My dog's ear has fluid and is raw. Is it an infection? Vet or OTC?

If she will allow, use an ear cleaner, such as Epi-Otic, to clean the ear(s). Place an e-collar (cone) on her to prevent pawing or rubbing until she sees the doctor. Other medications, even OTC ones, cannot be legally recommended without a physical exam. They may also be the incorrect medication to treat whatever the underlying cause may be.

Poor Ember! If she is having difficulty with her left ear, I am worried she could have an ear infection. Unfortunately we cannot legally prescribe medications from this site, and there isn't anything OTC that can help with an ear infection. Ear infections are causing by mites, yeast, or bacteria, and the cause has to be diagnosed in order for it to be treated correctly. In addition, before putting any medication into the ear, the ear drum needs to be visualized with an otoscope to make sure the ear drum is intact. She does need to see a vet for this problem, and the sooner the better, as leaving ear infections untreated can lead to hearing loss. Please give her vet a call now to make her an appointment. I hope this helps!

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.

Poor girl. Unfortunately you will need to take her in for this. Over the counter cleaners aren't strong enough to treat for a true ear infection in dogs. If needed, the vet can give her a mild sedative to help calm her down enough to allow then to treat her. There are also suppository medications available to treat pets ears in cases like this where it is difficult to medicate at home. These are available through your veterinarian. I do hope that your fur baby Nina is able to resolve her ear infection soon! Best wishes and take care.

Unfortunately no, there are no OTC medications for Daisy. It sounds like she has an ear infection, and that can be caused by ear mites, yeast, or bacteria. The only way to treat it is to have a vet diagnose the cause and then prescribe the correct treatment. I would take her into a vet today or tomorrow. Best of luck.

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!

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!