My dog's ears have black crust that bleeds when I pick it. What is it?

If Ivory spends a lot of time outdoors many times the tips of ears can be affected by fly bites. If that is the case you can use topical fly spray or ointment on her ears to repel the flies. If not flies sometimes ear tips may get crusty from an abnormality in blood flow to the edge of the ears. I would recomend a vet visit to have it assessed if it doesn't seem to be fly bites.

This is likely to be caused by an ear infection due to proliferation of Malassezia spp (an yeast infection basically). I would recommend an immediate check up to confirm this clinical suspicion and treat accordingly. Antibiotics ear drops will be required. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

The most common reason that we see black crusting like that is when there is a small wound or mass that is bleeding a little and the blood is black when it dries. If it is a mass and was very small before and larger now, then it may need to be surgically removed. Since it has been there for a while, it would not be considered an emergency and the emergency clinic would likely recommend you have your regular vet evaluate it. However, if it is actively bleeding and you can't get it to stop, then it is certainly worth a trip to the emergency clinic. So, unless it is actively bleeding or bothering Zoey, I would contact your vet next week to have them examine it and decide on a treatment plan. We see a number of benign masses in young dogs and some require surgery to remove while some will resolve on their own. Here is a link with more information on one of the benign masses that we can see in young dogs. https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=1676 Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.

Poor Coco! I would have her seen by a vet, as that ear looks bad and possibly infected. I think it needs veterinary treatment to heal correctly. I'd make an appointment for her in the morning. After her eat is treated by a vet, there are a few things you can try to help keep the flies off her ears. You can use some petroleum jelly on the outside of the ear (do not get any down the ear canal) to keep them from biting. You can use a spray with the active botanical ingredient Pyrethrum, you may find one at a pet store. Keep your yard cleaned, pick up all the dog feces daily, make sure her food and water bowls are kept clean, and don't let your garbage overflow to cut down on the number of flies in your yard. Best of luck, I hope this helps!

It's probably due to an ear infection, Ear infections are very common in dogs, it is usually cause by either yeast or bacterial disease. the treatment is usually simple and straight forward, you will have to take Jeter to the vet and get the ears checked, then a prescription ear drops will be prescribed according to the infectious agent.

From the photo it looks like an injury to the ear tip. These often bleed and the scab would make it look black and crusty. It should heal fine without treatment other than what your are doing by applying the antibiotic ointment. It’s best not to rub the area since leaving the scab on will protect the injured area as it’s healing. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Pua.

That sounds most like an old dried blood clot. He could have had a small nick that bled, or a current ear infection, or even an ear polyp (which are pretty common in cats, although usually younger ones than Mr. President). I'd recommend a vet visit to get that checked out.