My pet's ear hurts badly and they won't let me touch it. What's wrong?

Hi there. Unfortunately, these photos are very blurry, so I can't really see much. But, if he is scratching his ear until it bleeds, it's likely that he has an ear infection - this is a common problem in dogs. He will need prescription ear meds from your veterinarian to treat the infection, so I would recommend taking him in tomorrow for an exam. In the meantime, you can try cleaning his ears with an over-the-counter ear flush labeled for dogs such as Mal-Acetic or Epi-Otic. This will not treat the underlying infection, but may help to make him a bit more comfortable until you are able to see the vet.

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.

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!

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!

I'm so sorry that Shadow's ear is hurting. From the appearance of the picture, I presume that the discharge is coming from the ear canal. Unfortunately, there isn't any way to determine what is causing an ear infection except for performing an ear cytology. An ear cytology is when your vet takes a sample of the discharge from the ear and looks at it under a microscope. They can then determine if the infection is caused by yeast or bacteria or both and determine the best way to treat it. I wish I had another answer for you, but I think it's time to take Shadow to the vet for an examination and ear cytology. I would not recommend cleaning the ear before taking him in, so your vet can get an accurate sample of the ear discharge. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hello. I am glad that you had your veterinarian take a good look in Moka's ears & no infection or foreign material was seen. However, she might have a very mild or allergic condition in her ears. Your veterinarian could swab the ears & submit the sample for a culture & sensitivity, or your veterinarian can prescribe a short course of a steroid to see if this calms the signs. If so, then a plan can be discussed as to the best treatment to keep Moka healthy & pain free. Thanks 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.