Ear infections in dogs: causes and treatment

Key Takeaways

• **What is an ear infection in dogs? **Ear infections can affect the outer, middle or inner ear, cause pain and are dangerous if left untreated.

• **Common causes: **Allergies, bacteria, fungi, mites, injuries, underlying illnesses or frequent swimming all contribute to ear infections.

• **Recognize symptoms: **Head shaking, scratching of the ear, redness, swelling and pain reactions indicate inflammation.

• **Treatment: **Antibiotics, natural remedies and root cause control under veterinary supervision.

• **Prevention: **Regular ear care, checking for inflammation and avoiding allergens and moisture in the ear.

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What is an ear infection?

Ear infections are common in dogs. It can be very painful for your pet. Besides, it can become very dangerous if not treated in time.

Inflammations can occur in different areas of the ear and show themselves in different manifestations. As a rule, there is not only one cause for their occurrence. There are usually several factors at play here.

If your four-legged friend holds his head crooked, scratches his ear frequently or the inside of the ear is reddened, you should observe him more closely. This can be a sign of an ear infection in the early stages.

If you respond quickly and take the right measures, you can save your charge a lot of pain and unpleasant complications.

The ear of your furry nose consists of the outer ear, the eardrum, the middle ear and the inner ear. **Inflammations mostly affect the outer ear or the middle ear. In severe cases, the inner ear may also be inflamed.

A dog's ear has an ear canal that is between 5 and 10 cm long, depending on the breed. This makes it much longer than that of humans. The canal first goes down almost vertically, then continues in an L-shape horizontally to the eardrum.

Behind it are the middle ear and the inner ear, and the organ of balance is also located here. The ear canal is enclosed by cartilage. On the cartilaginous skin sit many glands that are responsible for the production of earwax.

In some quadrupeds, hair also grows inside the auricle. This can increase the susceptibility to inflammation.

Several factors usually play a role in inflammation of the ear.

Bacteria can spread in the ear canal due to allergies, injuries, another underlying disease or fungal infections. There they then cause an inflammation.

If your pet has an ear infection, it will be very painful and uncomfortable for him, especially if it is also accompanied by itching.

Some furbearers are more often affected by inflammation in the ear. These are mainly dogs with floppy ears, who go in the water a lot or who have allergies.

The deeper the inflammation in the ear progresses, the more dangerous it can become.

The inner ear is very close to the brain and the facial nerve. There is a risk of bacteria penetrating these areas. This condition can be life-threatening for your faithful companion. Among other things, he may suffer from meningitis as a result.

Even if it is "only" an inflammation of the outer ear or middle ear, the level of suffering is very high. There is also a risk of permanent damage such as eardrum injuries, hearing loss and damage to the vestibular system.

For the ear infection in your dog, there are usually several causes that favor the development of inflammation in the first place.

Inflammation in the ear, like all other inflammations, is caused by bacteria. But usually other certain conditions are necessary for bacteria or fungi to settle and expand.

Allergies are a common cause of ear infections in dogs. The reason for this is that dogs detoxify through their ears. Whenever the detoxification organs such as the kidneys and liver are weakened and an allergic reaction or intolerance persists, this can occur via the ears.

Thus, chronic ear infections often go hand in hand with kidney or liver weakness, diseases of the digestive system or metabolic disorders. The organism is then simply weakened overall.

Triggers for an allergy can be ingredients of the food, house dust, pollen or other allergens that are not always easy to identify.

Certain systemic diseases and autoimmune diseases can also be accompanied by ear inflammation. The weakening of the organism then makes itself felt through the chronic inflammation of the ear.

In addition to the occurrence of bacteria, many ear infections are also colonized by mites or yeasts. In this case, the infestation and the inflammation are mutually dependent.

To make matters worse for the dog, the mites or yeast often cause annoying and painful itching. Scratching can also cause small wounds in your pet's ears, which can exacerbate the inflammation.

It is also possible for mites and yeast to spread to other parts of the body, such as the paws and muzzle, causing uncomfortable itching.

A less common cause of an ear infection can also be a bite injury. If your pet has been bitten in the ear, the wound on or in the ear can become infected.

If ear infections occur more frequently, the shape of the ear also plays a role:

Take a look at the shape of your pet's ears. Four-legged friends with floppy ears, which also have a lot of hair growing inside the ear, are naturally much more susceptible to ear infections. The ears simply aren't ventilated as well as those with erect ears, so bacteria, fungi and mites have an easier time there.

Especially breeds with a lot of hair on and in their ears run the risk of pollen sticking to the hair and penetrating the ear when walking in the meadow. They can then become embedded in the skin and possibly cause inflammation.

