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My dog's ear infection cleared, but the smell won't go away. What now?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Saint Bernard | Male | unneutered | 2 years and 6 months old | 105 lbs

Hi I have a 1 year old Saint Bernard. Not long ago he got into a fight and had an infection in his ear that cleared up but the Nasty smell never went away. Could he still have an ear infection or should. I just use an ear wash Also they had him on what I believe was cephalexin for the bacterial infection

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

Published on July 25th, 2017

Yes, Snuffy probably has a bacterial or yeast infection still present in his ear, if there is still a smell present. Often an ear wash designed for dog ears will cure a mild infection, but if he is painful, itching, or scratching his ear then he needs to have a vet look down into the ear canal and take a sample to see what kind of infection is going on. Then he might need a treatment to put in the ear and an anti-itching medication like Apoquel to help heal the ear and make it less painful. The cephalexin is not likely going to help an ear infection, but might have been for a skin infection related to the dog bite wound. Hope that helps!
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Related Answers from Veterinarians

  • Answered By David Elbeze, DVM, MRCVS

    Veterinarian

    Most ear infections are actually yeast infections in dogs, regular ear-wash and antibiotics do not help in those cases. you will need to take Snuffy to the vet in order to get a special prescription ear drops to treat this infection.

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    0Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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