Canine Ear Infection

Having a pet implies a high responsibility. Your dogs health should be of the highest priority if you want
as few problems as possible and give your dog a happy life. For this to happen you should know about a
few health issues dogs an experience in order to prevent them, treat them and not panic when they
occur. More, many of the dogs conditions can be treated at home so you can save some money and an
unpleasant and rather stressful trip to the vet for your dog.
An ear infection, or otitis, is a common and often met condition of our canine friends, which can have
various causes. But there are also some ways of prevention and treatment, as well as a breed propensity
to ear infection. Sure that there are more severe infections that can occur, in which case a vet
appointment is most recommended, but most of them are rather superficial so that any dog owner can
deal with it. You are about to find out how to prevent complications of otitis, as well as other useful
information about dogs health.
Firstly, you should know some things about the anatomy of the canine ear, which is very different from
the human ear and more, very different from one breed to another. This is why the canine ear infection
may occur more often to a certain breed than to another.

The Canine Ear Anatomy

The dogs ear is compounded of three areas, in the same way the human ear is: outer ear, middle ear
and inner ear. While humans have a horizontal outer canal that is easy to clean, dogs have a vertical or a
45 degrees angled outer canal that gives dogs rather a hard time to keep them cleaned. More, the outer
ear in dogs is more complex and varied: while dogs of certain breeds have erect ears that leave the
outer canal open, other breeds of dogs have floppy ears that cover up the whole canal, contributing to
the occurrence of otitis. The canine middle ear consists of a sharp turn to a horizontal canal that ends up
into the inner ear. Therefore, the maze shape of the canine ear is more predisposed to infections and
the presence of the earflap contributes to it even more.

Causes of Canine Otitis

Now that you know more about the anatomy of a dogs ear, you can easily imagine that the vertical
canal hold on to particles of dirt, dust, water, ear mites, or earwax. Even if dogs are used to shake off
excess water or whenever they feel burdened with dirt or dust, or to scratch their particularly affected
areas, the verticality prevents them to clear out the whole content. Therefore, the accumulation permits
the development of bacteria or yeast which can lead to infection. More, the scratching of the ear flap
can also lead to wounds and infections.
In case your dog is used to swimming or to frequently bathing, water usually gets trapped into the
horizontal canal of the inner ear. The inner skin of the ear canal is naturally dry even if some oils are
secreted to moisture it. Therefore, the anatomy and inner composition of a dogs ear when filled with
water becomes a good place for the development of fungi or bacteria, due to the warmth and moisture.
If your dog also has floppy ears, the water dries out even harder.
Bacteria and yeast are a constant presence in a dogs outer ear. What should concern us is their number,
because if they start to multiple then an infection can occur. A yeast infection is called Malassezia while
a bacterial infection is caused by staphylococci and pseudomonas.
Ear mites are common dog ear affection. The mite sets place inside the dogs ear to feed with the oils
and secretions inside. They provoke discomfort and itching and make your dog to scratch. Excessive
scratching provokes irritation, infections and thickening of the skin. Another result is excessive dark
colored discharge which can block the canal and weaken the hearing.

Dogs predisposition to infections by breed

Breeds involving floppy ears are naturally more susceptible to ear infection than those involving erect
ears. This is logical and natural and explained by the openness or closeness of the outer ear. Throughout
the floppy ears breeds there are: Bloodhounds, Basset Hounds, Irish Setters, Beagles, Cocker Spaniels
and Poodles. More, even the erect ear breeds puppies initially possess floppy ears, until they grow up
enough to their erect ears. So they are also prone to ear infection.
However, there are some other reasons why particular breeds are more susceptible to ear infections
than others.
Some breeds are more exposed to allergies than others. While it hasnt been discovered why, German
Shepherds, Golden Retrievers, Dachshunds and Cocker Spaniels are more likely to develop food allergies
or hay fever which can lead to ear infections. By identifying the exact substances in food that they are
allergic to, you can easily prevent the condition.
Some other breeds differ by the presence of hair inside the ear. Poodles, Bichon Frise, Lhasa Apso or
Schnauzers are among these breeds. Inner hair combined with oil and was secretions often lead to
folliculitis which usually results into an ear infection. It can all start from a skin grown hair that may
provoke itchiness and the dog starts scratching until damaging the skin. Any wound, even the slightest,
is very likely to turn into an infection by contracting the slightest piece of dust or dirt.

