My dog's ear hurts. What can I buy at Petco for relief until 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!

I hope Pippi is feeling better today! Theres not a ton of options at home to make her feel better. She needs to get medications and possibly a steroid or some other anti-inflammatory to treat the ear infection. You did well by cleaning out the ear. That probably gave her some relief. Gently massaging the ear can also help. You can also apply a cool compress to the external portion of the ear. The doctor will be able to provide medication that can really get Pippi the most comfortable the fastest. I hope this helps!

Hello, thank you for using PetCoach. Oral medications (ie: antibiotics) do not work well for ear infections. Any medication to treat an ear infection should be used topically (inside the ear). Oral pain medication would probably be helpful but you would need to get those from your vet. In my opinion, if the ear is that painful you really should take him to your vet now for an examination so they can use the scope to look into the ear and also test the ear discharge to see what the infection is composed of (bacteria or yeast or both). They will also be able to see if the ear drum is intact. Some medications are contraindicated if the ear drum is ruptured. Cyclobenzaprine is NOT recommended for use in dogs. It has a very narrow margin of safety in dogs (and cats) and can cause significant central nervous system (CNS) and cardiovascular (CV) adverse effects. You should NOT use it. If you want to try to treat the ear at home, which I do not recommend, you can use this specific over the counter ear medication linked below. It is once a day and you do not have to clean the ear out first. It contains an anti-inflammatory (hydrocortisone) that should help with inflammation/pain. It is a small bottle so you will likely need at least 2 (if not 3) to do a full course of treatment. You must be sure to get the medication all the way down into the ear canal or it will not help much. If you chose to do this and there is no improvement in 4-5 days then you must take him to your vet for an exam. If he does seem to be improving then continue once daily for at least 14 days. ( https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/zymox-ear-solution-with-5-hydrocortisone-125-fl-oz-2399174 ) Hope this helps. Best wishes.

Unfortunately there are no over the counter medications that I would recommend starting until you can see your vet. I also don't typically recommend cleaning a cat's ears with any washes or solutions unless your vet instructs you to - cats have very sensitive ears and can develop vertigo from vigorous ear cleaning. Your best bet is to see your vet as soon as you can.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! The best medicine to treat an ear infection will depend on which type of infection is affecting Pepper. In general a good ear cleanser just to start by cleaning the ears is epi-otic advanced which you may obtain online. That is just to clean the ears though generally further therapy is needed dependent on what type of infection it is. This is something that can be easily determined by sampling the exudate and looking at it under the microscope. The good news is that most of the time it does respond to the right therapy. I recommend that you have Pepper evaluated by your veterinarian for this assessment and to start therapy. Good luck!

You can try an OTC ear infection medication from a pet store, but if Mia is already digging at the ear and causing trauma, it would be best treated by a vet to avoid it getting mistreated for a few days. She should also wear an e-collar until the itch is controlled to avoid further self-trauma.

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!