Why is my dog shaking head, scratching, and has squishy ear fluid?

Oh dear, this sounds like Katana has a pretty bad ear infection. The fluid coming from her ear, may be discharge from the infection or could be fluid draining from a hematoma (large blood clot) of the ear pinna itself which can sometimes occur due to heavy shaking of the head during a bad ear infection. Hematomas usually need to be drained and bandaged at a veterinarian's office. Ear infections really need to be treated with a veterinarian as well so she can have her ears cleaned really well and get on an antibiotic and topical ear medication. I have included an article below for you for information affording veterinary care with limited funds. I hope this helps! http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/resources/tips/trouble_affording_veterinary_care.html

At 7 months old, most of her teeth should be in place, and teething does not normally cause ear issues in dogs. Possible causes for her itchy ears include bacterial or yeast ear infection, mites, fleas, or allergies. You can try a medicated ear flush like Dechra Malacetic Ultra Otic for a few days, as well as having Princess on a good flea preventative. If it doesn't get better, she should be seen by a vet for evaluation. The vet will probably do a thorough otic exam and an ear cytology to find the cause of the itch. Then appropriate medications can be prescribed.

It’s possible his anal glands are full/uncomfortable. If they are bulging on either side of his anus when you palapate from the outside, then that definitely could be the case. I recommend bringing him to your vet for a rectal exam/anal gland expression and to check his ears. He likely will need and ear cleaner and a steroid/antibiotic/antifungal/antiyeast ointment such as otomax/kometamax/posatex if he has an ear infection. A few days of an allergy medication called Apoquel may help as well. Good luck!

Hi Casey, if there is nothing in the ear the underlying cause can be allergies or an ear polyp. Did the vet use an otoscope and look way down into the ear canal? Were they able to see the ear drum - whether or not is was intact or ruptured? Many dogs will not hold still good enough to allow a thorough exam of the ears. If that is the case with Layla then sedation may be needed so the vet can get a good look inside. If there is absolutely nothing in the ear canal and the ear drum is fine then there is likely a middle ear infection or inflammation (behind the ear drum). More advanced testing would be needed to check for that.

Ouch, poor Remington! You are correct - most ear infections in dogs stem from underlying allergies. Allergy issues in dogs mostly cause skin problems and ears are skin, after all. The allergies could be associated with environmental issues (atopy), food allergies or flea allergies. I can certainly see the discharge and swelling in Remington's ear. Her excessive scratching obviously indicates that she's quite uncomfortable. Allergy issues cause dogs to itch, which damages the skin barrier and then leads to ear infections from an overgrowth of yeast and/or bacteria in the ear canal. There are no effective over the counter treatments for ear infections. At this point, I recommend taking Remington to her vet for an exam and ear cytology. Your vet will be able to look at her ear discharge under a microscope to determine the type of infection present, and will then prescribe an appropriate medication based on those results. Until you get to the vet, consider putting an e-collar (cone) on Remington to prevent her from causing further damage to hear ears. I hope this helps and that she's feeling better soon!

Those brown clumps could also be ear mites, which itch intensely and can cause a dog to injure themselves by scratching and shaking their head. It could also be some kind of ear infection or other problem. I recommend getting her checked at your vet as soon as possible to have her ear checked to determine why she's scratching so hard and get her treated so she (and you) can get some relief soon.

Hello, thank you for your question about Max. Based on the symptoms you are describing it sounds like Max may just have some mild irritation in his ears. You can have his ears cleaned and continue monitoring him for any discharge/scratching/redness/head shaking. If any of these signs develop I would recommend having him evaluated by your veterinarian so that they can look for signs of an ear infection. Hope this helps, good luck!