Ear Infections

Dear Dr Jody:  Our three year old black Labrador retriever, “Stella”, has been scratching her right ear and shaking her head excessively for the past week.  At first we thought she just got some water in her ear while swimming in the river, but the problem hasn’t gone away.  What can we do?  She seems very uncomfortable.

Labrador retrievers, golden retrievers, and cocker spaniels are among the top three breeds of dog in which we most frequently diagnose outer ear infections (also called otitis).  Because these breeds enjoy water sports, and because they have floppy ears rather than erect ears, their ear canals are a perfect haven for microscopic organisms to grow and multiply.  Microbes that cause ear infections in dogs are able to thrive in moist, dark areas that have little oxygen circulation – exactly the type of environment provided by a Labrador’s ear!

For several reasons, it is important for your veterinarian to examine Stella before dispensing medication.  First, your vet will want to ensure that there are no foreign objects stuck inside her ear canal.  It is amazing what I sometimes find inside a dog’s ear!  In this part of the province, I do occasionally find speargrass lodged against a dog’s eardrum.  Of course, this is an incredibly uncomfortable affliction, and can lead to ear infections or even a ruptured eardrum.  More commonly, however, your veterinarian will notice redness, swelling, or discharge deep inside the ear canal.  He or she will perform cytology on the discharge to help diagnose the cause of the infection, and will therefore be able to choose the most effective treatment.

In a cytology test, your veterinarian will take a small sample of the discharge from your dog’s ear with a cotton swab.  This swab is then gently rolled on a glass slide to transfer the organisms onto the slide.  In a process that takes approximately ten minutes, your veterinarian will stain the slide, examine it under the microscope, and identify the causative organism(s).  Most commonly, we pinpoint yeast cells as the culprits.  We can also see a variety of bacteria involved, and in some cases, both yeast and bacteria are wreaking havoc inside your poor pooch’s ear.  Both yeast and bacteria can easily cause intense itching and pain, and need to be treated immediately.

There are several types of ear infection medication available.  In addition to anti-fungal and anti-bacterial medication, most of the drops also contain a steroid to relieve your dog’s discomfort quickly.

Depending on the amount of discharge present, your veterinarian may prescribe an ear cleaner to be used in conjunction with the appropriate medicated ear drops.  The cleaner boosts the efficacy of the medicated drops by clearing out as much debris as possible, thereby preventing dilution of the medication with greasy or waxy discharge.  In some cases, your veterinarian may also recommend using an ear cleaner routinely after your dog emerges from the river or the bathtub.  By removing trace amounts of water from your dog’s ears, the cleaner can help to prevent otitis.

In most cases, ear infections are significantly improved after a few days of cleaning and medicating.  Despite this, it is imperative that you follow your veterinarian’s advice regarding the duration of treatment.  I often find it takes 2-3 weeks for an ear infection to completely resolve.  If treatment is discontinued prior to complete resolution, the ear infection is likely to return within a short time.  Your veterinarian will likely recommend a recheck of Stella’s ear within a few days or weeks to ensure that the infection is resolved and that there is no long term damage to the ear canal or to the eardrum.

If you suspect your dog has uncomfortable ears, please do not hesitate to consult your veterinarian immediately.