Dog Ear Smell

Ear infections are very uncomfortable and painful for our pets.



It is vital that you perform routine ear care for keeping your dog’s ears healthy and pain free. Normally a dog’s ears shouldn’t smell foul. While inspecting your pet’s ear, if you see a dark waxy discharge or a pus-like discharge along with a foul smell, this may indicative of ear infections.



Even allergies cause some dogs to have smelly ears. Dogs with large floppy ears are much more likely to get ear infections than those with upright ears.

Smelly ears in dogs are most likely an infection. Even a mild ear infection will cause a foul odor.



Generally, there are three major reasons or factors that lead to ear infection in dogs accompanied by a bad odor. These are:

• Ear mites.
• Pets with a history of occasional ear problems.
• Chronic ear infection where the ear tissue becomes thicker, spongier, and secretes large amounts of inflammatory glaze.

• A smelly ear may indicate a possible yeast infection. In such cases you need to treat the ear with chlorhexidine 4% followed by clotramizole ointment or other medications that kill yeast.
• Many a times, a dog’s ear smells and is inflamed due to food allergies. If so, you must put your dog on a diet recommended by your vet.
• If the smelly ear is due to ear mites you need to clean the thick accumulated ear wax. You can do so using 0.1% ivermectin, which kills the mites.
• The water retained in your dog’s ears after swimming or bathing can be a source of bacteria and yeast infections. It is recommended that you towel dry the ears, followed by a drying ear cleaner.
• You must use a soothing ear cleaner, containing a topical steroid and antibiotic immediately after bathing your dog.
• You may use mineral oil, hydrogen peroxide, or a combination of equal parts of vinegar and rubbing alcohol to clean your dog’s ear. This also helps in getting rid of foul dog ear smell. But if you see any open sores in your dog’s ear, you must not use any of these as they will cause a burning sensation, thus increasing the levels of discomfort.
• You may also use a dog ear wash containing tea tree oil, which is specifically formulated to dry the ear canal.  In addition, tea tree oil is a natural antiseptic, antibacterial, and fungicidal that helps keep dog’s ears problem free.
• You may also use a pet ear-drying agent after bathing or swimming, if your dog's ears have retained moisture.
• As a part of routine ear care, you must wipe away any loose dirt and residue from the ear flaps and just inside each ear with a cotton ball. This will prevent your dog from having frequent ear infections.