My dog have been constintly shaking his head and itching his ear to the point it is raw. what is wrong?

I had this article in my library of pet care info - perhaps you'll find some help here-in until you are able to get vetinary advice.
Dogs and cats have an incredible sense of hearing. To protect their hearing and prevent damage to the ear drum, their ear canals are L-shaped. The problem with this design is that it allows the ears to trap parasites, moisture, debris and ear wax. Any of these can lead to ear infections.

These are the signs of an ear infection in your dog or cat:

– Pet shakes head or holds it to one side.
– Pet scratches or rubs ears or rubs its head against furniture or carpet.
– There is a yellow, brown or black discharge in one or both ears.
– Ears smell bad or are tender or red.

Natural solutions
Clean the ears with vinegar. If your pet’s ears are filled with brownish-pink wax, there is a good chance that allergies have caused a yeast infection. To clear up yeast infections, clean the ears thoroughly.

Veterinarians often recommend using white vinegar (also called acetic acid), because it removes dirt and debris and helps restore a healthy chemical balance in the ears. Diluted vinegar works well. When using vinegar, pour a small amount into the ear canal, massage the area, then gently wipe the inside of the ear with a cotton ball. Do this once a day until the ear is better.

Stop infections with pau d’arco. The herb pau d’arco, which comes from the inner bark of a South American tree, is a natural antibiotic that quickly kills fungi and bacteria. At the first sign of infection, mix equal parts pau d’arco tincture and mineral oil and put several drops in your pet’s ears. Give the drops two or three times a day for several days.

Reduce inflammation with vitamin C. The adrenal glands produce a natural steroid that can help reduce inflammation when ears get infected. Giving pets vitamin C can help the adrenal glands work more efficiently. Pets weighing under 15 pounds can take between 100 and 250 milligrams of vitamin C a day. Cats and dogs 15 to 50 pounds can take 250 to 500 milligrams a day, and larger dogs can take 500 milligrams two or three times a day. Vitamin C can cause diarrhea, so you may have to cut back the dose until you find an amount that your pet will tolerate.

Eliminate toxins with a healthy, all-natural diet. Giving your pet a healthy, homemade diet or high-quality commercial food that doesn’t contain corn, additives or preservatives can greatly reduce the amount of wax that the ears produce while also helping to boost the immune system.

Air out the ears. Increasing air circulation inside the ears can control the growth of bacteria, yeast and fungi. Trim or pluck hair inside the ears periodically to allow more air to get inside.

Strengthen the digestive tract. Supplements such as bromelain and quercetin (with bromelain) can help prevent an allergic response in the gastrointestinal tract, making food allergies less of a problem.

Stop ear mites with oil. When an infection is caused by ear mites, putting a few drops of almond oil or olive oil in each ear will smother the mites and may allow the infection to heal. You usually need to continue the oil treatments for three to four weeks, putting three to seven drops of oil into the ear canals each day. To help the treatment work more efficiently, clean wax and other debris from the ears before using oil.

I'm so glad that you were able to solve the problem. To some of you who submitted advise; why the need to be so harsh? I'm sure they were just looking for ideas in case somebody else had experienced this same problem with their dog. Instead of giving helpful advise you all attacked on how they had not yet been to a vet. I have a dog whom I love dearly and would do anything for, so I agree that the vet was the way to go, but y'all didn't have to be so crazy about it.

the answers you got about the ear mite medicine are what i would suggest.There are several different products that will work well.you can probably get a good one at feed and farm supply.The very best thing is the hardest to get,it is called KWELL lotion it is what doctors give people for mange,or scabies,and they used to give it for crabs, pubic lice.Im not sure, but I think the active ingredient was lindane,which was found by the state of california to cause cancer,after that the price went way up and it became hard to find. I did convince a pharmacist to sell me a bottle one time but it was 80 bucks.Happy Jack mange dip used to use lindane,but when the price went up they changed to a pyrethrin active ingredient.If you could find an older bottle of happy jack somewhere with lindane get it.If not the pyrethrin will work but it will take several applications. First, carefully wipe out the ears as best a you can.you will probably need someone strong to help you hold the dog still. If it is a cream put it deep in the ear and squirt inabout a tea spoon andstick your finger in and spread it all around good,then grab ear on outside next to his head and squish it several times to be sure it goes deep without hurting him.Dont go too deep with finger, you could hurt his ear drums.I figure you got enough sense to know that,I just put thatin for the cry babies.If his ears are raw or bleeding from scratching, just use tripple antibiotic ointment,or maybe hydrocortisone cream.You should notice results in 2 days,do it again in 4 days, then 7 days after that,and periodically after that.I hope this helps you.I used to raise hunting dogs.I have loved and lost hundreds,if you have any questions feel free to contact me.

