My dog has flaky ear skin. Why isn't Malaseb shampoo helping?

You could try using a gentle oatmeal shampoo for pets, but if this does not improve Bentley's flaky skin, he may need to visit his vet. Several conditions, such as fungal infections or vasculitis, among others, can cause flaky skin on the ear alone.

It looks like your dog could have a bacterial and/or a yeast infection. Have him examined by a vet for treatment. Your vet can prescribe medications to help. Your vet could also test his thyroid level to make sure he doesn't have a thyroid issue. You could also bathe him with a medicated dog shampoo and see if that helps.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Judging by your description, it sounds as though Shiloh may have a skin infection or seborrheic dermatitis possibly. Without pictures and not being able to examine the area myself, it is difficult to say for sure. I would recommend having a veterinarian examine Shiloh so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. Shiloh may need an oral antibiotic and topical therapy for treatment. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I am not sure what you mean by "competitor". Malaseb is a great medicated shampoo! I use it in dogs with yeast and bacteria skin infections. I recommend bathing 2-3 times per week and allow the lather to sit on the skin for 10 mins before rinsing. Let us know if you need anymore help! Good luck!

A combination of Malaseb shampoo and Coatex supplement usually helps. Malaseb can be used twice weekly for the first two weeks to then decrease the frequency to once every week for 3 weeks to then once every other week. If infections are present antibiotics will be needed (your vet can easily determine that). 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.

Trisha should start feeling better within about 48 hours if the treatment is working. It sounds like the vet decided to hold of on a topical treatment and have you start with just cleaning. So if you clean her ears with the MalAcetic tomorrow and Thursday is she still flapping/itching then I would recommending calling her veterinarian to see if they would like to prescribe her a topical treatment. I hope Trisha is feeling back to normal soon!

Yeast infections are especially itchy, crusty, and smelly. Often a dog starts with a rash or with simple itching but the skin thickens to an “elephant” skin appearance. The itch is extreme and the odor can be especially troublesome. Parts of the body or the entire body can be affected. Malassezia overgrowth is particularly problematic where there are skin folds ("armpits," eyelids, facial folds, lip folds, throat latch, and especially between the toes). Treatment can be topical, oral, or both. Topical treatment is best used for localized spots of infection while oral medication would be better applied to larger infected areas. If the yeast infection is recurrent or if one wishes to supplement oral medication, topical and oral treatment can be combined. Oral medications are available through your vet. Shampoos such as Chlorhexiderm Max® or Malaseb® shampoo both strip skin oil and kill yeast; however, other anti-yeast products include Selsun Blue®, Miconazole® shampoo, Nizoral® shampoo, Douxo® shampoo and more. The pet must be bathed twice a week to start and the shampoo requires a 15 minute contact time (meaning do not rinse the lather for 15 minutes). It is important to realize that yeast overgrowth occurs in response to a primary problem be it allergy, seborrhea or something else. If the underlying problem is not controlled, yeast dermatitis is likely to periodically recur. It is common for allergic dogs to require some kind of periodic if not on-going anti-yeast therapy.