My dog's ear has blood and dark discharge after cleaning. Why?

Poor Pookie! It sounds like she has a pretty serious ear infection. Most of the time these are accused by bacteria and/or fungus and mites can occasionally be to be blame as well. These conditions can be very uncomfortable and require veterinary care. Your vet can clean the ears out very well and prescribe oral and topical antibiotics and possibly steroids if needed to relieve some of the pain and itching. In the meantime, you can clean Pookie’s ears with an ear cleaner available in pet stores. This is unlikely to cure the condition, but can help get her some relief. An E-collar or “cone” can also help prevent further trauma. I hope this helps and am happy to answer any other questions you may have!

Hi there. Unfortunately, these photos are very blurry, so I can't really see much. But, if he is scratching his ear until it bleeds, it's likely that he has an ear infection - this is a common problem in dogs. He will need prescription ear meds from your veterinarian to treat the infection, so I would recommend taking him in tomorrow for an exam. In the meantime, you can try cleaning his ears with an over-the-counter ear flush labeled for dogs such as Mal-Acetic or Epi-Otic. This will not treat the underlying infection, but may help to make him a bit more comfortable until you are able to see the vet.

These signs could be compatible with an otitis (inflammatory or infective most of the times). Often otitis can have an underlying allergic predisposing disease. A check up should be ideally seek to confirm this clinical suspicion and have it treated appropriately. Antibiotics and anti-antiinflammatory ear drops are probably needed. 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.

If Booker's ear seems bothersome or has discharge coming from it, having your vet take another look is a good idea. Taking pictures of the ear before cleaning it, or bringing in a sample of the debris you find in the ear can help your vet determine if any additional treatment is needed.

This presentation could be due to an ear infections. Three sections of the ear can be infected, the external portion (otitis externa), the middle portion (otitis media) and the inner portion (otitis interna). Otitis externa is the most common ear infection in dogs. In this case it seems an external ear infection but an otoscopic examination will determine the exactly the extension of it. A clinical examination at your local veterinarian is essential to confirm these clinical suspicions and treat appropriately. Antibiotics may be needed.

Poor Roadie! Dark-colored waxy debris and redness in the ear canal are both common signs of an ear infection. Roadie will need prescription ear meds from your veterinarian to treat this, so I would recommend taking him in today for an exam. In the meantime, if using the cleaning solution seems to make the ear more irritated, I would just leave it alone until you're able to see the vet.

Ouch, poor Remington! You are correct - most ear infections in dogs stem from underlying allergies. Allergy issues in dogs mostly cause skin problems and ears are skin, after all. The allergies could be associated with environmental issues (atopy), food allergies or flea allergies. I can certainly see the discharge and swelling in Remington's ear. Her excessive scratching obviously indicates that she's quite uncomfortable. Allergy issues cause dogs to itch, which damages the skin barrier and then leads to ear infections from an overgrowth of yeast and/or bacteria in the ear canal. There are no effective over the counter treatments for ear infections. At this point, I recommend taking Remington to her vet for an exam and ear cytology. Your vet will be able to look at her ear discharge under a microscope to determine the type of infection present, and will then prescribe an appropriate medication based on those results. Until you get to the vet, consider putting an e-collar (cone) on Remington to prevent her from causing further damage to hear ears. I hope this helps and that she's feeling better soon!