My dog's ears are flapping loudly. Is this normal or an ear issue?

I would recommend a vet visit to have the deeper part of her ears examined and a sample from her ear canals looked at under a microscope. Usually lots of ear flapping indicates a problem, but if you're catching it before it's a raging infection, that's great!

If the ear is droopy and she is shaking her head she probably has an ear infection. Because of the head shaking and probably scratching as well, blood vessels in the ear are exploding, causing blood and fluids to fill the pinea ans swell. This condition is called "ear hematoma" and needs medical or surgical treatment. The ear infection needs to be treated as well as it is the primary cause, usually ear drops from the vet will solve this, in some cases systemic antibiotics are prescribed as well. Regarding the the droopy ear I personally prefer the medical treatment (steroids for 4 weeks) over the surgical one, unfortunately most vets will still opt for the surgery.

If the ear looks like a small pillow, it could be a hematoma. Blood filling the ear will make it look puffy. The odor can be due to a severe ear infection. Excessive head shaking can cause a hematoma. Treatment is twofold. First, drain the ear or correctly via surgery then treat the underlying ear infection. Daisy will need to be examined by your veterinarian for confirmation and treatment. If it is not a hematoma, your veterinarian should be able to determine what is causing the condition after an exam and diagnostics.

That could be completely normal, but sometimes (not very often I have to admit) is related to ear infection/inflammation. If you see any signs of possible inflammation (head shaking, scratching, discharge from ear, redness of skin..) then a check up is needed, otherwise I would consider it normal. 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.

It is possible that he is flapping his ears due to the cold, but it's always worth having his ears checked out by a vet to be safe. As for ear cleaners, I recommend Epi-Otic. It's an excellent ear cleaner, and you can get it from your vet's clinic or a pet shop :-)

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This may be due to an ear hematoma for example. This could of course be something else as it is not possible to know for sure without evaluating her. I recommend you have her evaluated by a veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. They would be able to check and treat her accordingly. Good luck!

Hello there! It sounds like Roxie needs to revisit the vet before she starts another hematoma. If she's flapping her head and holding hear ear to one side, there may be an infection brewing way down in her ear where you might not be able to see it. It's very easy for dogs with floppy ears to shake and break those little blood vessels in the pinna (flap), which will cause a new hematoma quickly - sometimes in just a few hours. Dogs that have had hematomas in the past are more susceptible to them, so Roxie is definitely at risk. Even a call to the vet's office can give you some insight into what to do next, but I can almost guarantee that they'll want to take a look way down in that ear to see if she's got a new infection brewing. Good luck, and I hope that Roxie avoids another hematoma!