Mary Allen
It is one of the most common diseases in our four-legged friends: ear infections in dogs. Prevention makes sense because treatments can be extremely difficult.
Of course, there are also differences between us humans when it comes to the shape of our ears. In the case of the four-legged friends, however, the differences are even more pronounced. This is one of the reasons why the risk of ear infections in dogs and the susceptibility to ear infections varies greatly between individuals.
Long floppy ears, for example, are much more sensitive because they lie like a lid over the auditory canal and thus significantly influence air circulation.
The accumulation of heat and the humid environment is an ideal breeding ground for bacteria and fungal sprouts, which can multiply quickly in such an environment and can become stubborn infections in an already difficult to access area. Speaking of difficult to access: hair in the ear canal has a similar effect.
Hair Growth as a Risk Factor
The denser the hair growth, the less air circulation. While there is something you can do to reduce this risk factor – preferably by having your groomer remove hair from your ear regularly – a narrow external ear canal can also cause similar problems. A circumstance that should be determined by a veterinarian.
Incidentally, the most common time for ear infections is in spring and summer, which certainly has something to do with the higher temperatures on the one hand and the bathing season for dogs on the other. Water in the ear canal is not a problem in itself – if it comes out again. However, this is often not the case for dogs with floppy ears.
Tickling Can Help
A tip that can help: Tickle your darling by irritating the fine hairs on the edge of the ear canal. He will then shake his head and push the water out of his ear. Dogs produce different amounts of ear secretion in the ear canal. It serves to bind dirt particles and transport the resulting dark, snotty deposits to the outside. There are special cleaning fluids available in specialist shops that also dissolve these deposits in the depths, and they can then be transported back up through head bags.
Avoid Chronic Problems
These care measures always make sense: unrecognized or ignored inflammation can become chronic and not only cause pain. Therapy with ear drops can also fail due to resistance and sometimes the only option is surgical opening of the ear canal or even complete removal. So it’s better to take care of your ears in time and better once too much!
General Information About Ear Infections in Dogs
Ear infections are painful, can quickly become chronic, and are then difficult to treat. Some dogs are particularly prone to this because of their anatomy: floppy ears, hair in the ear canal, or narrow ducts can be causes of a particular risk. Regular check-ups, keeping ears clean with cleaning fluids, and removing hair from the ear canal can save you from lengthy treatments. Severely chronic diseases sometimes even require surgical treatment.