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Ear infection: Why is my dog lethargic? Is medication dosage right?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Pomeranian | Male | neutered | 5 years and 6 months old | 20 lbs

My dog has a bad ear infection. The vet prescribed him TrizULTRA + Keto and 2-3 drops of Malmetazone twice a day. I noticed his worse ear is less red than before so we feel like its improving but he really isn’t acting himself. He’s an overall very active dog but the last few days all he’s done is sleep. I Just wanted to know if lethargic behavior is normal with an ear infection. I also noticed on the Malmetazone site, it says to give them them the medicine once a day. Is twice a day too much?

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By C. Rathjens, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on January 6th, 2018

I'm sorry to hear that Loki isn't feeling great. If his ears are really sore, that could certainly make him more sleepy than usual. He should start feeling much better after about 3 days on the ear medications - if he's not perking up I would recommend giving your vet a call to see if they want him to come back in.

It's fine to give the Malmetazone twice daily. The website will list the way the product was approved to be used or the way the manufacturer recommends it be used, but we frequently modify these recommendations to meet the needs of individual patients or based on more recent research. I would recommend continuing to give both treatments as recommended.

I hope Loki is feeling better soon! Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach and let me know if this was helpful information.

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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