German Shepherds Forum banner

I'm pretty sure my pup has ear mites

5K views 12 replies 7 participants last post by  Freestep 
#1 ·
A few months ago I noticed dirty ears. I then cleaned them up every couple days for a week. The problem seemed to go away. A few weeks later it happened again, exact same results. The problem went away for a week or two.

Now its happening again.

I hate to be cheap, but I've had my own health problems earlier this year that I"m still paying off.

If I need to get him in to the vet, I will. I been searching around the web, and found references to corn oil as a treatment. I wanted to ask before I tried. Up until now I have just been cleaning his ears with WitchHazel. I have been happy with the results , but am now recognizing a cycle, and want to do what is best for my pup.

The problem is not yet bad, I just don't want it to continue.
 
#2 ·
Raw organic cold pressed coconut oil. That will kill the fungus and bacteria and sooth the ear. Corn oil has NO medicinal properties.

Just swab some on a soft cloth (T-shirt material) and wipe inside the ear. will melt on contact. Allow some to get inside the ear, massage the base at the head and allow to shake out. Wipe out with clean cloth and/or more CO
 
#5 ·
if your dog has ear mites scratching and head shaking are the number one symptom
you notice that often before the dirt they leave behind
do not use tea tree oil
if your dog really has an issue guessing and asking advice based on those guesses is kind of dumb
get it to the vet
unless your vet is really outrageous it should not cost more than 40 or so for an office call
 
#7 ·
no tea tree oil. sorry, vet visit has to happen to properly diagnose this. all the witch hazel does is have a drying effect. but it's not doing anything to get to the cause of the problem, which has to be diagnosed before it can be treated.
 
#8 ·
Ear mites are actually rare in dogs. We see it more in cats.

Where is the dirt? Is it on the inside flap, or is it coming from inside the ear, or can you tell? Does it have an odor? Is it crusty, waxy, goopy? What color is it? Is the dog scratching the ears? Does the dog thump a back leg when you rub the ear?

I would suspect a yeast or bacterial infection before mites. For that, you really do need a vet in order to get the proper treatment. They do have ear mite medication that you can buy over the counter, but it'll be a waste of money if the problem isn't ear mites. You say you've been cleaning them with Witch Hazel, which is a perfectly good ear cleaner and should be doing a good job of keeping infection at bay if you keep up on it.

It's also possible that it's just dirt from the outdoors sticking to the skin of the ears.
 
#9 · (Edited)
I couldn't really get a pick of what I'm seeing. His ear before cleaning looks like there are some small coffee grinds sprinkled. Once cleaned with a cotton swab, the dirt dissolves and turns brown on the cotton

The reason I thought it might be mites, is I usually clean the ear 2 or 3 days in a row, and then it is fine for the next week or two. But then it seems to get the coffee grind look again.

I had cleaned his ear the day before taking this photo, and it was still pretty clean today, but did have a few spots of what I'm calling coffee grinds.

It seems to be mostly deeper in the ear, and I'm unable to detect a smell. He does not scratch or thump his leg when I rub his ear.

 
#12 ·
The description of coffee grounds appearance made me think yeast right away. I have also been told the same as Freestep mentioned, ear mites in dogs is actually rare.

I do hope the OP just goes to the vet for a swab and confirms so treatment can begin on whatever the issue is. Ear infections are painful.
 
#13 ·
That looks like a normal healthy ear to me. A certain amount of brownish wax is normal. I'm not seeing the "coffee grounds" you describe. Maybe it is just regular garden variety dirt in the ear? Ear mites are usually very itchy. If it's not painful or itchy, I'd just keep cleaning the ear with Witch Hazel and keep an eye on it.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top