At a regular interval, it is important to examine your dog's ear because sometimes dog may suffer from Otitis and other related conditions of the ear.
It is also important when there is frequent head shaking, dog's ear must be checked for the presence of any foreign materials, ticks, lice, mites e.t.c.
Otitis Externa is an infection of the external ear canal which is responsible for discomfort in dogs. The basic cause is bacteria or fungi or mites, whereas presence of excessive hair can be a predisposing factor.
The main symptoms of Otitis are;
1. Continuous head shaking and scratching along with abnormal discharge in the ear.
2. Rotation of the head to affected side.
3. Pain in the ear.
4. Inflammatory changes in the ear canal.
5. Aural haemotoma.
Treatment depends on the cause. *Excessive hair should be plucked/trimmed regularly from the ear canal.
* If the dog is suffering from Mange/mites, it should be treated on this condition first.
Product Used in Treatment :
Topical Preparations for ears containing antibacterial agents, antifungal agents and corticosteroids.
In most cases, medical treatment will only be successful if ventilation and drainage of the ear canal is established by resection. This should be done by a registered vet and specialist.
Constant head shaking usually indicates presence of foreign body in the ear canal, otitis, presence of ticks on the ear flap or lice in the hair around the ears and this may rupture the blood vessels causing Haematoma in the ear flap which leads to swollen ear flap. Some dogs which are supposed to have erect ears turn out to have one or both ear drooping. A dog's ear which is drooping at nine months of age is likely to be a permanent condition.
