How to treat a dog's ear sore that won't heal and scab keeps falling off?

Ouch! That does look pretty irritated, so if it doesn't scab over or continues to look weepy, it's a good idea to have your vet take that look on Wednesday as it may need some anitbiotics. What you're doing at home currently is perfect! I'd continue to use the E-collar to prevent pawing at it, and keep the area clean and dry. You can use a clean compress to gently keep it clean so as to not cause more irritation by rubbing at it or accidentally bumping the scab as excessive cleaning may actually be slowing down the healing process. It should be fine to wait until Wednesday to have it looked at unless it massively swells up, becomes painful to the touch, or starts to ooze any cloudy or green discolored debris (all signs of infection).

Unfortuantely this looks like an infection that is not going to respond to just an over the counter. Some possible causes of this are: allergies (ear margin dermatosis), an immune mediated disease, or even fly bites can cause lesions that look like this. You will have to take Ace in to your vet to get this treated. At the very least an antibiotic will be needed here and some discussion on possible underlying causes so that the source is also treated for as well. Until you can get Ace in, its best to clean these areas with Betadine diluted 50:50 with warm water to cut down on the bacterial load and help start the healing process. I hope that Ace's ear lesions resolve soon! Best of luck and take care.

It sounds like Ruby had an injury or insect bite that caused the sore. A skin sore should be cleaned with antibacterial soap, rinsed and then apply a thin film of antibacterial ointment on it to prevent infection. If Ruby is scratching it that will slow the healing. Use a restraint collar if needed to prevent her from rubbing or scratching it. Most skin sores heal in about a week. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Ruby.

Unfortunately those ''ointments'' (they are based silver nitrate usually) are usually not good and a bit too painful when used for skin lesions. A buster collar and potentially head/ear bandage (frequently changed) can be used for enough time to allow the skin to heal completely.

It's not an emergency likely but it may need to be addressed. For bleeding lesions, apply firm pressure for 10-15 minutes. You can use hydrogen perxoide to clean the area one time but don;t use it more than that because it can impede healing. After that, use soap and water to clean the ear if it gets dirty but otherwise leave it alone. You need to prevent Reese from shaking her head and traumatizing the ear. Sometimes and elizabethan collar can help. This is is though the best product to prevent shaking the ear: https://www.noflapearwrap.com/?variant=1045913141273 Lesions on the ear tips are commonly due to fungal infections, vasculitis or fly bites. You can keep the ear clean and dry. Keep the ear protected from trauma. You can give Reese a supplement for omega 3 fatty acids for pets to help with inflammation. You can apply a tiny dab of organic coconut oil to the lesion 1-2 times a day and rub it in well. If the lesion is not improving within 5 days, if it starts looking worse or if it will not stop bleeding after 15 minutes, have Reese examined by the veterinarian. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

This presentation could be due to a trauma or localized spot of skin infection (likely to be caused by bacteria or fungal). A check up, appropriate disinfection and possibly antibiotics or antifungal meds (oral, topical or in a shampoo formulation) are needed to solve the problem. Disinfection can possibly be started at home with very diluted hibiscrub or betadine or salted water baths. Buster collar is useful as well to avoid any scratching (as you have used). Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

Hello, thank you for using PetCoach. I'm sorry that Lucy is having this problem. It is odd that the infection has cleared up but she still has sores on the ear flap. Is she scratching at the ears? If so, you really need to get her a cone collar to wear to prevent scratching. As long as she is scratching them, the will not heal. You can get a soft sided cone similar to this one: ( https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09RV2VG7Y ) You can certainly continue to apply Neosporin and it should not hurt her. She is probably just very sensitive and expecting the ears to hurt when you touch them. If you can apply the Neosporin twice daily for one week consistently the sores should heal. If they do not heal in that time frame, you need to take her back to your vet to figure out what is going on or go to a different vet for a second opinion. Hope this helps. Best wishes.