This just started recently. Not sure if its has anything to do with his first bout with fleas he picked up a week or two ago that I am in the process of trying to treat now.

I've googled ear infections in dogs , and the images that come up look nothing like what I can see inside my dogs ears.

Not sure what is normal and what's not for the inside of a dogs ear to look like. The shaking his head is what has me concerned, as something is uncomfortable enough to make him do so.

I've been wiping the ears every 3 weeks or so with a cotton ball and aloe and that's about it. Should I be doin something different, more, less? Usually some dirty lookin wax, but like I said I'm really not sure what's normal.

So what kind of solution should I be using, how often, and how do I know if he's actually got an ear infection? Is there other reasons he would be shaking his head like that?

Thanks.

Smell the ears. Tanner's get a slight yeasty odor before much build up of visible gunk starts showing up. I rely on behavioral cues(pawing his ears mostly) to treat his ears but given his history I can mostly count on them all being yeast related rather than allergy, insect, or bacterial related.

Ears that are still at the yeast overgrowth stage will just have slightly more wax than normal and it will be dark grungy looking foul/yeasty smelling. Keep an eye(and nose!) on the ears and you'll notice when something is different. I don't mechanically clean out the ears at that stage. I rinse his ears with a solution of 3 drops of 100% tea tree oil to 8 fl oz water massaged in for about 20 seconds and then wiped out with a washcloth. I use maybe 1/4 of the full amount. It's just simpler to fill up an old ear wash bottle to full and measure it that way.

I think ears are best left alone unless there's an established history of a problem and even then I don't like to swab them out unless there's a good reason to. They have their own natural secretions that help prevent problems. I won't normally use alcohol based products because I think they over clean. Some wax is necessary and beneficial.

How's his skin? Dry or any dandruff? Coat greasy or yeasty smelling?

 Quote: Mychal Scott

I've googled ear infections in dogs

I just did that. Most of those photos should have resulted in cruelty/neglect charges for the dog owners. The point where you want to catch the problem is way before it "looks" infected.

I'm thinking of taking pictures of Tanners ears over a few months to show what normal versus developing problem looks like. I'd also like to get a visual record that the tea tree oil is doing the job.

What should "yeasty smelling" smell like? He has had a musty smell lately...we actually just talked about that...how it seems to smell like sweaty musty dog when you come in the house. Was gonna give a bath tomorrow, but maybe there is more to it than that now that you bring this up...hmmmmm.....

What's his food? Tanner had an odor when he first came to me because of his diet. He doesn't stink at all now.

It's really hard to describe yeast's smell. Most of the time that "doggy" odor is actually yeasty. Some beers can smell yeasty. Have you ever made fresh bread or been to a bakery that still makes it's own bread?

Violent shaking of the head can lead to hematomas which are a cosmetic nightmare and can be expensive to repair.
As a home remedy I would rinse the ear with a dilute solution of witch hazel to de-grease. Wipe the material away with soft paper towels. Then I would get a prescription for Panalog or it's equivalent (an antibiotic+cortizone+antifungal). If the head shaking doesn't quit real soon after that have a vet look into the ear and be certain there is not a foreign body such as an embedded grass awn.
I don't remember the breed of your dog. Drop eared dogs are more likely to have yeast-fungal problems than prick eared dogs. Dogs that swim are also more at risk.
Getting on top of ear problems early is important in order to avoid a lifetime of recurrances. Often a single day of the appropriate medication will take care of the problem if it is caught early.

Mychal, can you get a flashlight and look inside toward and into the canal, today, since he is head-shaking. (As others are saying, yes, this is pretty certainly an ear problem, IMO.)

Tell us about whether there are red streaks coming from the canal toward the edges of the inner ear flaps, and what the detritus looks like. Is there dark wax? Coffee ground-looking stuff? Gray slime? What?

Is there a smell in the ear? Describe it.

I would do this before anything else, because open sores/broken skin in there will preclude some kinds of washes.

And please be super-attentive to what Betty is saying about immediate clearing up of the shaking, because you may well be unable to see a foreign body deep in there (foxtail piece is common, too).

And when she says speed is of the essence, that's a billboard post. I keep a painless Flush and Otomax drops on hand always, and have not had an inflamed ear turn into a full-blown infection in years. (As mentioned, I don't ever introduce moisture to a healthy ear.)

 Quote: Mychal Scott

What should "yeasty smelling" smell like? He has had a musty smell lately...we actually just talked about that...how it seems to smell like sweaty musty dog when you come in the house. Was gonna give a bath tomorrow, but maybe there is more to it than that now that you bring this up...hmmmmm.....

Does any of his skin feel waxy or greasy?

(This would almost certainly be all related, but right now, in a triage sense, the ear thing is top priority.)

 Quote: Cathy Goessman

It's really hard to describe yeast's smell. Most of the time that "doggy" odor is actually yeasty. Some beers can smell yeasty. Have you ever made fresh bread or been to a bakery that still makes it's own bread?

Also, since yeast overgrowth and bacterial infection often open the door to each other, the combination can be an odor that's bacteria-nasty with a bad-Fritos undertone.

(Sniffing inside the ears (and mouth) .... this is part of the once-over my dogs get regularly.)




"Not sure if its has anything to do with his first bout with fleas he picked up a week or two ago that I am in the process of trying to treat now."

Inflamed canals and itchy paws can be among the signs of flea-saliva allergy.

Diet is THK and raw, he is a Corso with ears cropped.

We just looked with a flashlight and don't see any streaks, wax is a golden brown color, maybe a little darker. Definitely no gray or coffee grind looking stuff.

No stinky breath, ears don't smell foul. Don't see any broken skin I there either.

As far as greasy skin, do u mean in the ear, or his coat in general?

Connie you mentioned ear flush and drops you keep on hand. Is the flush a home remedy and what about the drops? This is one of things we should just keep on hand?

Everyone is saying they don't introduce moisture to a healthy ear....3 questions... What is healthy, and what do you clean them with and how often?



Here is a link to some pics i took of his ear (scroll to the right , there are about 7 of them), both ears look about the same...not sure if u can tell anything by the pics...

Ears