oakley's ear...opinions?

So I went to the vet about 2 wks ago for his anti-anxiety meds (i'll have to start another thread about those)...and that day, his ear happened to be acting up.

This happens occasionally...its really obvious when an ear is bugging him, cause he holds it off to the side funny & shakes his head a lot. He has only had to have meds once for an infection...so I am always on alert for this...but usually he is fine within 24 hrs, so yeah.

Anyhoo, he was acting like that the day we went to the vet...also his ear felt pretty hot...so she checked it out, cleaned it...but she didnt find anything wrong, so she didnt give us meds, but suggested benadryl for allergies.

He has been on & off scratching at it/shaking his head, but it keeps going away (this has happened prob 3-4 days in the past 2 wks).

Today though, he was shaking his head pretty bad earlier & when I looked, I noticed a bit of dried blood right...which may or may not be from scratching at it. It is also full of crap (and the other one looks nice & clean)...which is how it was at the vet too. I even asked if that was weird that one was clean & one wasn't & she didnt really say much. He won't let me clean it out at all...he keeps biting at me if I try

The weird thing is that it feels fine. Its not hot at all.

The thing that concerned me most was that he was scratching at it & whining at the same time (I stopped him). He hasnt tried that again & now he seems fine again.

The only reason I am hesitant to go to the vet is cause we were just there (and I just paid $160)...and it doesn't seem like there is an infection since its not even warm at all.

Anything I can do myself to monitor it for another day or 2? If it keeps up past that, I'm def going...but since these things seem to have resolved themselves in the past, I just thought it might be ok to wait.

I actually got some pics...





There are a few other chunks of black stuff that you cant really see

Could be ear mites! I'd take him back in to the vet now to see what's up. You can also buy ear mite medications online and at many feed stores.

Looks like a yeast infection.

Could be an infection, even though it's not hot. IME usually when dogs' ears are all cruddy like that it's an infection. If it's minor - which it sounds like it is - you could treat it by just flushing it out with ear cleaning solution every day for a week or so.... but if he won't let you clean his ears, then you're either going to have to get a brave soul to help you, or get meds from the vet.

it's not at all uncommon to have a problem with just one ear.

i agree with lizzybeth- try cleaning it daily for a few days and see if it improves. if not, he should have it checked and get appropriate meds.

it's unlikely to be earmites.

The schnauzers can have hot/not hot ears and still have yeast problems. Which Stryder has one in his right ear, but not one in his left ear (though its a bit yucky too - he's on meds btw).

Lincoln, who has an ear infection at mostly any given time, will usually get it in his left ear and his right ear will be clear for weeks/months, then suddenly explode.

Call your vet's office and see if there would be a charge for a recheck. Often there isn't.

thanks guys.

the office ended up calling me the day after I posted this anyways to check in with him on his meds. Since I missed the call & they wanted me to talk to this dude who deals a lot with behavior issues, I just decided to go on. Course the recharged me for the ear check...and it was an ear infection.

I think most of the medicine they gave me has ended up on me or the floor...but it is looked much better now. Oakley hates it..I have to muzzle him each time....he puts up a huge fight, then ends up groaning in ecstasy when i massage his ear so it drains in, LOL. he is such a dork.

Anyways, thanks for the responses