My dog's ear is draining and painful. Does he need to see a vet?

Ouch! Looks like your boys may be dealing with ear infections or ear mites. Ear infections can be caused by bacterial, parasitic or fungal infection, or a combination of these, and can be associated with dietary or environmental allergies or sensitivities, immune system disorders, or a combination of the above. Please make an appointment to have your dogs seen by a vet to have an ear swab done. Your vet can look at the sample under the microscope and treat appropriately based on what is found. Your vet will also need to examine the ears with a scope to see if the ear drums are intact, as some medications cannot be used safely if the eardrum is ruptured. Ear infections can be very painful, and can sometimes progress to include the middle or inner ear, where they can cause neurologic signs or permanent hearing loss. Please do not apply anything into the ears without checking with your vet, as some substances can cause ear damage. Please book an appointment to have both your pups seen as soon as possible to help get them feeling better. Good luck!

Hi and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I would take Sebastian in to your veterinarian to perform an ear cytology. This is a diagnostic test where they look at the debris in his ear under the microscope. This will help your veterinarian determine if Sebastian has an ear infection and what is causing it (yeast, bacteria, mites or any combination or all of the above). There are multiple treatments for ear infections depending on what the underlying cause is. Your vet will help determine the best treatment for him! I would take him to the vet sooner rather than later as ear infections can be uncomfortable! Good luck!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Unfortunately the picture you provided is quite blurry and it is difficult to see the inside of the ear. For a definitive diagnosis, I would recommend having a veterinarian examine Coco so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. The veterinarian can examine the ear using an otoscope and obtain any waxy debris for analysis if needed in order to help determine what treatment is best for Coco. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

It looks like your kid has a pretty severe ear infection there. The redness is inflammation and the gray area is thickening of the external ear canal from chronic inflammation. What would be best would be for your pup to be seen by your family vet for an ear exam and cytology. In order to treat this appropriately your vet will need to know if there are bacteria (and what type) or yeast or both in the ear canals and if the eardrum is intact. An anti inflammatory may also be needed because of the thickening. If ear infections are a chronic problem for your pup underlying allergy may also need to be explored. I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Poor Cheech. I would recommend a vet visit ASAP. Ear infections can be very painful. The vet may perform a cytology or culture to determine what type of organism is causing the infection. Then medication for pain and to treat the infection can be prescribed. I hope she’s feeling better soon. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hi there and thank you for using pet coach to address your concern. From the pictures and your description, this certainly looks to be an ear infection. I would contact your veterinarian and schedule an appointment to have Harley examined. Your vet should perform an ear cytology to figure out what organisms are causing this problem. It may be bacteria or fungus or both causing this. Your veterinarian will be able to prescribe the most appropriate treatments once diagnosed. Most of the time an ear infection can be cleared up by using an ear flush and ear ointment inside the ear. Sometimes with bad enough infections and oral antibiotic, antifungal and anti-inflammatory need to be used. Again, your vet will know what's best for this particular problem. Before using any ear medications that you find over-the-counter, I would strongly suggest having a vet look in ear to ensure that your drum is intact because using medications in an ear with a ruptured eardrum may cause hearing loss or neurological abnormalities. I hope this helps! Please feel free to contact me with any other questions or concerns that you may have. I am also available via text or phone consultation if needed.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Sheriff. I recommend that he sees a veterinarian as I worry that he has an ear infection. His veterinarian will examine each ear canal with an instrument known as as an otoscope. A sample will be taken from each ear and evaluated under the microscope. This will confirm an infection and determine the best medication for him. In the meantime, you can clean both ears with an ear cleaner for dogs. I hope this information helps!