Ear problems are really painful and often annoy both you and your pet terribly. It can range from just ears that are a bit red and itchy, through to the brown waxy discharge often associated with yeast infections or ear mites (yes it does look like vegemite!) or the really red, swollen ears with yellow and oozy pus which are often caused by invasive bacteria and are incredibly painful. In all these scenarios, you want your pet to see a vet that is going to do four things:

  1. Diagnose what is actually causing the problem – is it bacteria, or yeast, or a grass seed? Does my dogs ear anatomy aggravate the problem? Is there evidence of underlying allergies? This is a really quick, simple step (it usually just requires a thorough clinical examination, a quick sample of the exudate and a check under the microscope), but one that is often skipped and leads to recurrent and frustrating ear problems in the future
  2. Give the appropriate treatment which will actually fix all the problems identified
  3. Provide follow-up to ensure the ear infection is resolved
  4. Provide a way for you to prevent ear infections in your pet in the future

Its quite simple really, and ear problems treated in this way do not become recurrent or longstanding.

Recurrent ear problems are terrible for your dog or cat, causing chronic pain and often leading to impaired hearing or deafness. They’re very frustrating for owners and damaging to your bank balance too. Perhaps most importantly, if your pet’s ears are being retreated with ear drops (often different ones) you run a very high risk of creating resistant superbugs within their ears, which are then very difficult to treat. They also are a health risk to you and your family.

If your pet has ear problems, please let us help. We have helped thousands of dogs over the past 5 years – many of them as second opinions for recurrent, longstanding and “unfixable” ear disease. In all cases these pets have had their ear problems fixed and they and their families have been able to return to an infection-free, happy and pain free life together.