My golden retriever gets frequent ear infections. How can I help?

Brown ear discharge is not necessarily an ear infection. I recommend cleaning the ears with the cleaner to remove the waxy discharge. As long as the ears don't have a foul odor and are not inflammed or painful that is probably just normal ear wax. If the wax builds up too much then it's more likely to become an infection. With a dog like Wilson with flap ears that cover the ear canal I recommend that you check ears every week and clean the wax if needed. That way you'll know right away if an infection is developing. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Wilson.

I recommend purchasing a dog ear cleaner at your pet store and cleaning the discharge from his ears. Put some cleaner on a cotton ball and massage the fluid into the ear canal. Rub it around to loosen the debris and then wipe it out. Take a dry cotton ball to remove any cleaner left in the ear. I clean ears daily to start, then as the discharge decreases then clean only when needed. If Maxo has ear mites or a severe yeast or bacterial ear infection this will help but specific prescription medication will be more effective. When you can take him in to your veterinarian for an ear exam. They will look at the ear discharge under the microscope to determine the cause of the problem. Then they can give him the right medication. Ear medication often contains a drug to stop the itching as well as something to cure the cause of the infection and that would be more effective than just cleaning his ears. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Maxo.

With that amount of dirt and wax from his ears, it is possible it is ear mites, a bacterial or yeast infection, or just dirt. If there is an odor, any redness or he is shaking or scratching his head, then I would get his ears checked to make sure. The scab may be a pustules from a bite. If it is the only one, then you can apply some cortisone cream and alternate it with Neosporin. If it does not improve over the next 2 days, then it will need to be checked by your regular vet.

This is a very common problem with dogs. Especially if the dog has had several ear infections in the past. I would talk to your vet to see if they could clean his ears for you weekly. This may help to decrease the frequency of ear infections. Also ear infections stem from allergies so ou may also discuss apoquel, an allergy medication, with your vet to see if Skippy would be a good candidate. I have see some good results to help decrease the number of infections while using this medication. I hope this helps!

Poor Winston! It looks as though Winston may have developed a hot spot (acute moist dermatitis) under his ear. This occurs most commonly due to either scratching from an ear infection or due to underlying allergies. If Winston has any redness or brown debris in his ears, he will need to go to the vet to have a possible ear infection evaluated. If his ears look completely normal, you can try using clippers to remove the fur from around this lesion (usually a good 1-2 inches of fur around the red area), then clean the lesion with either chlorhexidine or betadine antiseptic solutions. Keep an e-collar (cone) on Winston at least until the lesion dries out because constant scratching will only make matters worse. If the lesion worsens or has not improved in the next few days, Winston will need to go to his vet for evaluation.

Recurrent ear infections are often a sign of food allergies. I suggest you get a second opinion from another veterinarian. Recurrent ear infections are NOT normal and not just something some dogs get. It is important, in this case, that your vet does an ear swab, checks that under the microscope or sends it in to a lab to check which bacteria or fungi are causing these infections. It may be necessary to also check for antibiotic resistance. A diet trial with hypoallergenic diet may also be in order.

Sorry to hear Marley isn't doing so well with his ears. It is not possible to tell from tge picture tve exact nature of the irritation but if it is indeed infected (typically red, hot, painful and smelly), he will need prescription medication from his regular vet. In the meantime I recommend gently cleaning tge outer war with cotton wool and a pet safe ear cleaner to reduce the build up of wax/discharge