How Did My Pet Get an Ear Infection?

Today let’s tackle a really common issue that dogs, and rarely cats, come to see me for. Ear infections. Some days I only see two or three cases, but in the middle of swimming or allergy season, this might be the reason for half of my scheduled appointments. So, we’ll talk about some of the causes of ear infections, the different types of ear infections, how to best clean your dog or cat’s ears, and some preventative measures you can take.

Hopefully, if your dog or cat gets an ear infection, it is a one time thing. This can be the case, but more common are the pets I repeatedly see for this issue. I already mentioned above two of the most common causes of ear infections……water in the ear canal, and allergies.

Let’s do some anatomy first. The dog ear is shaped like an “L.” When your dog goes swimming, has a bath, rolls in the dewy grass or the fresh powder snow, moisture gets into that ear and can stay there for prolonged periods of time. This is less likely in those breeds of dogs that have ears that stand up, so those are the lucky breeds. If they shake their head after water gets in, most of it will leave, and the oxygen that can get into the ear canal will usually do the rest of the job to dry the ear.

But, what about all those breeds of dogs with the floppy ears? And, then, what about all of the poodles who produce “oodles” of hair in their ear canal? When moisture gets into an ear canal and gets trapped due to hair, floppy ears, etc, that moisture gets warm and sets up the perfect environment for an ear infection to proliferate.  Ear infections are much more common in labs, goldens, poodles, shih tzus, etc.

What about allergies? How could that be the cause of ear infections? This is the most common cause of ear infections that return over and over and over again.

These poor dogs sometimes just get over one ear infection, only to have another one start soon after. Not only is this a HUGE cause of frustration for the owner, but also the dog, and even us Veterinarians, too. All of that inflammation on the skin and in the ear canals creates that nice warm environment for ear infections to proliferate. Also, with an allergy, the body’s natural immunity is lower than in normal pets. So, a small amount of yeast or bacteria that may not usually cause a problem, now causes a repeated and very frustrating problem. Every time I have a “repeat offender” for ear infections, I have the allergy talk with the owner of the pet.

Next, what are the different kinds of ear infections? There are two major kinds: yeast or bacteria. Of the bacteria, there are also two major types: cocci or rods.

Yeast infections are easiest to understand. Dogs naturally have a tiny amount of yeast in their ears. If I was to swab a normal dog’s ear, I would find a couple yeast on the slide that I prepared and stained. However, in the wet ear or allergy ear, this yeast multiplies and multiplies, leading to a red-hot, itchy and very inflamed ear. Not to mention, also a very stinky ear.

Bacterial ear infections are often secondary. If the pet has an underlying allergy with inflamed and itchy ears they start to scratch at those ears.

To pets, most things that are stinky are also tasty. So, after scratching their ears, they like to lick their toes. But wait, the ear is still itchy, so they have to scratch it again with the foot that is now covered in mouth bacteria…….and the cycle continues. The ear is now filled with bacteria from the pet walking all over and licking the feet as well. Often, I will also find mixed infections - both bacteria and yeast.

Whenever I diagnose an ear infection I ALWAYS recommend cleaning the ear on a regular basis during the course of treatment, and also afterward to monitor the ear. Owners either tell me they are already “wiping” out the ears, or they are too afraid to clean their pet’s ears. First, to be honest, wiping the ears does almost nothing. You are only reaching the top 20% of what needs to be cleaned.

All of the debris is staying down in the deeper part of the ear canal, and that is where the infection originated. I completely understand the nervousness most people feel about cleaning ears…you don’t want to cause damage or pain to your pet’s ear. BUT, this is EASY. Here’s the picture of the ear anatomy again from the beginning of this post. The dog’s ear is shaped like an “L.” When you clean your pet’s ear, you are really just reaching the 90 degree bend in the ear, and maybe a little further. You are usually nowhere near the ear drum. But, cleaning this far down allows you to pull out way more debris and helps the infection go away faster.

What should you use to clean your pet’s ears? For most ear infections, all you need is DRY Q-tips.

Most ear infections are moist, and the dry Q-tip will pull out this debris nicely. If you are wanting to use an ear cleaning solution, do not pick this up at the pet store! Most of these have WATER as the first ingredient. That is what caused this problem! Ear cleaning solutions from your Veterinarian are much higher quality, and usually have an alcohol as the first ingredient, or most prevalent ingredient. Why? Because alcohol is DRYING, and that’s what this moist and infected ear canal needs. If you are cleaning your pet’s ear with an ear cleaning solution prior to the medication your Veterinarian prescribes, I recommend waiting one full hour prior to medicating. That way if any moisture is left in the ear canal, it won’t dilute the medication that is being put in the ear.

A few final thoughts…how can we prevent ear infections? The best thing you can do is LOOK in your pet’s ears every few days. Are they clean, are they red, are they inflamed, does one look different than the other? Get on top of ear infections quickly, so they don’t become a chronic issue! Next, every time your dogs swims or gets a bath, you need to clean out their ears right afterward. The faster they are dried, the less likely yeast or bacteria will start to replicate in the canals.

 

Also, do not let other pet’s lick your dog or cats’ ears. Yep, ear infections can be caused by the good intentions of other animals in the house as well. Finally, if your pet is suspected to have an underlying food or environmental allergy, your Veterinarian can recommend a diet change or allergy medications that can greatly reduce the number of times your pet has to deal with this painful, itchy and smelly problem!