Dog Ear Infections

Canker is a catchallword for many problems of the ear. The rapidity of onset of some carproblems is spectacular, with a normal car canal progressing in twelve hours to become a brightly inflamed area and an ear full of a tacky,often foul-smelling pus. When this happens, the dog holds its headwith the infected ear down and shakes gingerly scratching bringsforth a yelp of pain.

Perhaps more often the onset is insidious and progresses over a weekor two before the dog is obviously in trouble. If you suspect a prob-lem, don't be above smelling the ear and if you find a foul odor youmay be sure there are bacteria that will soon cause a more seriousproblem if not treated.

There are many over-the-counter preparations for ear canker, noneof which are very effective and most of which may delay a trip to theveterinarian. If you want to try a home remedy purchase propyleneglycol from a pharmacist. (Propylene glycol appears to be oily but iswater soluble; it is not to be confused with ethylene glycol, which isantifreeze for car radiators and poisonous when ingested.) In moststates you can purchase antibiotic capsules without a prescription fromany pet shop that sells aquarium supplies. Five capsules of 250-mgtetracycline in each ounce of propylene glycol will cure a large percentof ear canker cases, but if you do not see a good improvement intwenty-four hours make haste to your veterinarian.

All too often ear mites, when properly applied, min-eral oil will destroy them. However, if the bacterial infection is a partic-ularly difficult infection to destroy, as is the case with one calledpseudomonas, the mineral oil will enable the infection to flourish in-stead of curing it.

If you permit an ear infection to remain untreated there is a dangerof erosions of the tympanic membrane, or eardrum. This opens the wayfor the infection to enter the middle ear with its delicate and vulnera-ble tissues and presents a challenging problem to a veterinarian tocorrect.

One of the ways of diagnosing ear canker in order to provide thecorrect and best treatment consists of removing some of the causativeinfective agent on a sterile swab and performing a bacterial culture andsensitivity of it. There are times when all efforts to treat an ear infec-tion are unsuccessful and the veterinarian properly will suggest surgeryto open the canal to expose it to air and to facilitate the application ofmedication to the infected area.

Tumors of the ears are relatively common and may become the focalpoint of infection. They should be removed.

Ear Mites. Ear mites are small insects that live in the external earcanal. A few of these insects cause great distress in dogs, unlike in catswhere hundreds of mites cause little apparent discomfort. If your dogsuddenly begins to shake its head and scratch violently and there is nomoisture and debris in the ear, you should suspect ear mites. Aftermany days of discomfort a mahogany-colored crumbly wax develops.When placed on a black surface, this may be observed to have minutelight-colored objects moving on and around it. A magnifying glassmakes the diagnosis easier.

How does a dog contract ear mites? Since our feline friends arepredisposed to ear mites and since many cats live with little attentionfrom people, they appear to be the principal reservoir of infection. Aninfested cat wanders through shrubbery around a house and shakes itshead, shedding a few insects on the leaves of the shrubs. Your dog,interested in the cat scent, gives the area an olfactory going-over andwhile poking its head through the shrubbery picks up a pregnant fe-male mite.

Dogs commonly have ear mites in one ear only and why this is so is acuriosity of nature. In studies done on bats, ear mites are common butarc never in both ears. When mites are removed from an infected earand placed in the unaffected ear, they leave that ear and travel back tothe infected one. Interestingly, when an unaffected bat has mitesplaced in both ears, the mites thrive in one car and those placed in theother leave. The idea of selective tissue immunity may be recognized asimportant as curiosities of nature are solved through continued re-search.

Hematoma. An injury to a blood vessel in the ear flap may cause ablood clot, or hematoma, to form. The ear appears to be slowly inflat-ing over many days until the ear resembles a small football. In any event, one has a choice of surgery tocorrect it or leaving the swelling alone. If not corrected the swellingrecedes, leaving scar tissue contractions and an car resembling a potatochip in configuration. Surgery is preferable.

A laceration on an ear tip is more of an inconvenience than anemergency. Dogs will shake their heads, causing blood to be forced out of minor vessels at the site. The tip of the ear may strike the top of thehead and under the neck, leaving bloody areas there. If the laceration issmall, sit with the dog and hold cotton with pressure against the areauntil the bleeding stops. This may require an hour or more. The vesselswill eventually retract if the cut is not too deep. Remove the dog'scollar(s) since with continued shaking the tags and buckle will reopenthe lacerations. If you cannot control the bleeding in a reasonable time,call your veterinarian.