smelly ears. dried up blood?

[DannyNyce]

I noticed prince constantly scratching on his ears and shaking his head a lot. I looked inside of his ears and they looked pretty dirty with what I thought it was ear wax. Cleaned him with Q-tips but whatever is in there seems to come back within a few days. I also noticed that when I grab the base of his ears it sounds mushy, like moisture is present. Don't wanna dig too much, I know it hurts him and if it's some type of infection it must be uncomfortable.

He's ears are not cropped, both my dogs are house dogs. We are taking him to the vet tomorrow, any tips or clues on what might be going on? Any natural remedy I can ask the vet that might help?

Thanks!

[Ilovethepits]

Sounds like it could be a yeast infection.

My Kaiser had that so bad! He ended up getting an aural hematoma and now one of his ears is sort of shriveled up.
I did a lot of reading up on causes, etc. and ended up changing their food and giving them probiotics from Nature's Farmacy.

Here is a good article: http://www.naturesfarmacy.com/blog/

And this website has a lot of info on it as well: http://www.greatdanelady.com/articles/s ... course.htm

Good luck. Ear infections can be an ongoing thing if you don't get the cause cleared up.

[pblove]

I also recommned above links . It sounds like a yeast problem imho.

[chinchi_&_chupa]

I have to clean both of mine's ears weekly (at least). I use the Vet Solutions ear cleaner that I get from my vet. She also said it can have to do with allergies. Chloé did get one infection when she was really young, but ever since I clean their ears weekly with the Vet Solutions and haven't had a problem since. Mine are both also indoor dogs...kind of makes you wonder where the ear crap comes from

[Misskiwi67]

Its Allergy season!!!

Underlying inflammation allows the natural flora to show up. If its severe (it sounds like it is), get to the vet ASAP and get some anti-fungal medications and a topical steroid. A large number of infections that look yeasty will also have bacterial overgrowth and require antibiotics as well. Then once its cleared up you can use the natural stuff for prevention later.

Failure to treat aggressively can result in aural hematomas, ruptured tympanic membranes, and deafness, not to mention the horrible pain and inflammation. If you could see inside your dogs ears right now, you would NOT wait...

[Mooresmajestic]

Its Allergy season!!!

Underlying inflammation allows the natural flora to show up. If its severe (it sounds like it is), get to the vet ASAP and get some anti-fungal medications and a topical steroid. A large number of infections that look yeasty will also have bacterial overgrowth and require antibiotics as well. Then once its cleared up you can use the natural stuff for prevention later.

Failure to treat aggressively can result in aural hematomas, ruptured tympanic membranes, and deafness, not to mention the horrible pain and inflammation. If you could see inside your dogs ears right now, you would NOT wait...

X2

Get him into a vet ASAP! Ear infections (of any type) are quite painful. At this point only medication is going to help. Make sure you go to all of the follow-up appts too, it may take several rounds of meds to clear this up. Don't stop treating it until the vet tells you to stop. Once it's all cleared up, then start a preventative ear cleaning program.