# Blood in dog's ear



## blynn (Oct 16, 2006)

My dog was acting a little 'off' yesterday, she chewed up a chapstick and pooped on the rug, we thought it was retaliation for having to be in the kennel a lot yesterday (we were in and out, had to run errands, had a plumber in the house, etc.) But today I noticed that she has black/brown crusties inside her left ear, and that her ear feels slightly warm. The ear is only slightly redder than her other ear. DH and I cleaned out the outer parts of the ear (not in where we could not see) with q tips and alcohol. She seemed sensitive to this, but could just be she didn't like us messing with her. We gave her a rimadyl and she seems fine at present. Not sure if she has an infection deep in her ear or just a little owie from a bug bite or scratch. Shined a flashlight in her ear and couldn't see anything. We thought of rinsing out her ear but didn't want to rinse what we couldn't see. We are going to take her to the vet on Monday if she does not seem 100% back to normal, or sooner if she starts feeling bad. Only other thing I would mention is I noticed that she's been drinking more water than usual for a couple days, but it has been warmer outside. 

So other dog owners, what do you do when your dog presents with a similar problem?


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## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

Are here ears floppy or upright? Floppy ears with infection is almost always yeast. Then the dog scratches, so a bacterial infection begins. You just have to kill the yeast, and sometimes you need antibiotics too depending on if it is infected on top of the fungus.


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## blynn (Oct 16, 2006)

They're floppy. Thanks Mekasmom, I didn't know that!


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

If there's a yeast infection, there is usually a "musty" odor.

This will clear it up, and is a LOT cheaper than a trip to a Vet:

Blue Power Ear Wash Recipe:



> 16 Oz. Isopropyl Alcohol
> 
> 4 Tablespoons Boric Acid Powder
> 
> ...


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## GrannyCarol (Mar 23, 2005)

One other thing that IS worth a trip to the vet, is that a dog can get a foreign object deep in the ear. I remember as a groomer sending a Cocker with a nasty ear into the vet... poor thing had an inch long piece of barb wire in her ear!

What I do is to remove all debris and hair as far as I can see into the ear and rinse it with a good professional ear wash. This can be enough to clear minor problems out, but if the ear is red and sore the next day, then off to the vet. 

If the "blood" is dried caked up stuff, it can be the residue of ear mites. When you are familiar with that, you can get an ear mite medicine at any pet store to use. 

Yeast infections can be the result of floppy ears, esp. if they are hairy. As a groomer I clip the inside of the ear flap on long haired dropped ear dogs and also the area right in front of the ear to let air in. However, I've noticed that my allergies make my ears itch really bad sometimes and that my mother's English Setter had chronic ear problems living in Seattle (wet, moldy) and they cleared up with little to no treatment when he visited my house in a dry climate. If the dog shows any other signs of infection, look into allergies (things like chewing feet, etc.). 

There can be bacterial infections too. 

Basically, with my own dogs and having a lot of experience, I clean out the ear and watch it. If it gets better in a couple of days, fine. If it gets worse, off to the vet. Since you aren't that experienced, I'd take your dog to the vet and have it examined. Noe sense in treating the wrong thing!

If you wait and the dog is really uncomfortable, they can shake their head, hit the ear on something and give themselves a hematoma (broken blood vessel that caused a large fat blood blister inside the ear leather). Hematomas don't usually resolve on their own, are painful for a time, then turn into hard ugly lumps in the ear leather. It's not really common, but I do see it now and then. 

There, I hope I didn't scare you - most of the time its either ear mites, cheat grass in the ear, or yeast infection and is pretty easily cleared up with appropriate treatment.


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

> If the "blood" is dried caked up stuff, it can be the residue of ear mites. When you are familiar with that, you can get an ear mite medicine at any pet store to use.


Dogs almost never get ear mites, but the ear wash I listed will kill them too


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## GrannyCarol (Mar 23, 2005)

Maybe because I have handled and groomed so many dogs over 38 years of grooming, breeding and showing, I've seen it often enough to list it as a concern. 

Your ear wash looks like a good one. I'm a bit wimpy about putting alcohol in a sore ear though, it stings and can damage tissue. There are other choices, I usually use a mild professional ear wash and I definitely send ear problems that last more than a few days after a cleaning to the vet.


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## Oregon Julie (Nov 9, 2006)

GrannyCarol said:


> Maybe because I have handled and groomed so many dogs over 38 years of grooming, breeding and showing, I've seen it often enough to list it as a concern.
> 
> Your ear wash looks like a good one. I'm a bit wimpy about putting alcohol in a sore ear though, it stings and can damage tissue. There are other choices, I usually use a mild professional ear wash and I definitely send ear problems that last more than a few days after a cleaning to the vet.



Ditto


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## Ruby (May 10, 2002)

Max had ear mites one time. My vet said it's not real common UNLESS they are around cats that have them. Max got his from Tiger.


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## blynn (Oct 16, 2006)

GrannyCarol said:


> Basically, with my own dogs and having a lot of experience, I clean out the ear and watch it. If it gets better in a couple of days, fine. If it gets worse, off to the vet. Since you aren't that experienced, I'd take your dog to the vet and have it examined. Noe sense in treating the wrong thing!
> QUOTE]
> 
> This is what we're going to do, her ear is about the same and it is still sensitive to her, so we are calling the vet in the AM and bringing her in. This is my first dog, and DH and I were talking and decided that if we take her to the vet for this, then we'll know what the problem is if it happens again. You're right, we don't want to treat unless we know what we're treating. Thank GrannyCarol and everyone else for the advice, I truly appreciate it!


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## BackfourtyMI. (Sep 3, 2007)

My Beagle used to get ear infections & every few months it seemed we were at the vet which is costly but I wanted to do the right thing. Each time he told me it was the food so I'd switch to what I thought was a better food, usually more exspensive than the last, etc. 
Finally I started reading about raw diets & decided to switch both Beagle & jack russel to the raw diet(Jack Russell has food allergies also). It's been about 1 year & almost 2 months & the beagle has not had an ear infection since & the jack russell has had no problems either. I'll never go back to commercial dog food.


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## GrannyCarol (Mar 23, 2005)

How's the dog? Had a chance to find out what's up yet?


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## blynn (Oct 16, 2006)

Oh yes, thanks for asking! The vet couldn't see her until Wednesday. She doesn't have mites like we thought, she has a mild ear infection in both ears. No yeast, and no bugs. The vet says they can be brought on by allergies, and that Muppet is at the age where she would start developing them. She gave me an ear rinse to use once a day for a week, and if it's not any better she's going to give her antibiotics. So far she's had the ear rinse twice, and seems to be getting a little better. 

Thanks again for your advice! We're going to trim the hair around her ears, she's gotten a bit shaggy.


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## GrannyCarol (Mar 23, 2005)

Well, that sounds pretty simple - glad to hear that! 

If you suspect allergies, you can either get some tests done to determine what she is allergic to, or look around her environment. What does she eat? You can simplify the diet and find a diet that doesn't have the most common allergens (corn is a big one and I'd avoid soy too). You can look at her bedding - remove anything with cedar in it for one, cedar is very irritating. Some dogs are allergic to grass. I haven't dealt with this for some time, so maybe others can help you with common allergens for dogs. 

Definitely keep the hair off the inside and in front of her ears. Also, if you give her antibiotics, be sure to repopulate the probiotics when they are done or that will predispose her to yeast infections. Dogs generally love yogurt and a TBS a day might be useful in any case. 

Thanks for reporting back!


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