My floppy-eared puppy has itchy ears and brown residue. How to clean?

I recommend purchasing a dog ear cleaner at your pet store and cleaning the discharge from his ears. Put some cleaner on a cotton ball and massage the fluid into the ear canal. Rub it around to loosen the debris and then wipe it out. Take a dry cotton ball to remove any cleaner left in the ear. I clean ears daily to start, then as the discharge decreases then clean only when needed. If Maxo has ear mites or a severe yeast or bacterial ear infection this will help but specific prescription medication will be more effective. When you can take him in to your veterinarian for an ear exam. They will look at the ear discharge under the microscope to determine the cause of the problem. Then they can give him the right medication. Ear medication often contains a drug to stop the itching as well as something to cure the cause of the infection and that would be more effective than just cleaning his ears. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Maxo.

Hi, thanks for using PetCoach! I would recommend having your vet look in to the ear canals with an otoscope. Sometimes there is discharge deeper in the ear canal that can not be seen from the outside. If that is the case the Vet can use a Q-tip safely to remove some of the wax and look under the microscope to see if it is a yeast or bacterial infection. Some dogs will shake and scratch with even mild overgrowth of bacteria or yeast. Otherwise she may just be itchy due to allergies and you can try an antihistamine. See the links below. I wish you the best! https://www.petcoach.co/canigive/dog/claritin/ https://www.petcoach.co/canigive/dog/zyrtec/

They appear swollen and rough on the ear margins. Those are signs of an infection. You will need a prescription from the vet for medication to completely treat it. Until then the best thing is actually use an ear wash to keep it clean. I would not use Q tips anymore. But if you can get an ear cleaner from a pet store, just rinsing them daily will help dilute out the bacteria/yeast causing the problem and soften the edges to help. This will also help loosen up whatever is inside so every time he shakes, it will wash more debris out. It is best to wipe it with a clean tissue or cotton ball.

Hi. Your pet most likely has an ear infection or ear mites. You can purchase ear cleaner from pet stores and clean with a cotton ball soaked with the cleaner. But an ear cleaner alone would cure an infection or ear mites.

This sounds quite uncomfortable for Maybelline! Oftentimes a buildup of dark brown debris occurs with ear infections from bacteria and/or yeast. Ear cleaners can help get rid of the bigger pieces of debris, but only prescription based medications will treat the actual infection. Maybelline should see her vet so that her ears can be examined and have a cytology performed to determine the infectious agents causing her infection. From there, your vet will be able to prescribe the most appropriate medication for her.

If the q-tip comes out black, then there is an excess of ear wax and likely an infection. The infection can be caused by bacteria, yeast, or even mites. Ear infections in dogs are very itchy, and often require prescription medications to help clear them quickly and manage the itch. The first step in treating an ear infection is breaking down the large chunks of wax and getting them out of the way so that medications can get to the surface of the ear. I like ear cleaners like Dechra Malacetic Ultra Otic that are antibacterial and antifungal. If you clean Remington's ears twice a day for a couple of days and he is still itching, he will need to go to the vet for prescription medications.

It sounds like Blaze is pretty uncomfortable. I think it is fine to use a cotton ball and apple cider vinegar to clean the debris, but I would recommend scheduling an appointment with a veterinarian soon. Ear infections don’t tend to resolve on their own. In fact, they can be kind of frustrating to resolve sometimes. The longer the infection has been going on the harder to clear it up. Good luck and I hope he improves soon.