How to treat a dog ear infection at home? Easy guide to prevention, treatment in your pet.

Dogs' ears, though often cute and floppy, are prone to infection. 

Just like humans, they have yeast and bacteria that lives year-round on their skin. The trouble is, when that yeast or bacteria gets out of hand, and overgrows, it can cause health complications -- in particular, a nasty ear infection. 

So what happens if your dog develops an infection? Do you have to visit the vet? 

To find out how to treat your dog at home and how best to prevent future infections we consulted Petco's chief veterinarian, Dr. Whitney Miller. 

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How to treat a dog ear infection without a vet

Dr. Miller calls dog ear infections " super common" but says sometimes pet owners miss-diagnose, thinking that any issue with their dog's ears amounts to an infection. 

"A lot of dogs just have inflammation in their ear from underlying allergic disease," she said, and some are just more likely to produce an excess of wax or buildup. 

The first key to at-home care is taking preventative measures. While most pet owners understand that their dog needs to be groomed regularly for coat maintenance, sometimes they forget the ears. Regularly checking and cleaning the ears goes a long way. 

"We recommend at least once a month," Dr. Miller says, "whether it's being done at their groomer or with home ear cleaner so that they can just remove any dirt and debris that's in that ear because that's really going to help ward off any potential actual infections."

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If a problem arises, it will usually manifest in your dog scratching at their ear a lot, shaking their head, and maybe rubbing it on the carpet. Or you'll see it: gunk will be coming out of the ear; it might be red or have an odor. 

Whether the infection can be treated at home or not depends on the overall status of your pet. "If your pet has hot spots and their ears are bothering them, you should definitely go to the vet and have a full allergic disease workup with your veterinarian. If you just have a little bit of dirt and debris there's definitely some great cleansers that are available for pets," Dr. Miller advises. 

In particular, she recommends Zymox, which she says is fairly well-known and has some good data backing it up. It is an anti-inflammatory enzymatic product. 

If an ear infection is not treated, it can move from the outer ear to the middle and inner ear. In this case, especially with dogs that have the floppy ears, when they're shaking or rubbing or scratching, they can pop blood vessels in their ear flap and get an ear hematoma, Dr. Miller warns. 

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Yeast vs. bacterial dog ear infections

Dog ear infections can be caused by both yeast and bacteria which lives on the skin in normal amounts but can cause health issues if it overgrows. 

"You can imagine ear canals, they get wet, they get debris in them, and definitely stuff can overgrow" Dr. Miller says, adding that in her experience yeast infections are more common than bacterial infections. 

A lot of the prescription treatments will target inflammation caused by both, she explains. 

Preventative care is key for your dog

The best thing a pet owner can do to help their dog is to regularly clean and check their ears, Dr. Miller said. 

Especially with poodle breeds, there can be a lot of hair buildup, so keeping a grooming schedule and warding off of debris or wax accumulation in the canal is key. 

Knowing your pet's other health conditions is also important. If your dog has an allergy, often times it will be expressed not just in the skin but also the ears, Dr. Miller said. If that allergic disease has a food component, making sure their diet is in a healthy place can help ward off future infections. 

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