Dogs ear

[AmandaCarmelle]

I have a 6 year old Lhasa Apso named Daisy, she is full of energy and loves to play with the other dogs. I had my sisters 85 lbs Golden here last night and Daisy got mad about a bone and got into a fight with her. As far as I could tell the other dog did no damage she was really just holding Daisy down to keep her from biting her. Daisy was fine all day and after noon until she was given a bath, because she had vomited in her cage the night before, however she has stomach issues so this is not unusual. During the bath she started to go crazy which is not like her. After the bath she started to shake her head to the left and scratch at her ear. She was even doing this while walking. When I looked at her ear there is a black wax coming out but it is all over her fur as well is is more of a brown. There is tons of this discharge and she seems to be in pain even when I try and touch the outside of her ear. The discharge/wax does not have an order to it at all, so I am not sure if she has an ear infection or if she may have ruptured her ear drum. It is a Saturday night, so the Vet will not be open until Monday when I can call and I just wanted to make sure that if in fact it is a ruptured ear drum that she will be okay until I get a hold of her vet?

Thank you,
Amanda

[Ghilly]

If you absolutely cannot find a vet until Monday, you can clean the ear yourself with cotton balls and a bit of mineral oil.  A dog's ear is not like a human's ear.  In a human, it is very easy to reach the eardrum and cause a lot of damage.  While a dog's ear is not as safe to clean as a cat's ear (a cat ear canal makes a sharp turn and you probably couldn't hit the eardrum if you tried), the dog ear canal still makes a 45 degree turn, so you can use a cotton ball with a bit of mineral oil on it to clean all the brown, waxy exudate from the outer part of the ear and canal near the ear opening, and then use a cotton swab with a bit of mineral oil on it to get just inside the ear canal.  While there will still be exudate further down in the ear canal, it will help immeasurably with the dog's comfort to get out the stuff that you can easily see.  Also, if a bit of mineral oil gets down into the ear canal, don't worry because it will not harm the ear and it may even help by suffocating any mites in there if the problem is ear mites.  Then, first thing Monday morning, call the vet and get the first appointment they have available.

Ghilly

[dogmom192]

There are emergency clinics for animals in every county.  And many vets also keep Saturday hours, at least in the morning to mid-afternoon.  Look in the phone book to see if any of the vet ads list Saturday hours- today is Saturday, by the way, (last night when you posted it was Friday night, not Saturday night).  Or just call any vet and they'll probably have a recorded message giving the number for your county's  emergency clinic.  Don't wait.

[Red931]

I think you have got it with the Ear Mites. She is saying that it is a wax like substance. I hope she took the dog to the Animal Hospital by now.

That dog must feel terrible.

[Ghilly]

I completely agree with Red.  She needs to be seen ASAP.  

It COULD be dried blood, but it could also be ear mite exudate, as a heavy infestation of ear mites will fill the ear canal with a dark brown waxy substance.  She could also have a yeast infection, although a yeast infection would more than likely have some type of odor to it.  Swabbing the ear and looking at the exudate under a microscope will determine whether or not there are mites present, and then the appropriate medication can be prescribed.  If it's a yeast infection, they will prescribe an anti-fungal, a miticide will be prescribed for an ear mite infestation and a generalized ear infection would, of course, be treated with an antibiotic.  Whether topical or systemic will be determined by the type of bacteria and what the vet has found to be the most successful treatment in the past.

Ghilly

[Red931]

Are you sure that it is a wax type substance and not blood that is starting to dry up. Blood will turn a brownish color and then almost black once dried especially when coming from the head.

You dog is in pain and has issues and discharge around the head area. I would NOT wait until Monday. My advice is to find the nearest 24 hr. Animal Hospital near you and get an emrgency exam.

Please post back and let us know how she is doing.