Brown gunk in ear

I noticed that in the past few days, Zander has acquired quite a bit of brown gunk in his one ear, and it's smelly, kinda smells like puke. I've been cleaning it out like mad, and it looks like there is no more, but I'm wondering what this is.

I've been looking online and a lot of information I have found leads me to believe it's an ear infection, which I kind of assumed, and that it's possibly a yeast infection, and I've read that they can get it from swimming because the ears aren't dried out all the way. He has been swimming a lot in the past few weeks.

Anyone have any advice on what to do? Any home remedies? Is a trip to the vet in store? Thank you!

it could be an ear infection. this is what magnum has right now.smells like feet, take him to the vet, and they will give u antibiotics..if not treated properly, they may have to do surgery...the groomers gaev me some ear cleansing solution, but the vet told me that would just make it worse, cus it will burn..does he cry when he scratches his ear./ does he shake his head>? i ad a dog with an untreated ear infec. before and ended up paying over 500 bucks for surgery

Mary has the same thing..you add moisture and body heat..all trapped in a little canal and you have yeast..if you mix equal parts of rubbing alcohol and vinegar have that ready...they sell these great q-tips now in the baby section..they are extra large on the ends to keep people from going to deep..they are simply WONDERFUL for cleaning out ears..get as much of the brown gunk out as possible then take an eye dropper of the mixture and put it into the ear canal then rub the ear good so it works its way around..that took care of Mary just fine...(and is good for human swimmer's ear as well)

i'm sorry if i may have given a dfferent info, but its possible magnum had this ear infection for a long time....so with your dog it MAY be a diff. story..

Smkie-I'm going to try the alcohol/vinegar solution, thank you for suggesting that.

I just realized, I have Tresaderm in the fridge from a few months ago, the vet gave it to me because Zander had been itching his ear, and gave himself a little cut in it, so she gave that to me. I was looking it up on the internet and one of it's uses is for bacterial infections. Should I try using that?

His ear isn't bothering him, he's not shaking his head or scratching at it, and he isn't phased when I clean out his ear. I'm just overly concerned because I get scared at the smallest things being wrong with him. That didn't make sense, I'm a worry wart when it comes to him! LOL

be carefull, it will sting if he has an infection, if not he still probably wont like it, it'll feel cold and tickle. Strider gets it now and then, and so does Rory. 2 vets have checked it out more than once and said "no infection, skin isnt pink or inflamed inside the ear. just clean it out now and then." so once, maybe twice a month I have to clean them out. but I usually do it more often, I check their ears every day, and it doesnt build up. most likely its just ear wax, but I would have a vet look just to be safe.

It's ear wax and just needs to be cleaned out ...as Smkie said, use a wash.... if there's irritation , it could be ear mites. Try the wash and swab out with cotton balls. Don't take chances though !!!

Spud had a severe yeast infection in both of his ears a couple weeks ago. I know I know, shame on me, I am a groomer/vet tech. But geez... I check his ears all the time because I know floppy ears get infected more because of lack of air to the canal. It was like it happened over night. Now though, it is all better. But those 7 days twice daily was H3LL!!

I think it is best if you go to the vets it could be very serious

I would recommend that you purchase the Malaseb ear cleaning/flush solution and clean the ears with that. I worked in a vet clinic 5 years and the Malaseb products are very good for yeast and bacteria. The Tresederm will work well too if you use it twice a day for a week or so. The Malaseb flush is good to have on hand and you should ALWAYS use a drying ear flush solution after a dog swims or takes a bath to help prevent infection.

May had a yeast infection in her ear a couple of months ago. We took her to the vet and got some medicine for it, cleaned her ears once (or was it twice?) a day and then put ten drops of the meds into her ear and massaged her ear so the meds were spread around the entire ear. Now that it's summer, I'm cleaning her ears every other day, 'cause she's got big floppy lab ears that get infected so easily, especially in the humid weather. A few weeks ago when I bathed her I put cotton balls in her ears to keep water from getting down in there.

Where do I get the Malaseb stuff? From the vet, or can I find it in a pet store?

I never knew that there was a drying ear flush solution! That is incredible. Where would I find that?

