Do you often see your dog scratching its ears, shaking its head, or are very irritable with its ears? If so, it could be is suffering from a case of ear infection. Ear infection in dogs can be caused by a lot of factors. It could be due to ear mites, bacterial infections, food allergies, unhealthy environments, and improper dog hygiene.
Ear infection in dogs calls for medical attention. While some cases of this disease may heal naturally, veterinarians should be involved in the treatment process. It is essential to treat dog ear infection the moment it starts so as not to worsen your dog's condition. All dog owners have to be well-informed about this disease.
There are three types of ear infection in dogs – the outer ear infection, middle ear infection, and the inner ear infection. It is easy to know if your dog has an outer ear infection. You'll often see the symptoms of this disease, which is usually characterized by inflammation and foul-smelling wax discharge.
Both the middle ear and inner ear are regarded to be more severe than outer ear infection. These types of ear concerns in dogs require the help of a veterinarian because the condition can easily get worse and are often not curable unless special treatment procedures are carried out.
Ear infection is very common to dogs with flopped ears. Cocker spaniels are type of dogs most prone to this disease. And so cocker spaniel owners should go to great lengths to make sure that their pets are properly groomed. Fungal infections are common to cocker spaniels because air fails to circulate freely in their ears. Air circulation is very crucial in maintaining the health of the ears of dogs. In the cases of flop-eared dogs, small follicles of hair grow in their ears. And they further block the air from coming in. These hairs are usually overlooked by pet owners and are only taken cared of when dogs are brought to the grooming centers.
Ear infections in dogs can easily be treated and cured. Oftentimes, antibiotics or ear drops are prescribed. There are also home remedies that can help greatly in the treating this particular dog disease. The right treatment procedure depends on what actually have caused the disease. Some ear infections may even be contagious. So if you have other dogs inside your home, make sure that they don't associate too much with the infected ones.
Regularly check the ears of your dogs to see if it discharges ear wax abnormally. Normal ear wax excreted by the ears is largely odor-free. If you smell stench in your dog's ear, high are the chances that it has got some infection. If that's the case, try to clean your dog's ears gently. Don't use Q-tips or cotton buds in cleaning. Instead, use cotton balls. Dip them in an ear cleaning solution obtained from the vet's clinic.
Don't use over-the-counter remedies unless they are approved by the veterinarian. However, if your dog doesn't have flopped ears, there's no need to clean it regularly, as they can do it themselves. In fact, too much cleaning could damage it. To be sure, talk to a veterinarian.