Charlie the chocolate Labrador X was shaking his head and using his foot to have a good old scratch around his head. He was wearing a new collar and his owners thought this was the culprit, but when he started to smell a bit funny he came in for a check up.

An examination revealed hot, red and itchy ears. There was black ‘muck’ at the opening of his ear canals and his ears smelt terrible!

Using an otoscope (a fancy tool with a light) the canal was examined all the way to the ear drum. There was no sign of a foreign body (such as a grass seed) but the ear canals were very inflamed.

A sample was taken from the canal and examined under the microscope revealing a yeast infection. This was causing the horrible smell!

Ear infections are very common at this time of the year. We like to think of the ear as a ‘mini environment’. If this environment is upset in any way (such as moisture from swimming or itchiness from an allergy) bacteria and yeast start to have a party in there! The result is a very unhappy ear canal and an uncomfortable pet.

Charlie was treated with ear ointment for a week and a recheck revealed the infection and inflammation had cleared.

If you think your pet might have itchy or smelly ears arrange a check up with Pet Doctors Palm Beach ASAP. The longer you leave an ear infection, the harder (and more expensive) it becomes to treat.

If your pet suffers from recurrent ear infections you should ask a Pet Doctors team member about some of the new medications we have available to help prevent ongoing problems.

This article was a part of the November Pet Doctors eNewsletter. If you want monthly articles, news and events in your inbox please sign up HERE