# What are these weird ear wounds on my dogs?



## Ravenlost (Jul 20, 2004)

Two of our dogs, Maggie and Tom, have some odd wounds on the inside tip of their ears. 

They're small (tip of my little finger sized), raised crusty bumps. At first we thought they were just scabs from a scratch, but they're not going away. Now I'm thinking they may be some type of fungal infection.

Anyone know what this is and how we can clear it up?


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## WstTxLady (Mar 14, 2009)

if you believe fungal, it wont hurt to put a small amount of athletes foot cream on the spots. or some benadryl anti-itch cream.


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## Ravenlost (Jul 20, 2004)

Will do that. I've been putting an aloe and rosemary skin balm on them and it hasn't helped at all. The hair has fallen out where the spots are so will medicate them as you've recommended tonight. Sure hope it works! The dogs don't act like it's itchy or bothersome, but I don't like it...LOL.


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## bluefish (Jan 27, 2006)

Another thing to think about, is plastic allergy. My dog had that and it turned out to be plastic allergy.


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## Ravenlost (Jul 20, 2004)

Hmmm...plastic? Can't think of any plastic their ears come in contact with. I'll have to think on that and keep an eye on them.


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## NickieL (Jun 15, 2007)

could be just scaps...something bit em and they scabbed over.


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## Ravenlost (Jul 20, 2004)

That's what I thought at first Nickie, but they are really thick...more like a dry scaly bump than a scab.


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## WstTxLady (Mar 14, 2009)

can use plain ole Vaseline on there also.


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## Ravenlost (Jul 20, 2004)

Wouldn't vaseline do the same thing the aloe and rosemary balm would do?


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## GoldenMom (Jan 2, 2005)

Pictures? Are the ear flaps really itchy?


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## PNP Katahdins (Oct 28, 2008)

Ravenlost said:


> Hmmm...plastic? Can't think of any plastic their ears come in contact with. I'll have to think on that and keep an eye on them.


Food or water dishes could do it if they are long-eared dogs. My thought was fly or insect bites like happens to kennel or outdoor dogs. My first whippets were adults and came from a kennel. Both had scabby eartips due to fly bites. Insect repellent worked until they healed up. I hope you find the cause.

Peg


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## bluefish (Jan 27, 2006)

Ravenlost said:


> Hmmm...plastic? Can't think of any plastic their ears come in contact with. I'll have to think on that and keep an eye on them.


That's what I thought, too. They had metal feed dishes, metal water bowls, etc. Then I discovered the stinkin' dog was sneaking into the compost bucket which was plastic. I put a lock on that cabinet and the problem cleared up. And she has shortish airplane ears, it probably would have been worse with floppy ears.


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## Ravenlost (Jul 20, 2004)

They eat out of metal bowls and drink out of enameled pots. Oh wait!!! They do have a plastic water bowl in the garage! Hmmm...better change that ASAP.

Goldenmom...I will post photos of it today. Well, of Tom's at least. Maggie is never still enough to get a picture. Honestly, I think that dog is going to explode one of these days.


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## Ravenlost (Jul 20, 2004)

Here are the pictures...this is the worst one on Tom:










And Maggie's worst bump:










They don't act like the bumps are itchy. Hubby is changing out the plastic water tub tonight (they only use it at night).


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## GoldenMom (Jan 2, 2005)

Huh! Not sure WHAT those are!


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## Ravenlost (Jul 20, 2004)

Nasty looking, aren't they? I'm going to try a fungal ointment to see if that helps. If it doesn't then I'll try something else. 

Time to do some research online!


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## Beaners (Feb 23, 2005)

It might be the lighting, but the one on top looks kind of like a leaking sebaceous cyst?

Kayleigh


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## Ravenlost (Jul 20, 2004)

Hmmm...would it not be wet/damp/greasy if it was a leaking cyst?


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## tallpines (Apr 9, 2003)

Ring Worm?


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## Beaners (Feb 23, 2005)

It must be the color on my monitor or the lighting then. I'm glad for you that it isn't it! Just the thought of cleaning those-blech.

Kayleigh


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## Sonshine (Jul 27, 2007)

Could it be ear mites?


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## Minelson (Oct 16, 2007)

My first guess would be fungal because it looks kinda like "rain rot" that horses get. MTG would be a good product to try on it. It covers a lot of skin issues.
http://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html?pgguid=2fd984b6-f5ac-4323-a639-1d059477370f&gas=mtg
For sure check for ear mites. I think Jeffers has the MTG in smaller bottles too.


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## Ravenlost (Jul 20, 2004)

It does look kind of like rain rot! We have a horse, Chyenne (mostly white paint) who used to get rain rot before we moved her here. Thanks for the link Minelson.

I may need to have them checked for ear mites. Little Aoife had them and they could have picked them up from her. Maggie had a couple days of crying with her ears a week back, but I cleaned them well and she stopped fussing with them. Tom hasn't acted like his ears bother him at all.

Probably wouldn't hurt to treat ALL the dogs for ear mites.


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## WstTxLady (Mar 14, 2009)

Vetericyn will clear it up fast!

http://www.vetericyn.com/


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## Ravenlost (Jul 20, 2004)

Right now we're using the vet's "miracle" solution. I don't know what the stuff is as they just give us some in a generic bottle when we need it (we always keep some on hand). It's red and has a strong medicinal smell. Makes things heal fast so I'm hoping it will make these bumps go away. None of the other dogs have them. We checked everyone!


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## CarolT (Mar 12, 2009)

Ear mites make it look like coffee grounds in the ear canal. Usually, if it causes a problem outside the canal, it's because the ear blows up like a balloon because a blood vessel bursts. If you had a horse with rain rot, I read somewhere that it never really leaves, just goes into remission, have to wonder if it can spread to dogs?? Just a thought since you say it does look like it...


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## Ravenlost (Jul 20, 2004)

Yeah, the dogs don't have the nasty ear mite stuff in their ears and, since neither dog acts like the bumps bother them, neither has been shaking their ears which could cause a hematoma. 

The dogs don't get close enough to the horse that once had rain rot to catch it from her and none of the other horses have ever got it so I'm thinking it's not contagious. She's a mostly white paint and the other horses are dark. I've always thought her problems came from being so light skinned/colored.


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