Can I remove my dog's ear pack at home instead of paying the vet?

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Based on your description, I am unsure as to where the infection is located. If it is in the ears and they are becoming infected, I would recommend having a veterinarian take a look at the ears so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. If the ears just have a moderate amount of wax in them, you can use an over the counter veterinary product called Zymox otic cleanser. If after using this product for 7 days there is no improvement, I would recommend bringing Pearl to a veterinarian for further treatment. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. I would recommend having Dexter examined by a veterinarian to get a good ear exam in order to determine if anything is stuck in the ear canal or if there is an infection that needs to be treated. I would not advise trying to stick anything into the ear at home or trying to remove anything yourself as you could potentially damage the ear drum. 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.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! You may be referring to ear hematomas. This is usually treated with a relatively simple surgical procedure. However, it is hard to know without being able to see this. I would encourage you to contact your veterinarian to let them know that he has not improved to see if that is something that seems likely based on their examination. Good luck!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. I would not recommend lancing the ear at home as this risks introduction of harmful bacteria that will cause an infection. I would recommend having this examined by a veterinarian as Jack will likely need an oral antibiotic and the ear drained properly. Sometimes the ear needs to have a drain surgically placed into the hematoma site so that it is unable to fill back up. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I'm sorry to hear that Willow has a cut on her ear. It is possible that she caused it herself by scratching, but if you did not observe it happening, she could have traumatized it on something else, or been wounded by another animal. Based on your description of the wound, I recommend bringing her to your local veterinarian to have her evaluated. At the very least, the wound likely needs to be cleaned and flushed with a sterile solution to prevent infection. Depending on how deep or infected the wound is, it may require more extensive management such as surgical closure of the wound, or bandages. Willow likely also needs an Elizabethan (cone) collar to prevent her from further traumatizing the wound. Unfortunately, dogs like to scratch at their ears and can make it very hard for wounds to heal. If the wound is superficial and Willow is otherwise healthy, you may be able to apply compression to the wound to get it to stop bleeding, and monitor it closely at home for signs of infection (redness, swelling, yellow-green discharge, foul odor). If you see any of these signs, Willow should definitely be evaluated by a veterinarian. Just a reminder, NEVER give dogs any pain medications that are intended for humans, as they can be lethally toxic to dogs. I hope this is helpful!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I would take it off so you can monitor the incision. Also, incisions need air to heal. Make sure he has an e-collar on so he cannot lick the area and keep it on until his recheck appointment. Kisses to Lucky!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. This could be from the grooming and appears to be a sore. I would keep an eye on this and if it does not resolve within the next 3-5 days, I would recommend having a veterinarian examine Zoey so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. Please take the time to mark this question as helpful or not as it helps us to improve on the quality of our answers to other pet owners. Thank you kindly!