06
Nov
While a normal dog nose is wet and cool to the touch a dry nose on a dog doesnt necessarily mean hes sick. Keeping your dogs ears clean and dry is a key to helping prevent dog ear infections.
We are particularly careful not to allow water to enter the dogs ear during bathing also.
Why are my dogs ears so dry. Allergies to food medicine environmental factors or even something as simple as plastic bowls can spark an allergic reaction that causes drying out of the skin on the ears resulting in scaly patches. Our Skin and Coat supplements help. You can also use a cotton swab to gently apply an anti-itching spray which may be easier to apply on their inner ear than soap.
Other Possible Causes for Dry Flaky Ears. Atopic dermatitis isnt the only skin disease that can cause your dogs ears to become dry and flaky. Here are a couple other common culprits Yeast Infection.
There are many reasons your dogs ears could be excessively dry but allergies poor diet fleas and yeast infections are the four most common problems you can fix at home according to Natural Dog Company. If you notice the problem is seasonal or only occurred after you changed her food the issue might be allergies. The reason why you want to clean and dry your dogs ears after swimming or bathing is because the water that gets into their ears during these activities is likely to create a warm moist environment within their ears that will allow for an overgrowth of the yeast andor bacteria that are normally present on their skin and in their ears.
A waxy yellow or reddish-brown ear discharge can also be a sign your dog has an ear infection which can be a result of allergies mites polyps overproduction of ear wax excessive bathing or swimming which can leave too much moisture in. If theres lots of brown stuff in your dogs ears plus an odor its most likely a bacterial or yeast infection in the ear. How to Keep Your Dogs Ears Healthy.
Keeping your dogs ears clean and dry is a key to helping prevent dog ear infections. How often should you clean your dogs ears. There is an underlying issue condition or infection that has caused dermatitis to develop.
In order to treat the ear dermatitis and make sure your dogs scabs heal it is vital to identify the underlying cause of the ear dermatitis. Below are a handful of the most common causes of ear dermatitis in dogs. Many dogs suffer from allergies.
If your dog is shaking their head and scratching their ears often their itchy ears could indicate inflammation from allergies. There are medicated sprays that can help relieve symptoms. You might also need to adjust your dogs diet or living environment.
For many dogs this reaction is because of a food sensitivity. Take note of when the ears seem most irritated and hot. If its soon after a meal its possibly the new food you tried.
Or if the dog is flapping those ears after playing on the grass the source of the problem is. It is uncommon for a skin disorder to only affect the ear so if your dog is suffering from itchy ears redness and inflammation it is likely that there is a skin condition going on somewhere else. However if your dog has ear mites which is one of the most common reasons for ear dermatitis the ears may be the only part of the body affected.
Why does my dog have scabs on the tips on his ears. He will scratch himself and this can cause scabs to form. Its also likely that he has a UTI or other infection that you wouldnt want to treat unless you know the source.
If you can get him to the vet they will probably prescribe antibiotics to cure the UTI. The trouble starts when inflammation increases the moisture decreases the pH and decreases air circulation in the ear. I like to say a dog with allergies gets a hot sweaty ear and the bugs that are in there already go crazy.
Too many yeast andor bacteria cause more redness heat and pain in the ear. Why Is My Dog Scratching His Ear And Shaking His Head. If your dog is scratching his ears and shaking his head at the same time there is a high possibility that your pet is undergoing some type of ear infectionEven though this isnt true for all cases but for most of the time you can reasonably say for sure that the source of irritation is originating from his ears.
Food or environmental allergies are especially likely to be implicated in ear problems when both ears are involved. An excess of grain andor sugar in the diet is one of the most common causes of ear infections in dogs. If you suspect a yeast infection is the culprit behind your dogs stinky and dirty ears do not clean their ears before your vet appointment as this can make diagnosing the issue more difficult.
Dry flaky skin can be a sign of parasites that cause mange such as the Demodex mite canine scabies and cheyletiellosis Walking Dandruff or it could indicate that your dog has lice. If your dogs skin is flaky it is likely that Dryness of the scalp is the real reason why you are seeing it starting to get flaky. Fungal ear infection.
A dark brown discharge with a pungent musty odor most likely indicates a fungal or yeast infection. This is often caused by excessive moisture buildup in the ears. Crusty blackish-brown buildup resembling coffee grounds in your dogs ears is a sign of ear mites tiny insects that can make your pups ears.
Smelly yeast infections in a dogs ears are caused by Malassezia a type of yeast. You might smell an odor similar to bread baking or beer. These types of ear infections are the itchiest for dogs.
You may notice your dog rubbing his ears along the floor or. My Dog Has Dry Flaky Skin and is Losing Hair. More often than not this is a result of your dog being infested with fleas or other parasites.
This is why its so important to keep on top of your dogs anti-pest treatments they will bite and scratch at their skin constantly eventually resulting in patches of bare skin. While a normal dog nose is wet and cool to the touch a dry nose on a dog doesnt necessarily mean hes sick. In fact a dogs nose can become dry for all kinds of reasons.
The cold winter months can dry out your pups nose as can sleeping. Dogs with short snouts have naturally drier noses and older dogs noses may also be dry. Then dry well.
We are particularly careful not to allow water to enter the dogs ear during bathing also. Water moisture wetness seems to be the villain in nearly all ear problems. I dont know why that one veterinarian was so insistent that I did not flush Rexs ears to clean them.
As I mentioned before the condition of a dogs.