Common met ear infection symptoms

Even if you dog will start to act against the discomfort it feels, it is highly recommended to check out
your dog ears as often as you can, especially if you have a floppy eared dog. By simply opening them up
when you play or even by cleaning them up carefully with a Q-tip, you can prevent lots of potential
future infections. To tell whether your dog has an ear infection it can be observed from its behavior.
Excessive scratching, shaking or rubbing, as well as anxiety, are signs that something is going on inside
the ear of you beloved pet.
If your dog has this certain behavior, when you open up the ear, look for any signs of irritation, swelling,
redness or discharge. If the discharge is excessive and has either a brownish, yellowish or bloody color,
than you should know that the cause is probably an ear mite. The veterinarian consultation is highly
recommended because it can lay anywhere in the complex canal system of the dog ear and you
wouldnt want to cause more damage, would you?
If you find out that the discharge has an unpleasant odor or thickened skin and crusts near the flap, then
the infection can be rather serious. More, if the dog experiences imbalance or walking in circles these
are signs of hearing loss and that the infection has spread too much to the inner ear, affecting the
balancing organ.

Home treatments and medication

In any case, a visit to the vet is highly recommended. However, if your dog has already experienced and
ear infection, you may probably know by now it is not that difficult to treat it at home. Cleaning out the
ear carefully with a Q-tip should be enough if it is about a light condition involving trapped water or
foreign object. Also, if your dog has floppy ears, turn them over while you play with him and it stays
under supervision, so that the ear can dry out naturally and more easily. Dont forget to put them back
after you finish playing, because letting them opened may involve a risky attraction of mites or dirt.
However, if you identify the symptoms of yeast or bacterial infection or an ear mite, it is always best to
see a vet. He would be able to identify the exact cause and to prescribe the best medication.

Ways of prevention
We all know that prevention is the best cure. So why not taking care in advance over certain things, so
that both you and your dog live a happy and relaxed life? By getting used to certain habits, you can
easily make sure your dog will suffer the least of anything in his life.
Keeping a clean surrounding and bedding, as well as taking care of its own hygiene, prevents your dog
from contracting any unwanted amounts of bacteria or insects. Make sure you know what best suits
your dog by its breed. There are dogs that are not recommended to be bathed or taken for a swim too
often even if it is raised indoors. An outdoors dog may be more predisposed to contracting bacteria or
mites, but with a periodic veterinarian check-up, these can be avoided or prevented from becoming
more severe.
Making sure your dog has a healthy diet will also contribute to the prevention of ear infections. The
secretion of oil and waxes are very dependent to the diet. If it is too greasy and fat, the secretions will
be more abundant. Even if your dog does a lot of running, a too greasy diet will not give them too many
benefits. So make sure you balance their meals and pay attention to any substance they might be
allergic to.
Take into consideration cleaning out their ears after bathing or even more often than that. Check out
their ears once in a while, when you play together. Check him out of mites or dirt after you bring him
inside from a long walk outside. To do that, the easiest way is to brush his fur before entering in or
leaving him into your own yard.
Remember that a healthy dog is a happy dog, so whenever he shows signs of discomfort you should act
immediately. Unlike cats, dogs rarely play out with feelings. If they behave moody they most probably
have a discomfort or condition.

Keeping these in mind you should feel more confident about taking responsibility over your dogs
health. Even if he doesnt speak, paying attention to your dog and understand each others sights is the
most wonderful experience of all.