My puppy's red, flapping ear. Can I use my other dog's medicine?

Yes, it can hurt. You don't know if the dog's ear drum is intact, and putting medication into an ear with a ruptured ear drum is bad. In addition, ear infections can be caused by ear mites and bacteria as well as yeast, so this prescription medication may not work anyway. Do not give it to Ben. I can give some resources that may help him afford a vet. If paying for a vet is an issue, you can see if your vet accepts payment plans, if there is a low cost clinic in your area, or you can apply for Care Credit online. There is also an organization called Red Rover that give grants for treatment of sick animals, and you can see if you qualify for one of their grants. Best Friends also has a list of resources that offer financial assistance on their website. http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/resources/tips/trouble_affording_pet.html?credit=web_id91754962 https://www.redrover.org https://www.carecredit.com http://bestfriends.org/resources/financial-aid-pets http://lessonsfromaparalyzeddog.com/when-pet-owners-cant-afford-veterinary-bills/ http://www.dogheirs.com/resources-affordable-veterinary-care/ Check out these resources to see if they can help him. In honesty, if he cannot afford a vet visit for an ear infection, then maybe keeping her isn't a good idea. I hope this helps.

Poor Billy! Ear infections are no fun! Ear infections can be caused by bacterial, parasitic or fungal infection, or a combination of these, and can be associated with dietary or environmental allergies or sensitivities, immune system disorders, or a combination of the above. There may be other options for treatment, such as a long lasting ear ointment that the vet applies once a week (so you do not have to do anything at home), or potentially oral medication, depending on what the cause of the infection is. I recommend you contact your vet to discuss your options and get Billy feeling better.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. You could try Zymox, which you can find online quite easily. However, the concern with just starting an ear medication without examining the ear canals is that you may be administering ear medications in an ear with a ruptured ear drum. I would recommend having a veterinarian examine Luna 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.

Yeast ear infections often need antifungal topical ear medications to help resolution. Most topical ear medications will also contain an antibiotic (not always needed) and a steroid, which will help with the itch the yeast can cause. I would recommend that you discuss the proper medication with your veterinarian. Many times yeast ear infections are caused by too much moisture in the ear (like after swimming in a pool or lake) or from inflammation caused by allergies (from fleas, food, environment, etc.). If Tiki has recurrent yeast ear infections, you may need to have her vet work up allergies as the primary problem. For minor yeast ear infections that aren't red, swollen, or itchy, you can try an ear cleanser to help remove the yeast. If you do this for a couple days and it isn't better, than she will probably need prescription medications.

It looks like your kid has a pretty severe ear infection there. The redness is inflammation and the gray area is thickening of the external ear canal from chronic inflammation. What would be best would be for your pup to be seen by your family vet for an ear exam and cytology. In order to treat this appropriately your vet will need to know if there are bacteria (and what type) or yeast or both in the ear canals and if the eardrum is intact. An anti inflammatory may also be needed because of the thickening. If ear infections are a chronic problem for your pup underlying allergy may also need to be explored. I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

I would recommend not just an ear wash but also medications to clear up this infection. If there is moderate-severe or 2+ yeast and cocci then I would recommend Oticetic flush and Mometamax ear medicine. You can also try Zymox ear medicine as an alternative. You typically can only get these through your vet or with veterinary approval. Ear medicine and medicated cleaners are typically not sold over the counter. Best of luck with your pet Poliana and her current ear infection. Take care.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! The best medicine to treat an ear infection will depend on which type of infection is affecting Pepper. In general a good ear cleanser just to start by cleaning the ears is epi-otic advanced which you may obtain online. That is just to clean the ears though generally further therapy is needed dependent on what type of infection it is. This is something that can be easily determined by sampling the exudate and looking at it under the microscope. The good news is that most of the time it does respond to the right therapy. I recommend that you have Pepper evaluated by your veterinarian for this assessment and to start therapy. Good luck!