My dog's ear is smelly, waxy, red, and hot. Should I see a vet?

Hi, thanks for using PetCoach! Kobe likely has and ear infection. Since he is comfortable I think it is fine to wait until next week to have an appointment. You can use a good ear cleaner and flush out that affected ear every other day until the appointment. The Vet usually uses a Q-tip to remove wax to look at it under the microscope. Most ear infections are causes by yeast and/or bacteria. If he has an infection they will prescribe drops. https://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=24165 I hope this helps and I wish Kobe the very best~

Sounds like Rugsy has a bad ear infection. These can be painful and if left untreated can damage the ear drum and progress further down the ear. He should see your family vet for an exam and ear cytology and to get the right medications. Pain medications and/or anti inflammatories may be helpful as well. I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I'm sorry to hear that Willow has a cut on her ear. It is possible that she caused it herself by scratching, but if you did not observe it happening, she could have traumatized it on something else, or been wounded by another animal. Based on your description of the wound, I recommend bringing her to your local veterinarian to have her evaluated. At the very least, the wound likely needs to be cleaned and flushed with a sterile solution to prevent infection. Depending on how deep or infected the wound is, it may require more extensive management such as surgical closure of the wound, or bandages. Willow likely also needs an Elizabethan (cone) collar to prevent her from further traumatizing the wound. Unfortunately, dogs like to scratch at their ears and can make it very hard for wounds to heal. If the wound is superficial and Willow is otherwise healthy, you may be able to apply compression to the wound to get it to stop bleeding, and monitor it closely at home for signs of infection (redness, swelling, yellow-green discharge, foul odor). If you see any of these signs, Willow should definitely be evaluated by a veterinarian. Just a reminder, NEVER give dogs any pain medications that are intended for humans, as they can be lethally toxic to dogs. I hope this is helpful!

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!

Ear infections are rarely true emergencies unless she has neurological signs such as stumbling and falling. I’m glad that you are having her evaluated tomorrow and I hope that she improves quickly . Thank you for using Pet Coach.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This would actually warrant a visit to your veterinarian as this may be present due to an infection for example. I recommend you have him evaluated by a veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. Best of luck!

This looks like it could have an early infection. I would recommend having your veterinarian do an exam to make sure there isn't anything going on like a middle ear infection. Since you've caught it early hopefully only a short course of topical medication will be needed.