His ear is probably either itchy or it hurts or both. My guesses would be some sort of bug or tick bite on it, or ear mites. You should take him to a vet in any case ASAP to get it looked at.

ear infection or mites

My dog did the exact same thing. She had ear mites. They sell inexpensive ear drops at petco, walmart, petsmart...etc. just put them in as directed for about a week and she should be goood to go

For all of you hat are wondering he had ear infection and we got medication and took him to the vet AS SOON AS WE COULD. he's all better and the vet gave us this liquid that we have to put in his ear everytime he goes in the water to prevent it.

Redhawk.. your making me sound like i abuse my animals.. I had to wait to take my dog in because the vet was very busy and thats the only time she could take him and i live in a small town without any cities near.. so please stop making me sound like im a horrible person..

Have you checked it is not fleas? I would probably take him to the vet either way.

Maybe and ear infection, or something in his ear? take him to the vet and get him checked out.

The spelling of constintly - it should be constantly.

Unfortunately, once you get this problem, it's hard to make it go away. My shepard had ear problems for the last couple of years. It came down to me cleaning out his ears twice a day. The q-tips would come out black each time. Eventually my vet recommended closing his ear canal since we had tried everything to stop the infections which could have spread. He rubbed his ear so much that he ended up breaking all the cartilage in his left ear.

Sounds like earmites, you can purchase reasonable medicine at PETCO and walmart, I have done this with my dogs and it is inexpensive.

It is definately ear mites. If you can't afford to go to a vet, got to your local feed store. They have everything. Good Luck!!

Most of the posts that I have read are correct...take him to the vet for a THOROUGH exam...blood, urine, and depending on his age, a more complete Senior blood work up, as well as a thorough teeth cleaning, these germs and bacteria can cause so many problems from the digestive tract, to the kidneys, as well as eye goop, and ear wax...I have done a lot of research and talked to customers of mine who are Vets, and they all pretty much said the same thing. These test are a necessity.
The vet bill, read the total out loud..it doesn't sound like a lot when you say it it fast, but the cost is nothing compared to losing your friend through neglect, and even then it's the same thing afterall, you will have nothing but a memory, and the guilt of what you could have done to prevent his untimely loss
Next subject!!! Reason being the itching could be mites, fleas or from a reaction to some strange ingredient in his food, dirt in the ear canal, to something as simple as an infection, that is causing an allergic reaction, to something else that may be causing an excessive wax build up..most of these test will reveal some things that you need to be made aware of.
The ear canal in a greyhound is shape like the letter "L" which if you can see into the ear canal and see any waxy build up, this needs the Vets attention right away, if you haven't done it already.
My case in point: My "Patti", an 11 year old Black on Tan brindle has always had issues with her ears, being very sensitive to even the slightest rubbing of her ear flap, she has always been our Canine Barometer, because she would turn her head to strange angles, stare at the wall, and/or start shaking vigorously, and haul butt into the closet or shower, only to realize that in about an hour later, It's pouring down rain with thunder in the distance, didn't think much about it since their hearing is so much more superior than ours, but the sensitivity was entirely something else.
After years of dealing with an obnoxious, idiot "Track" Doctor, who simply looked into her ears as he tugged on the flap, making her yelp, said she may have mites, and gave us some "snake-oil" crap to put in there...this did nothing, when I finally had enough of this Dr. and his total lack of bedside manner, and "could care less" treatment, I found another vet who did the full work up on Patti, and found that the ENTIRE ear canal (BOTH EARS) from the middle of the down side of the "L" all the way to her eardrum, was fully caked up with a black waxy buildup that had to be carefully removed.(He used a tiny fiber optic scope that was smaller than an ink pen barrel to see this)
BOTH her ears were this way for god knows how long, now she hears much better, doesn't shake her head, loves being rubbed around the backside of her ears, and hopefully as the rainy season comes soon here in Tampa, she won't be as afraid of the thunder. God gave us our Greyhounds as a loan from him to take care, until he calls them home again, he is trusting that we use our judgment and intuition that somethings wrong, and needs to be fixed...as a responsible pet owner that you are, or should be, your furry friend is counting on you to help him....if only they could speak.

I know this is gonna sound crazy, but it will work like a miracle. Get some household boric acid (it's usually used to kill bugs and such) and mix it with water and put it in a squirt or spray bottle. Squirt or spray it into your dog's ear canal and then squish it around in there from the outside. My dog gets that problem every other month or so and I have a bottle of boric acid water under the sink just waiting for the first sign. It works every time, you might not even need to do it twice. My dog has allergies and I think they have something to do with the cause. It's an overgrowth of bacteria and it causes the inside of the ear to itch like mad and it usually looks red in there. Good luck.

I have a link for you: http://www.liquidvitaminstop.com

They sell a product called Earasil for dogs. It cures everything from ear mites, fungal infections..including yeast infections, and bacterial infections. I just bought some for my dog. It costs $14.95 per bottle. I would give it a try. Good luck!

Your dog has allergies, have an allergy test done.

