Dandruff and Black Specks

[DJ30]

Originally Posted by kalina82

ah ha, we might have found the problem. Look inside her ears, do you see any black stuff? i'm thinking that's where it came from. does she shake her head alot or scratch at her ears? If you can hold her still enough (get someone to help you) take a q-tip and try and wipe out some of the gook in her ear canal to see what color it is. If those big chunks came out of her ears, i'm thinking it might be ear mites. She'll need to go back to the vet pronto to get that cleared up. It can also be just alot of build up in the ear.

Yes, we do see black stuff. It looks like the specks we've seen. She doesn't shake her head that often, but she does scratch her ears from time to time. I mentioned this to the breeder soon after taking her home, and she said it was because Angel had her ears cleaned and trimmed. There has been an odour around her head, which we thought might be from teething but maybe it's the ear wax. TCC helped me hold Angel while I cleaned her ears with Q-tips and ear cleaner. The colour was black/brown. She really struggled but gave up eventually. We think it's just a lot of buildup. Her left ear wasn't bad, but her right ear was really bad. Should we clean them until we don't see anymore wax? How often should we clean them? Is it normal for a dog to thrash around afterwards by rubbing their face and ears on their blanket/bed? This is what she is doing.

[Surfie and Tiki]

Originally Posted by DJ30

Is it normal for a dog to thrash around afterwards by rubbing their face and ears on their blanket/bed? This is what she is doing.

It's very normal, so don't worry. Also be very careful when using Q-tips as it's very easy to damage the ear drum. It looks like you found the problem, ear debris, just look in the ear every day to see if it's better. You got very good advice on this thread. Don't ya just love YT's members?

[DJ30]

Originally Posted by JeanieK

One thing to remember about fleas, they need a food source to complete their life cycle, so if you have your pet treated with Advantage or Frontline or Sentinal, the fleas will eventually go back to the animal and die.

It is important to vacuum and wash bedding, but if you don't get them all, they will end up back on the animal and then die. So don't drive yourself crazy over it.

Thanks. This info is good to know. Well, we think the problem is ear wax buildup, so hopefully this is the end of the problem.

[DJ30]

Originally Posted by Surfie and Tiki

It's very normal, so don't worry. Also be very careful when using Q-tips as it's very easy to damage the ear drum. It looks like you found the problem, ear debris, just look in the ear every day to see if it's better. You got very good advice on this thread. Don't ya just love YT's members?

Ok, good. How far in can I go in her ear with the Q-tip? The breeder told me not to worry about going too far in. Yes, YT members are great! Thanks everybody!

[kalina82]

Originally Posted by DJ30

Yes, we do see black stuff. It looks like the specks we've seen. She doesn't shake her head that often, but she does scratch her ears from time to time. I mentioned this to the breeder soon after taking her home, and she said it was because Angel had her ears cleaned and trimmed. There has been an odour around her head, which we thought might be from teething but maybe it's the ear wax. TCC helped me hold Angel while I cleaned her ears with Q-tips and ear cleaner. The colour was black/brown. She really struggled but gave up eventually. We think it's just a lot of buildup. Her left ear wasn't bad, but her right ear was really bad. Should we clean them until we don't see anymore wax? How often should we clean them? Is it normal for a dog to thrash around afterwards by rubbing their face and ears on their blanket/bed? This is what she is doing.

clean her ears every day now for the next couple days. If you see that the build up isn't going away then i'd bring her to the vet. If you notice a smell coming from her ears then she might have an ear infection. hmmmm, since i can't see the ears personally i can't tell you if you need to go to the vet tomorrow or wait it out. usually thick black gook in puppies means ear mites. but then again it couple just be an infection since you mentioned it smelling. i'm not sure if eat mite goop smells, but i do know its thick, black and disgusting, and usually looks like clumps of dirt. use your best judgement, if you think there is a lot of stuff in there and don't notice it going away or smelling any less then take her to the vet. ear mites are easy to treat, as is an ear infection, with just a couple drops a day for a week or so.

