Hi all! Just a quick question. My one year old labrador loves the beach, don't they all? He loves to jump in the sea and roll around in the sand. I have noticed over the last few days he has been shaking his head in the mornings. Not a lot and only in the mornings. I had a look in his ears and he seems to have some brown coloured discharge in them. I don't want to take him to the vets unless I have to. Has anyone come across this before? do you think it is too do with the sand getting in his ears? He does not seem to be scratching so I don't think it is ear mites. Has anyone any recommendations for dealing with it? Thanks alot. Michelle.
Re: Brown discharge in ears Would you mind describing the discharge a bit more? Is it liquid or solid? What do his ears smell like? Does anything come out when he shakes his head? Dog ear wax is brown and it's normal to see a bit in their ears. It's sort of the consistency of shoe polish. It doesn't smell bad. An excess of it may indicate mites, which you generally can't see just by looking in the ear. Dogs don't always scratch their ears when they have ear mites either.
Re: Brown discharge in ears Hello Sounds like an ear infection ( I have been struggling to clear one up for a while). If he is shaking I would take him to the vet. My vet said head shaking is more common if the ear drum is damaged, so over the counter remedies may not be appropriate until the ear is checked out. Good luck with that, I hate these ear infections they can be so annoying.
Re: Brown discharge in ears Hi, Hattie has just had an ear infection in both ears and the brown wax and head shaking, scratching etc. She was on antibiotic ear drops for 2 weeks. Vet said if it's not caught relatively fast it can cause the ear drums to burst. A quick vet check may just be worth it. Hope he will be OK. Helen x
Re: Brown discharge in ears Hi all! thank you for all your advise. The brown stuff in his ears is like shoe polish it is not runny. He doesn't seem too bothered about it today. I think I will leave it a couple of days and if it has not cleared up take him to the vet. Lets hope it is nothing too serious. Thank you again. Michelle.
Re: Brown discharge in ears My vet said that if there seemed to be a lot of the browny stuff in Otis's ears, to use cotton wool and olive oil to clean them. Maggie
Re: Brown discharge in ears Hi Maggie! Thank you, I think I will have a go with the olive oil. I will let you know how I get on. Michelle.