Allergies are probably more likely than ear mites, if you don't have the money for the vet immediately, give him some benadryl 25mg, don't worry this is what vets do too. If that doesn't help him any, then you should seek stronger medicine

Sounds like EAR MITES....my cat was doing the same thing and I bought stuff for ear mites at petco...it worked really good...if your dog does have ear mites take care of it asap..i read that if ear mites are left untreated they will eat brain tissue.

My first thought would be ear mites, but it could also be a number of other things. Best thing for the dog is to let a vet look at him, that way you will know for sure. I hope he is better soon.

Take him to the vet ASAP my dog had the same problem and it was a broken blood vessel in her ear... Your dog is in a lot of pain and don't just sit back and let it suffer

Ear mites or a yeast infection. Take him to the vet. Meds can clear them up quickly.

He probably has ear mites. Dogs get them and they need to be treated. It may also be hot spots or fleas, but I'd guess mites. Take him to the vet.
http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_ear_mites.html

He cold have an eamite or a flea stuck in his ear. I would take him to the vet ASAP to have his ear checked.

It may have fleas. Treat it immediatly.

could be ear mites, have you looked in his ear?

It sounds like ear mites. Give him a flea dip, then get some drops that kill ear mites to put in his ears.

hey

Ear mites, go get him drops.

Most likely ear mites, call your vet but if they are any good they will not make you bring him in. This can be treated with a cotton ball and alcohol twice daily until cleared up. Just Google this and you will see many remedies for this.

it could be an ear infection, or take a look in side the ear, there may be a tick or a build up of wax that is annoying the dog

It could be many different symptoms.
A sticker could have worked it's way down the ear canal.
Ear mites. Ear infection. Try the over the counter ear flush medicines at your local pet store. If that does not work he may need antibiotics to clear up a possible infection.
I would take the dog to the vet if he keeps shaking his head or scratching at his ear for too long. Veterinarians have a lot of tools and equipment that can quickly diagnose the problem if the above medicines do not work.

Ear Mites or an infection. Dont waste time here take him to the vet.

Sounds like a ear infection to me. If this is a long eared dog its a definate possibility. Air doesn't get to the ears on long eared species so ear infections are more common in them. Because he has scratched it raw he might have a bacterial infection. You will need a RX from a vet for bacterial infections. Yeast infections can be cured easily with ear solutions from your local pet store. I would take him in have it cultured and get the appropriate meds. If you don't the dog could loose its hearing.

Hi, my dog recently had a grooming at the vet. We noticed that he was shaking his head a lot afterwards. When we looked into it we saw fresh blood and some caked on blood:this was about two days later. We cleaned his ear out wih white vinegar and water 50/50 mixture, and then applied some olive oil. It worked wonders for him and now he does not do it anymore. Nedless to say i talked to petco about there not telling us, it was not a big incident but it could have been worse. They could have done a lot of damage instead of just nicking him and making him uncomfortable. And if I had not checked him over it really could have gotten infected or worse(my vet told me that-when I called about what to do).

More than likely it's ear mites or some kind of allergy. Put some mineral oil in your dog's ears do this every day for 8 days. Then do it every other day for a total of 21 days. Or go to the vet to find out exactly what it is and they will help you

Have a look in the ears for a brown waxy discharge it sounds like ear mites to me go to the vet or your pet shop for drops to put in the ears.

poor fellow, get him to the vet soon, please!!!

whats wrong is you havent had the common sence to take him to a vet. that's what's wrong

it could very possibly be earmites but if you smell his ears and they have almost like a bread dough smell then most likely he has a yeast infection which is very common especially id dogs with floppy ears. take a q-tip and if a whole bunch of discharge that dosent appear to be earwax it is a infection. If the q-tip comes out really black then it is most likely ear mites. Either way take your dog to the vet for treatment. I hope I was of some help.

mites or fleas, check with your vet.

my rotty dobe mix dose the same thing shakes her head all the time. i had her to the vet once a mounth for five years for staroid shots for allergies they work great but know she has uncontrolled urine problems from the shots so we stoped the shots and trying to put her on nutro. dont think it will fix it but better than nothing.

Ear Mites maybe.

These are signs of ear infections.Those his head smell?Can you see black stuff that looks like a coffee beans in his ears?if so it is yeast infection.you have to clean his ears with a small cotton wipe which you dip in a aplle cider vinegar.once cleaned up you have to get a fluid from your vet to rainse his ears.they will also give you drops or antibiotics depend how bad it is.you need to take your dog to the vet,yeast infection follow up with fever and lack of interest in eating food.until you can take him make sure you wipe the ears 2a day with the cotton and vinegar then apply a few drops of olive oil into the ears and massage in for few minutes.

Its probably ear mites. If he is walking with his head tilted to one side it could be an ear infection but if hes digging in it or scratching it constantly then its probably mites. I found some stuff that works great for ear mites in dogs its called Dr.Dogs ear oil. Its inexpensive and all natural!!! http://www.drdogs247.com