Thank you everyone for all of your help! Today his ear looks fine, and I'm going to definetly look into the best ear cleaning solution that I can find in order to prevent this from happening. Now that I'm reading about it, and it's causes, it makes sense because it's been so hot and humid, and his ears flap over, so no air is getting through there, and he's been swimming a LOT because it's so hot! So from now on, I will be very careful about keeping his ears dry.

Gaddy, that is a fantastic idea about the cotton balls when taking a bath!

Thanks guys!

I will supply a link for the Malaseb ear flush. It will work just fine as a drying solution. Just squirt a fair amount in each ear after a bath or swimming and massage the base of your dogs ear so you can hear the solution "squish" around in there, then let him shake his head. That is all you have to do and his ears will stay clean and dry. I routinley clean my dogs like this about twice a week. They NEVER get ear infections and they have floppy ears.
http://store.yahoo.com/healthypetscom/malflus12oun.html

As a frequently used cleanser I really like to used steeped and of course cooled Green Tea, or if you have to choose a commercial product Halo's Natural Herbal Ear Wash is wonderful.
It can be a good idea to have a Vet just look at your dogs ears. Sometimes an ear infection can signal an underlying condition. Also, look at what your feeding your dog. For my dogs (all drop eared and my Rottweiler is a swimmer) I give them probiotics a few times a week and yogurt daily (organic with active bacterial cultures). In some cases if the infection is really bad you may want to have the ears flushed. If you don't get all the gunk flushed out and keep applying medicines or cleaning products your just putting them on top of the debris, and you will never cure the problem. Flushing ears is an art and best left to professionals...it's not just as simple as filling the ear and expecting it to flow out carrying the debris out The Vet will also know if the ears are too painful to be flushed or ulcerated.
I have also heard of people using an ointment called Pellitol, very messy to use. You combine it with boric acid, boric acid dries and acidifies the ear. Yeast and bacteria are opportunistic organisms that die in a dry acidic environment. They thrive where it's moist and dry, and alkaline. You take 2 or 3 pinches of boric acid powder in each infected ear unless it was ulcerated, bleeding, or painful. Boric acid might irritate open wounds. It's also toxic if swallowed, and should not be inhaled and keep it out of the eyes. Work the boric acid deep into the ear canal. Next, attach the Pellitol applicator to the tube and squeeze the pasty ointment into the ear canal, applying enough pressure as you withdraw the tube to completely fill the canal. Massage the ear, especially around the base...then leave it undistriturbed for an entire week. The Pellitol dries up within a day or two, but if you leave it it will remove whatever exudates are in the ear, whether they're sticky, tarry, or slimy pus. It just attaches to whatever's there and dries it up. Every thing falls out together.

Here is a site you can look at for another popular homemade ear treatment called the Blue Powder ear cleaner.

http://www.bichonfriseusa.com/ref/earsolution.htm

Just my $0.02 since I've always had floppy earred dogs who get "stuff" in their ears. Sometimes it's just a wax build up, sometimes it's probably yeast (from moisture breeding infectious micro-organisms). I regularly scoop my dogs wax out with Q-tips to keep up with the build-up. But if it seems like it's just coming back too quickly, I know there might be something else going on. So, I always keep a tube of Ottomax ointment on hand (from the vet) to put down in the canal and massage down into there. "Let your pet shake his head freely afterward"... Lol. Then just gently swab out the excess that flies out into the outer ear folds with cotton balls or whatever. But hopefully enough medicine has settled down deep in the canal to do its work in killing bacteria.

I will have to add... I get Hunter down on his side(s) on the bed and put a little flashlight in my teeth to peer down as much as possible into his canal. Then take a Q-tip and scoop the dark brown gunk out careful to not let any "chunks" fall back into the canal. This has helped fend off the build up and subsequent infections that can occur especially with a dog who gets wet often. Not recommended for every one or every dog... but he loves it when I clean his ears like that!

Awww that big baby just LOVES his Momma working on him !!!

May hates having her ears cleaned. She sits there and looks at me with her big beautiful brown eyes like, "What did I do to deserve this torture?" Colby hates having ANYTHING put in her ear, so I have to keep her calm while I clean up the gunk (she never has much though, her ears have always been super clean no matter what), and tell her, "If you're a good girl, I'll give you a treat." (she knows what I mean) that always keeps her calm and after I'm done she gets her treat.