If you’ve been around dogs for any length of time, you know that at some point in a dog’s life its ears will swell up and look like it just went 15 rounds with a heavyweight boxing champion like Muhammed Ali.
What causes a dog’s ear to swell? There could be a number of reasons, but in most cases ear mites, ear hematoma, and inner or outer ear infections are the usual suspects.
Ear mite infestation in dogs: ear mites are tiny parasites that love to feast off the wax and oils in your dog’s ears. Young dogs and puppies are the ones who suffer the most from ear mites, but older dogs can be infected too. In the case of a serious infestation, your dog’s ears become blocked. To unclog its ears, your dog will shake its head violently and/or scratch the affected which could cause it to swell.
How to treat ear mites: start by taking your dog to a veterinarian for a diagnoses. If your pooch does have ear mites, keep it way from other pets since ear mites can be easily passed from pet to pet. In most cases, an ear mite infestation is addressed by the use of a treatment such as Eradimite and/or an ear cleaning solution such as Novasan Otic Cleaning Solution.
Ear hematoma in dogs: if the inside of your dog’s ear flap is showing a large swollen mass, it most likely means your dog is suffering from an ear hematoma. What causes the swelling? A rupture in the blood vessel inside the dog’s ear flap causes internal bleeding between the ear’s tissue layers. The rupture can be caused by violent head shaking because your dog has an infection or something stuck in its ear.
How to treat ear hematoma: Typically, treating an ear hematoma in dogs involves the veterinarian draining the blood from the ear, and surgery to prevent blood from filling up the ear again.
Ear infections in dogs: inner or outer ear infections produce swelling of the ear, a discharge, and odor in the affected ear. Allergies, water in the ear, polyps, dog bites or something stuck in the ear can cause an ear infection in dogs.
How to treat ear infections: in extreme cases of an ear infection your veterinarian might recommend surgery. However, most ear infections in dogs are usually treated by administering an oral or topical antibiotic, an antifungal, or an ear cleaning solution.
To sum it up, ear swelling in dogs is a common problem. The typical causes are ear mites, ear hematoma, and inner or outer infections. A dog with a swollen ear should be taken to a veterinarian to get the right diagnoses and treatment. Ear mites are usually treated by cleaning out the ears with an ear cleaning solution and applying a treatment to get rid of the mites. Ear hematoma require draining the blood from the ear and surgery. An ear infection is usually treated with an antibiotic, an antifungal or an ear cleaning solution. Periodically inspecting your dog’s ears can help prevent most issues that could cause ear swelling in dogs.
Has your dog ever experienced a swollen ear?
If yes, please tell us about it and how you were able to treat the ear swelling in your dog.
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