Itchy Ears? My Dog is Scratching or Rubbing his Ears

Itchy ears are one of the problems that are most frequently presented to us at our clinic. This is particularly so during the spring and summer when more general skin diseases such as allergies are more commonly encountered.

Sweep came to us because he had a problem with his ears. It started with mild head shaking but within a few days he was scratching his ears and rubbing them along the ground, clearly in some discomfort.

His owner brought him into the clinic for a check straight away. We first had a look in his ears and noted they were quite pink. It did not appear to hurt Sweep when touching his ears, so it was easy to take a swab from each ear. We had a look inside his ears with an otoscope and then cleaned out the excess wax and debris.

The swab was examined under the microscope where we were able to identify the presence of bacteria. Particular inflammatory cells, yeast cells and parasites can all be identified in this way to help ensure the correct treatment is given. We decided to send the swab to a laboratory for culture and sensitivity. The results showed that he had an infection in both ears, with a type of bacteria that was sensitive to the standard ear ointments. Sweep was likely to respond well to the course of medication…and he did.