! There were times I felt our dog Ginger always had an ear infection. As soon as it looks like the ear infection is gone, it comes back. The constant scratching and head shakes drive us crazy! You know, the sound of dog tags clanking in the middle of the night while you try to sleep?
But here is the truth…
Many dogs that have chronic ear infections have an underlying health condition. It’s important to consider ALL symptoms that your dog is displaying to figure out WHY she has an ear infection.
In our case, Ginger had a bacterial ear infection, which I believe was caused by food allergies. And once I was able to control her allergies, the ear infections are much less frequent.
Our other dog, JJ battled with chronic ear infections as he aged and his health was deteriorating. Looking back it was definitely a sign of bigger things. We just weren’t aware of his other health issues until months later.
Dog Ear Infection Symptoms
- Head shaking
- Redness of the ear
- Dark waxy discharge, looking like brown gunk
- Smelly ears
- Hot ears
- Tilting of head
- Pawing at the ears
- Swelling
Determining the Cause of the Ear Infection in Your Dog
There are many causes for dog ear infections. Here are some to consider:
- Allergies
- Bacteria
- Drug reactions
- Ear Mites
- Diseases such as Autoimmune, Meningitis or Encephalitis
- Disorders such as Thyroid or Endocrine
- Excessive cleaning
- Flees
- Injury
- Moisture, leading to bacteria and/or yeast
- Viruses
- Wax buildup
- Worms
- Yeast
Allergies?
Does your dog scratch in other areas of his body, other than his ears? Is his belly bright red, does he have hair loss or any other symptoms that may be allergy related? If so, you need to control the allergies at the same time you treat the ear infection.
If you think your dog has allergies, then read The Ultimate Guide to Home Remedies for Dog Allergies
Ear Mites, Flees or Worms?
Did you recently adopt your dog from a shelter or other rescue that he was in contact with other dogs? He may have ear mites, fleas or worms.
If you are unsure, I recommend taking your dog to the vet for a health checkup. Talk to your vet to see what they think the cause of your dogs chronic ear infections could be. It may take some tests, or your vet may just smell your dog’s ears and know he has a yeast infection.
Most Common Types of Ear Infections in Your Dog
- Yeast Ear Infection.If your dog’s ears are yeasty-smelling with a dark brown gunk discharge, he has a yeast infection.
- Bacterial Ear Infection.You will see a bad-smelling yellow or greenish discharge in your dog’s ear.
- Ear Mites are usually contracted from environments with poor hygiene and stress, such as animal shelters. They are highly contagious from pet to pet, but not to humans. You will notice a Black or brown waxy chunky gunk discharge in your dog’s ears. Again, you will notice a strong odor and inflammation of the ear.
Dog Chronic Ear Infection Home Remedies
If you’ve been to the vet already and determined the cause of your dogs chronic ear infections, you may be confident in treating it on your own. No matter what type of ear infection your dog has, I recommend you try Eco Ears, as a home remedy.
Order Eco Ears today and start helping your dog tomorrow!
Eco Ears is hands down the best dog ear cleaner I have ever used for my dogs! And believe me, we’ve tried so many.
If you’d like to read more about treating chronic dog ear infections, head over to The Secret to Getting Rid of Ear Infections in Your Dog at Home.
Now that we have controlled Gingers allergies with her diet her ear infections are much less frequent. We still use Eco Ears to clean her ears periodically to keep any infections at bay.
It is important to clean your dog’s ears on a regular basis even if he doesn’t have an ear infection. If your dog has large floppy ears that cover the opening he is more prone to infections, so check his ears often.
And if your dog swims, gets water in his ears and has had ear infections before, try drying his ears after he goes swimming. Eco Ears by Vet Organics is that it is all-natural and can be used whenever needed, without harming your dog’s ears.
Now it’s your turn… does your dog suffer from chronic ear infections? How have you dealt with it so far? What works for you and what doesn’t? Please leave a comment below and so others in our community can get help figuring out what may work for their dog.
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Our dog is a collie. His ears have infection in them. I took him to the vet and he treated the right ear. Now he has an infection in his left ear to. The soft velvety part of his under ear is seriously flaky. I was told to put a little triple salve on them. So far he isn't getting any better though the right ear doesn't seem as bad as it was. What do you think. The vet gave me a bottle of ear cleaner, but every other day seems like a lot of liquid being put in his ears. He shakes his head a lot. After I clean them it seems to have helped but in 2 days it will be back to square 1.
You need to continue using the cleaner longer than a day or two. Your vet should have recommended 7 days or something… we use Eco Ears every day for 7 days at the first sight of a flair up.