Dogs with ear infections are itchy and smelly. Learn how to clean your dog's ears, support effective home remedies for ear infections in dogs, easy to do with simple and safe steps.
Do you notice that your dog's ears smell bad? Do you know how to properly clean your dog's ears at home? What are the signs of an ear infection in dogs, what are the causes, and how can you prevent it?
1. What is otitis media in dogs? Signs of otitis media in dogs
What is otitis media in dogs?
Otitis media in dogs is a condition in which the dog's ears become red, swollen, and scaly, causing them to feel itchy, uncomfortable, and painful. There are three types of otitis media in dogs: otitis externa, otitis media, and otitis media.
-Otitis externa is usually caused by fungus, tick bites leading to scratches, causing inflammation and redness.
-Otitis media/inner ear infection is an infection of the ear canal, often spread from otitis externa, leading to many dangers for dogs such as deafness, loss of balance, facial paralysis.
Signs of Ear Infection in Your Dog
You can tell if your dog has an ear infection by looking for the following signs:
Your dog's habits/behaviors include:
– Dogs use their paws to scratch their ears frequently.
– Dogs shake their heads vigorously and repeatedly to try to relieve discomfort.
– Dogs rub their heads against the floor, walls, and other objects.
– Dogs feel pain and protest when you touch their ears.
Signs from the dog's ears to recognize that the dog has an ear infection:
- Around the ear there are many red spots, swelling and more severe is the discharge of pus, yellow or brown in color and especially fishy smell.
2. Why do dogs get ear infections?
Ear structure
A dog's ear canal is more vertical than a human's, forming an L-shape that tends to hold liquid. This makes the dog's ear more prone to moisture and more fluid accumulation, producing more bacteria, causing ear infections.
Fleas, parasites
If your dog has fleas due to an unclean environment or contact with other dogs, it can also cause ear infections. Fleas cause itching, making the dog uncomfortable and scratching constantly, leading to scratches in the ear area, causing ear infections.
Dogs are not bathed or cleaned regularly
As mentioned above, the structure of a dog's ear is prone to contain liquid, so the ear area will often be wet. If you do not clean and dry your dog's ears regularly, they will accumulate secretions that cause itching, leading to severe ear infections over time.
Constitution
There are puppies with weak immune systems from birth, so they are easily affected by the external environment (dust, humid weather, unclean living environment, ...). From there, they are also more susceptible to infections.
Or there are puppies with small ears but thick fur, if not shaved and cleaned regularly, the ear area will easily accumulate a lot of bacteria causing inflammation, itching, and discomfort for the puppy.
Allergy
There are some cases where dogs are allergic to shower gel, or bathing with shower gel with people will cause severe allergies, causing redness and swelling in the dog's skin.
3. How to clean ears and treat ear infections in dogs at home effectively
In case your dog has a mild ear infection, you can treat it by cleaning their ears more frequently and thoroughly to remove all the secretions.
Cleaning your dog's ears at home is also very simple:
- First, use a special ear cleaner on a cotton swab.
- Gently clean around (especially in the ear cartilage crevices where there is a lot of dirt).
- Or drop the cleaning solution directly into the ear, then let the dog shake all the dirt out, then use a cotton swab to clean the dirt.
- You can also pluck or trim the ear hair to help keep your dog's ears cleaner.
In case your baby has a severe ear infection, you should take them to the vet for examination and timely treatment. The doctor can diagnose the cause correctly and prescribe oral medication combined with a specialized ear cleaning solution for your baby to recover quickly. In this case, you should not hesitate too long, because if not treated promptly, your baby will have a very severe ear infection, which can lead to deafness, loss of balance when moving, and facial paralysis.
4. Preventing Ear Infections in Dogs
Bathe and Clean Your Dog's Ears Regularly
The biggest reason why dogs get ear infections is because their ears are always wet, accumulating a lot of secretions. Therefore, cleaning your dog's ears regularly with a specialized ear cleaning solution will be the most effective way to remove secretions and bacteria that grow in the ears.
Besides, bathing your dog regularly will also help them avoid ticks, lice, and parasites on their fur and skin.
Prevent ticks, parasites - keep the dog's living environment clean and airy
Keeping your dog's living environment clean and airy is a must, to limit dust and bacteria from entering their bodies. From there, it greatly limits the risk of causing ear infections and dermatitis for your dog.
In addition, you should give your pet Nexgard and Bravecto regularly to effectively prevent ticks, parasites and parasites.
Maintain a scientific nutritional regimen to help increase your dog's immune system and avoid pathogens
To increase your dog's immune system, you need to add to your dog's daily menu: Protein (beef, pork, chicken, ...), Fiber, Fat, Vitamins and minerals to help muscle growth. Foods and citrus fruits, vegetables rich in vitamins A and C help increase resistance effectively, increasing the ability to prevent diseases caused by viruses during this unpleasant transitional season.
Or you can increase your dog's resistance with functional foods, calcium, and supporting vitamins.