Golden Retriever losing ear hair and scabbing. What can I do?

I would recommend doing testing on the ears to find out what is causing the scabs. If your pet is outside a lot, then flea bites are possible and it is recommended to purchase flea bite repellent at your local pet store to start, followed by topical triple antibiotic to get the scabs to heal. If your pet is kept mostly indoors, two common causes of this are demodexx mites or a yeast infection. Also another condition called ear margin vasculitis could be the cause. Ear margin vasculitis is a spontaneous condition where the vessels at the ear tip margin become inflamed creating a scabby appearance to the skin. Since all 3 of these look very similar it is important to get testing done in the form of a skin scrape/cytology and/or skin biopsy because each is treated so differently and it takes out a lot of the guess-work. Therefore scheduling an appointment with your vet is needed for proper diagnosis and treatment.

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 presentation could be due to a trauma or localized spot of skin infection (likely to be caused by bacteria or fungal). A check up, appropriate disinfection and possibly antibiotics or antifungal meds (oral, topical or in a shampoo formulation) are needed to solve the problem. Disinfection can possibly be started at home with very diluted hibiscrub or betadine or salted water baths. Buster collar is useful as well to avoid any scratching (as you have used). Hope this answer was helpful, but 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.

This appears to be some sort of topical dermatitis. It can be caused by an underlying allergy, a bacterial infection or a fungal infection. You will most likely need to put a topical medication on the sores to help them clear up. You can try some triple antibiotic ointment at home and see if that helps. If not, you will need to take Chico to see your veterinarian. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

I'm glad to hear that Cleo does not seem to be bothered by the lesions on her ears. There are several possibilities that could be causing these changes, including allergies (to fleas, food or the environment), vasculitis (an immune system response to a variety of stimuli), hypothyroidism (unlikely given her young age), ringworm or mange. I also see some redness and scabbing that could also indicate the presence of a skin infection in addition to or instead of the conditions listed above. At this point, I think your best bet is to take Cleo to her vet for an exam. The vet will be able to perform skin scrapings (to rule out mites causing mange), fungal culture (to rule out ringworm) and cytology of the skin (to look for an overgrowth of bacteria on the skin). From there, your vet will be able to determine the best course of treatment. There may be a degree of trial and error involved, depending upon what shows on the initial diagnostics. In the meantime, keep Cleo on flea/tick prevention (Nexgard, Bravecto or Advantix are my preferences!). I hope that all goes well!

An ear infection can cause a discharge in the ears, redness, swelling, scabs, and some hair loss. Mometamax will treat both a bacterial and yeast infection, as well as help with inflammation and swelling. If the ears don't start to look better in a few days than he should be rechecked by your vet to determine the cause. If his ears are really red and inflamed than an oral corticosteroid may help.

The skin itself has a scaly and bump appearance to it, which often means there is a bacterial or fungal infection present. I would recommend taking Snow in to your vet to have the area tested to determine which infection is present so that the proper medication is prescribed. I hope that Snow’s spot heals well soon. Best wishes and take care.