Why is my dog's ear red, swollen, and flaky? Is it an infection?

It’s possible Jaxon may have mange or a bacterial skin infection. Oral flea/tick preventatives such as Nexgard, Bravecto or Simparica that you can often get from vaccines clinics such as vippetcare.com or Vetco.com will treat mange. Topical neosporin cream twice daily for 10-14 days may help with bacterial infections although prescription steroid/antibiotic/anti fungal ointment from you vet will likely work much better. If the lesions do not improve within 1-2 weeks of giving Nexgard and applying neosporin twice daily, a trip to your vet for in person assessment /diagnostics is recommended. There is also a possibility that Jaxon may have a fungal skin infection which is transmissible to humans. For this reason and others, if you are able to bring him to the vet for an assessment, it is best! Good luck!

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I would recommend not giving the Keflex as often bacteria is not the problem with ear infections. Likely the ear will become painful so I would recommend having Apollo into your vet as soon as they are open. In the mean-time, I would recommend getting an alcohol based ear cleaner (my favourite is Epi-Otic) and clean the ears really well. After you clean the ear, dry it out well. This will clear up most ear infections without requiring any medications at all. Sometimes to decrease the swelling you will need other medications. Often ear infections are yeast infections, therefore the antibiotics won't help at all, and may disrupt normal healthy flora. Best of luck with Apollo.

It sounds like poor Mario may have an infection. 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. Mario needs to see 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 ear with a scope to see if the ear drum is 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 book an appointment to have Mario seen as soon as possible to help get him feeling better.

It could be that Jax is suffering from an ear infection. This would be painful to him, and it would cause him to touch his ear. In dogs, ear infections can be caused by yeast, bacteria, or ear mites, and the cause of the infection needs to be diagnosed so it can be treated correctly. Only the vet can do this, so I would take him into the vet on Monday to have his ear examined, diagnosed, and treated. Best of luck, I hope this helps!

Ouch! That definitely looks like it must hurt! While the medications you have on hand are great for ear infections, with one as severe as that I would not recommend putting anything into the ear until a vet has verified that the ear drum is still in tact. If it is not, this will influence what medications are used, how often, and what to do next. In the mean time if you have one, I would put a collar on Samson to prevent any further scratching and self-mutilation to the ear until he can be examined. Hope this makes sense!

I'm sorry to hear that Jax is so uncomfortable! The redness and inflammation on his foot is pretty significant. This type of skin issue is most commonly caused by underlying allergies to fleas, food or the environment. When dogs itch and bite a lot, they damage the protective outer layers of the skin, often resulting in the onset of bacterial and/or yeast skin infections. It's possible that he may need some anti-itch medications, antibiotics or anti-fungal medications. I understand that Jax is not the most cooperative at the vet, but this is something that warrants veterinary attention. I'd recommend calling your vet to ask if they can prescribe a sedative before the appointment or consider working with a house call vet in your area. I hope that everything goes well!

We will very commonly see ear infections in dogs. The infection is most commonly due to an overgrowth of normal yeast and bacteria in the ear. I am attaching a link with more information below. https://www.vin.com/veterinarypartner/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4951507 Ear infections can be very painful or sometimes the only sign is that they are holding their ear in an abnormal position. I would recommend having your veterinarian examine Jax. They will be able to examine into the ear and take a sample of any discharge to evaluate under the microscope to determine if there is anything abnormal going on then determine the best treatment for him. Good luck! I hope that was helpful and that Jax feels better soon. Thanks for using PetCoach.