My dog has ear infection pain & welts. How to help until I see a vet?

Poor Baylee! I'm sorry that she has an ear infection. Unfortunately, this is not something that can be treated effectively without a vet visit. Ear infections are generally caused by yeast or bacteria, and require prescription ear drops to treat. There is nothing you can get over the counter that will be effective for this, so there's really no way around going to see the vet. Fortunately, there's no reason this would need to be an expensive visit - just the exam fee, and the cost of the medication. In the meantime, if she will let you, you can try using an over-the-counter ear flush like MalAcetic to clean her ears. This will not treat the underlying infection causing the redness and discharge, but it may help to make them a bit less sore and itchy until you are able to see the vet.

Hi, thanks for using PetCoach! Poor Snickers! Ultimately he will be okay until tomorrow, I am glad he is getting seen in the short term. I wouldn't recommend giving him any human medications because your Vet may prescribe steroids which can not be combined with things like aspirin. You can try some benadryl to see if it relieves the itch and calms him. Otherwise I would hold tight for a day. You could purchase an ear cleaner but your Vet will give you one tomorrow. https://www.petcoach.co/canigive/dog/benadryl/ I wish Snickers a speedy recovery!

Aww I’m sorry to hear that Lil Boy is having a tough time. I agree that his signs are suspicious for an ear infection. Unfortunately, there is nothing really suitable for an ear infection over the counter. I definitely do NOT recommend putting anything in the ear (alcohol, vinegar, peroxide) as these can actually make things worse. I recommend seeing a vet sooner rather than later as it is easier and cheaper to treat an ear infection earlier on.

You can use an over the counter dog ear cleaner to clean the discharge from Cujo's ears. Apple some to,a cotton ball and squeeze it into the ear. Squish it around and then wipe outward to remove the discharge. Then take a dry cotton ball to remove the excess fluid. To determine the cause of the infection I recommend and exam and they can look at the ear discharge under the microscope to determine if he has a yeast or bacterial infection or if there are ear mites. Once they have a diagnosis they can prescribe the correct medication. Often ear infections are painful so they may prescribe an anti inflammatory or pain medication also. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Cujo.

This looks like a very severe infection possibly due to bacterial proliferation inside the ear canal. Unfortunately antibiotics and antiinflammatory drops are needed in this case to be able to resolve the problem effectively.

I'm very sorry that Joe is in pain. It's common for Cocker Spaniels to have chronic ear infections resulting in just this type of situation. I'm so glad you able to get in to see your local Veterinarian. The mediations he/she has prescribe should help some with the pain. If Joe seems restless and can't get comfortable, you'l want to call your doctor and verify that he's on the appropriate dosage and maybe ask if he can take a little more. Your doctor may also be able to prescribe a light sedative. Unfortunately, a vinegar bath probably won't do much. It's really a just going to take patience. The inflammation should go down within a few days and Joe will have some relief. Please keep us up to date with his progression. If you notice he's uncomfortable eating, you might offer a bland diet of boiled chicken and rice. Try to keep his ears as clean and dry as possible. While he's sleeping you can lay his ears open or find a way to keep them up so that the air will circulate. Yeast and bacteria love a wet warm environment. The more they air out, the quicker the healing. Please let us know if you have any other questions or if there's more we can do.

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!