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My dog has red, itchy ears with bumps. What home remedies help?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Large (61lb +) | Male | neutered | 85 lbs

My lab pit mix has red irritated ears with bumps, some of them scabbed over. He is constantly itching his ears. I thought it could be ear mites or a type of mange, but he doesn’t itch anywhere else or have any issues other than on his ears. What should I do? Are there any home remedies to help relieve this??

4 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Makenzie Kurth, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on April 25th, 2018

This could be ear mites (not visible to the human eye usually). This could also be a hypersensitivity reaction to some other insect (ant, mosquito, flea). Finally, it is possible to have allergies manifest only in the ears.

You can try a few days of Benedryl but my guess is that you’ll need to see the vet to get this figured out and resolved.

https://www.petcoach.co/canigive/dog/benadryl

Best of luck to you and Wheeler!

12Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Related Answers from Veterinarians

Answered By Dr. Massimo Orioles, DVM, Cert AVP, MRCVS
Veterinarian
Published on September 10th, 2017
This is probably due to an allergy, although it could also be infection or mites.
First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat with a high quality flea treatment (advocate or advantage), then ask the vet to perform a skin scrape - this might reveal an infection or a mite infestation.
Usually these infection cannot be transmitted, unless it is a fungal one (Ringworm).
If all of those came back negative, the next step is to treat the allergy symptomatically and try to discover the cause of the allergy.
Three main type of allergies are usually affecting pets: food allergies, flea and parasite related ones and environmental type (allergens coming from trees, pollens, dust etc etc).
Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair any possible skin lesions (like steroids and antibiotics).
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.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Answered By Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA
Veterinarian, Certified Dog Trainer
Published on July 16th, 2017
Poor Tex! Bumps like this can be caused by a bacterial skin infection, or some type of allergic reaction. This shouldn't be an emergency, but if they persist for more than 2-3 days it would be best to take him to the vet for an exam - it looks like he may need prescription antibiotics or steroids to treat the problem. Your vet can do some simple skin tests to help determine what is causing the bumps, and will prescribe appropriate medication to treat them depending on what is found.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Answered By Dr. Massimo Orioles, DVM, Cert AVP, MRCVS
Veterinarian
Published on May 9th, 2017
This is probably due to a severe allergy, although it could also be infection or mites.  First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat with a high quality flea treatment (advocate or advantage), then ask the vet to perform a skin scrape - this might reveal an infection or a mite infestation.   If all of those came back negative, the next step is to treat the allergy symptomatically and try to discover the cause of the allergy.   Three main type of allergies are usually affecting pets: food allergies, flea and parasite related ones and environmental type (allergens coming from trees, pollens, dust etc etc).
Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair the skin lesions (steroids and antibiotics).
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.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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