[DJ30]

Originally Posted by kalina82

clean her ears every day now for the next couple days. If you see that the build up isn't going away then i'd bring her to the vet. If you notice a smell coming from her ears then she might have an ear infection. hmmmm, since i can't see the ears personally i can't tell you if you need to go to the vet tomorrow or wait it out. usually thick black gook in puppies means ear mites. but then again it couple just be an infection since you mentioned it smelling. i'm not sure if eat mite goop smells, but i do know its thick, black and disgusting, and usually looks like clumps of dirt. use your best judgement, if you think there is a lot of stuff in there and don't notice it going away or smelling any less then take her to the vet. ear mites are easy to treat, as is an ear infection, with just a couple drops a day for a week or so.

Ok, I cleaned her ears until I didn't really see anymore stuff. The breeder showed us how to clean a dog's ears, and the stuff that came out of Angel's ears looked like the same debris as the breeder's dog's ears. We told the breeder about the smell before, and she said that sometimes they rub their head/face on the pee pad, which is how Angel is going potty. She said that if the odour was still there after bathing her, it might be something. I think it took a couple of days for the smell to come back. I'll definitely keep an eye on her ears. Thanks again!

[Surfie and Tiki]

Originally Posted by DJ30

How far in can I go in her ear with the Q-tip? The breeder told me not to worry about going too far in.

, how's that for an answer? I read that going in too far can damage the dog's eardrum. Sorry, I'm of no help on that question.......

[kalina82]

Originally Posted by Surfie and Tiki

, how's that for an answer? I read that going in too far can damage the dog's eardrum. Sorry, I'm of no help on that question.......

a dogs ear drum is bend at a 90 degree angle so if the dog is sitting still and not fidgeting then you can clean to your hearts content without worrying. however if you have a bouncy puppy and no one to help you help the head steady then i wouldn't use q-tips. with the bouncing and moving around and you pulling on the ear you might be able to get the ear canal at an angle where the q-tip can reach the canal. You can use a q-tip to get at the outer folds tho, and use a warm cotton ball to sweep out the rest of the stuff.

[DJ30]

Does a dog's ear wax normally smell? I think I only smell the ear cleaner now. I'm using Soothables Pet Health Aids Crystal-Ear.

[kalina82]

Originally Posted by DJ30

Does a dog's ear wax normally smell? I think I only smell the ear cleaner now. I'm using Soothables Pet Health Aids Crystal-Ear.

normal ear wax doesn't smell. An infected ear will smell. usually really really bad, especially if its a yeast infection.

[DJ30]

Originally Posted by kalina82

normal ear wax doesn't smell. An infected ear will smell. usually really really bad, especially if its a yeast infection.

Ok. I didn't smell anything when I was cleaning her ears cuz I could only smell the ear cleaner. Is it normal for them to scratch their ears the day after they've been cleaned? I see her scratching both ears. I'm going to try to clean her ears again later today w/ my mom's help, possibly after she has finished all her meals.

[kalina82]

Originally Posted by DJ30

Ok. I didn't smell anything when I was cleaning her ears cuz I could only smell the ear cleaner. Is it normal for them to scratch their ears the day after they've been cleaned? I see her scratching both ears. I'm going to try to clean her ears again later today w/ my mom's help, possibly after she has finished all her meals.

yeah its normal because it feels weird for her

[DJ30]

I cleaned Angel's ears again tonight. She struggled but not as badly as last night. There was still wax in both ears, but they seemed to be better. I can't smell any odour, but I don't know if it's cuz it's masked by the solution. I'll be doing it again tomorrow night.

[DJ30]

Should I be able to smell the odour even though I used the cleaner? If it's an infection or ear mites, would the odour overpower the smell of the cleaner? TCC just thought it was a really strong dog smell. I have a sensitive nose so maybe it smelled worse to me.

[DJ30]

We took Angel to the vet's today because there was still quite a bit of black/brown stuff in her ears, especially the right one, when I cleaned them yesterday. The vet looked in her ears with an instrument and saw quite a bit of stuff in her right ear. She took a swab of it from the right ear, and I'm not sure if she looked at it under microscope. She said that there's normally a little bit of yeast, but there was an abnormal amount. She said that it's not ear mites, and she didn't see any fleas as she checked Angel's skin and hair, which we're very relieved about. Yeast infections are not contagious to other animals. She prescribed ear drops called Surolan. Have any of you heard of it or how effective it is? I'm supposed to put 4-5 drops in Angel's ears twice a day, morning and night, for 2 weeks and then take her back to the vet's to make sure they're better. If they're not, we may need to get a cleansing solution.