My dog's ear is swollen with no discharge. Is it allergies or mites?

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Lucky seems to have developed an aural hematoma, which occurs when the ear is traumatized and a blood vessel is broken open inside the ear flap leading to a balloon of blood essentially. This typically needs to be drained to be treated. The cause is likely due to a severe ear infection. I cannot even tell where the opening of the ear is due to the severe swelling. In addition to the ear problem, I can see that poor Lucky is dealing with a severe skin allergy / skin disease as he is missing a lot of skin on his neck and the skin also appears to be lichenificated (thickened like elephant skin). I would strongly recommend having a veterinarian take a look at Lucky for the ear problems and also the severe allergies he suffers from. There are many options to help treat allergies in dogs such as Apoquel, Cytopoint, Atopica, etc. 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! The single most common reason a dog will get inflammation of it's ears is allergies. The inflammation then leads to infection which will create more inflammation, and the cycle continues. Parasites such as ear mites and fleas can lead to the reaction. A full otoscopic exam is needed to assess the health of the ear canals, and Mia's inflammation is severe enough she will likely need sedation to have a proper otoscopic exam and canal flushing. Testing for the types of organisms living in the canals that are causing or worsening the issue will be beneficial to cut the inflammation cycle as well as some anti-inflammatory medication prescribed by your Veterinarian. Additionally, if the underlying cause can be determined, lessening its effects or eliminating it altogether will mitigate the reaction and minimize future risk. For treatment success, follow-up appointments are crucial, generally done every 2 weeks or sooner if an issue is noted in the interim. I hope this helps and that Mia gets some relief soon!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It does sound like possibly an ear infection. Usually, face swelling is not a commonly encountered sign of an ear infection so if his face continues to get swollen before tomorrow when you can have him evaluated by your veterinarian, consider having him evaluated tonight to make sure it is not something more concerning than an ear infection. In the meantime, try to limit his activity in case he has associated pain. Good luck! I will keep my fingers crossed that everything turns out well!

Hi and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Ear mites generally are noted first with signs of thick, dark discharge which appears a bit "crusty". However-the lack of these symptoms does not mean all is well with the ears of your pup. Dogs can get frequent ear infections, just like we can. I can tell from your photos that your pup has hair that grown down into the ear canals-this will be part of the problem. Those hairs trap debris, water from bathing, extra wax, etc and act as a great reservoir for bacteria to grow. I always recommend to my clients to have the hairs "plucked" by their groomer when they go or to come in to the office so that we can do it. After the hairs are cleared and the ears are cleaned, I like to do an exam of the ear canal and to take a swab of the ears to see what kind of yeast and/or bacteria are present there. It is important to have this exam performed by your vet to verify that your pet's eardrum is intact and not perforated. Likely your pet will get prescribed some antibiotics if your doctor finds it necessary, as well as pain medications or something for that awful itch. After everything is well controlled, it is usually easy to get my owners on a good ear cleaning regimen to keep ear infections at bay. I hope this helps! My best to you and your pup!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This may be due to an ear hematoma for example. This could of course be something else as it is not possible to know for sure without evaluating her. I recommend you have her evaluated by a veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. They would be able to check and treat her accordingly. Good luck!

Hi and thank you for using PetCoach! I am so sorry to hear that Snoopy's ear is red. It is very possible Snoopy may have an ear infection. Ear infections are most commonly due to underlying allergies such as environmental or food allergies. It is possible Snoopy has mites in that ear but less likely since only one ear is very affected. I would recommend taking Snoopy in to see your veterinarian. They will likely take swabs from both ears and look at a cytology of them (under the microscope) to look for infections. If this is the case, your veterinarian will recommend ear cleaner/ medication. Good luck! Here is an article that describes ear infections in more detail: https://www.petcoach.co/article/middle-inner-ear-infections-in-dogs/

This is actually filled with blood. This is a hematoma between the skin layers in the ear flap. They develop when dogs scratch or shake their heads excessively, usually from an ear infection or some type of allergy. Generally this requires a veterinary exam and surgical drainage. They will also check Dozer's ears to see if they are infected or try to find the cause of the hematoma. He will need to wear a cone probably until the ear heals. Without treatment the ear swelling will go down but it may take a month or more and the ear will scar up and become deformed. This can be uncomfortable and there is a risk of infection so I recommend veterinary treatment soon. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Dozer.