If your pet often goes swimming, the ingress of water into the ear can also lead to inflammation.

Ear infections in dogs are relatively easy for you to recognize as an attentive dog owner.

The pain that occurs will usually draw your dog's attention. Regardless of the cause of the inflammation, the following main symptoms can be seen:

• Keeping the head crooked
• Frequent head shaking
• Frequent scratching of the ear
• Redness or swelling in the inner area of the auricle
• Sensitive reaction to touching the ear such as sounds of pain, aggressive behavior

The symptoms also depend on which part of the ear is inflamed in your protégé. In addition, the causes and accompanying circumstances of the inflammation also play a role.

If the outside of the ear or pinna is affected, you can recognize this by the reddened and possibly swollen cartilage inside.

The more the ear canal and the middle or inner ear are affected, the greater the suffering for your furry nose.

A middle ear infection can threaten the eardrum and is often accompanied by fever and very severe pain.

It becomes very critical when the inner ear is affected. The inflammation can then spread to the facial nerve or even the brain. Half-sided facial paralysis can occur. The eye on the affected side sometimes waters and is swollen.

If the brain is affected by the ear infection, this can lead to changes in character and aggression.

Mites and yeasts are also part of the symptoms of ear infections.

You can recognize mites by brown, crumbly secretions from your four-legged friend's ear. In the case of yeasts, malasseziae are the most common. Although they are part of the natural environment in the dog's ear, they can cause problems in conjunction with inflammation and if they occur in large numbers.

You can recognize infections with yeast fungi in the ear by a brown, waxy and bad-smelling secretion.

The symptoms your dog exhibits can help in making a diagnosis. If your pet has the symptoms described above, it is most likely an ear infection.

You can get an exact diagnosis of the cause of the ear infection from your vet. They can take a swab from the ear and carry out a laboratory test to determine which bacteria and yeasts are at work.

Treatment depends on the causes of the inflammation. Most often it is a complex of various factors.

The first thing to do is to contain the inflammation. This can be done by administering local or systemic antibiotics. Either by applying antibiotic ointment directly into the ear or through treatment with tablets.

However, the spread of bacteria can also be prevented with natural remedies such as tea tree oil ointment or coconut oil. These preparations are then applied directly to the ear.

Please do not use natural remedies without first consulting your veterinarian or a veterinary practitioner. Most of the remedies are essential oils, which can have an unpleasant effect on your pet.

If an allergy is the reason for recurring ear infections, it is advisable to find out the trigger in your dog and eliminate it. In this case, it is also important to strengthen the functions of the liver and kidneys by administering appropriate preparations.

Of course, if there is an underlying disease or auto immune disease, it must be addressed in addition to the treatment of the ear infection.

Likewise, it is important to do something about mites and yeast fungi.

For this purpose, your veterinarian can administer appropriate preparations. However, you must be careful to administer them long enough so that the reproduction cycle is interrupted. Therefore, it is advisable to follow the prescription of your veterinarian exactly and not to stop the treatment prematurely after some signs of healing.

Ear infections are painful for your dog, very unpleasant and the treatment is often costly and lengthy. To ensure that your pelt nose is spared from them in the long term, you should take preventive measures. A few simple measures are sufficient, but you should carry them out regularly.

The care and cleaning of the ears belongs here in the first place. Look once a week in the ears of your favorite, and check them for inflammation, fungus or mite infestation.

You can also massage some coconut oil or tea tree oil ointment directly into the inside of the auricle as a preventative measure. This not only helps to prevent bacterial infections, but is also a pleasant massage that stimulates blood circulation and energy in the ear. Massaging the ears has a particularly relaxing effect on your faithful companion.

Does your pet like to swim? During and even after an ear infection, you should not let him go in the water. If water gets into the ear, this can make the inflammation worse or have a negative effect on the success of the treatment.

Make sure that no water gets into the ears when you wash your dog. To do this, hold your hand to his ear as a shield.

Moisture in the ear favors the climate that bacteria & co. need to thrive.

If your pet suffers from allergies and intolerances, you must take care to keep their food and environment free from allergens.

This may require a permanent change of food or variety in the diet. You can possibly consider BARF feeding, or try different types of food.

Always make sure the food is of high quality. It is also advisable to include well-tolerated vegetables, herbs and high-quality oils in his diet. This will strengthen his entire body and immune system in the long term.

If it does not help, the veterinarian is still always the first choice and can not replace any guide on the net.

An ear infection that is untreated or improperly treated can have very serious consequences for your dog. Your pet may suffer from hearing loss, meningitis or facial paralysis, among other things.