Leather Ear
 

Hi all...

A long time ago (when I first got my pups) I heard from another Yorkie owner that her rescue had what is know as leather ear...she said that is when the ear turns black. Not sure if I am over worrying this but I just started to notice that my GiGi's ears are blackish around the tips. Never noticed this before (but I have been threw a lot lately).

Does anyone have any experience or information they would like to share on this topic.

Thanks in advance.
Tina

try coconut oil, but like organic, nothing that has other ingredients...pure coconut oil, my girl was getting it and I cleaned the area and then applied it....i did it for over a week....it helped, she doesnt have that problem now...good luck!

Oh, thanks so much I will give it a try.

Hugs
Tina

Btw....what did you clean her ear with before applying the coconut oil?

Thanks
tina

I used gauze with just water but some people on here use alcohol it seemed to harsh for me so I just did water

Ok thanks. ....

Tina

I really can't tell if it is working or not...I took pics to compare but still hard to tell.

When it is healing does that area turn pink again or does it start to fade to a light grayish brownish color.


Thanks
tina

do you see black stuff coming out when you clean the area??? Is your dog losing hair around the area? Not sure how long you have been doing the cleaning...maybe try this week...otherwise you can take your doggie to the vet...mine cleared within 2 weeks...

Do you mean black stuff in the canal of the ear where wax may accumulate?

tina

I just cleaned her ear with a qtip and do not see any brown or black waxy gook....just maybe a speck. She usually doesn't get waxy ears like my other dog who got a lot of wax buildup pretty quickly but no leather ear.

I am going to upload a pic of her ear. Please take a look...also do not see balding on the tip but do see that the hair is shorter than I had cut it about 2 weeks ago.

I would take her to the Vet but they are pretty useless where I am ...after spending $900 to find that she has diarrhea and after my Pucci died of a heat attack and never being diagnose with a heart prob. I do not have much faith in them and will be searching for another Vet.

been cleaning for 4 days.

But in the mean time maybe we can resolve something here.

thanks much...
tina

attached is a pic of her ear that I took last night...I had taken pics on Friday but they are not as clear as this one so it is very hard to compare.

please let me know what you think...if it look the same as your baby's ear when she had LE.

thanks again....
tina

yeah it was similar...it was around the back of the ear as well she was losing hair on the back side and there were scabs on it as well...when I would clean the area, where its black...black stuff would come off with some hair as well...she mostly had it on the back of the ears not much on the inner side....

yeah try to solve it this way...I know if you google this condition you will find others who have had this issue, this is where I got the idea...other people on here have used other ways, but to me this seems the most risk free..

Thanks for taking a look....on cleaning the ear...after I clean the ear with warm water and a wash cloth I blow dry the ear...is it necessary to blow dry the area first or is towel dry good enough...I feel I am putting her through some confusion with the constant washing a blow drying. I also shampoo her head every other day.


Thanks again in advance.

tina

poor baby....ok so dont irritate the area too much with so much washing...just grab like a cotton ball , I used the makeup remover cotton pads and I would wet it and just clean that area...I would not soak it...when I cleaned it I would see the black stuff remove along with hair....then I would just add the coconut oil...dont do it too hard just enough to clean the area...

ok thanks that sounds a lot easier on her....and me 2;)
I will update in couple of days with pics.....

talk to you....
tina

Personally, I would have a vet take a look. There are other things to consider such as a bacterial infection...or even cutaneous vasculitis.

For fungal infections I prefer using vinegar and water 50/50 ... you can put on a cotton ball to apply. It does not burn.

If you don't start to see improvement with whatever you choose to use, I urge you to see the vet.

Good luck!

can we use regular vinegar or does it have to be apple cider vinegar.

Yes need to see a vet pretty soon. want to try he vinegar to see if anything rubs off.

tina

I have used regular distilled vinegar. You can rub a bit...but be careful as you can really irritate the ear. Just give it time...I once had a pup that came to me covered in fungal and bacterial infections. He was put on antibiotics and the above rinse three times/week after bathing. His skin started to turn around in a few days...it was amazing.

Hi Ladyjane...we have a vet appointment today. I am just to worried about her skin problem what ever it is...I am pretty sure it is the leather ear but as you say she may need antibiotic. Also I think she had the leather ear on her nose for a long time and I thought that the hair loss was due to a new shampoo I tried on her and stopped immediately....once I stopped the shampoo (only used it once) it seemed as if the hair on her nose started to grow back but now I see it is still not all back so she probably still has it and it spread to her ears somehow.

Well I hope this Vet has had experience in this area. I will get back to you.
Btw are you a groomer you sound like you have a lot of experience in this.

Thanks
tina

No, I am a yorkie rescuer. :) So, yeah, I do have quite a bit of experience with yorkie conditions.

Please let us know how it goes~!

Hi Ladyjane.....

It went very bad....they were beating around the bush saying they never herd of leather ear and that they have seen changes in pigmentation from allergies, yadda,yadda....so I said to her (the owner's daughter who is also a vet) then what do we do about this condition that you do not know what it is called and she said I don't know. She proceeded to check GiGi's ears for infection I told there was no infection in the ear canal...as she saw ....but she was acting like such an A@!hol# about it. I just felt she was not going to give GiGi the proper care...so I asked if I was in the wrong place being that she never heard of leather ear and does not knot know how to treat what my dog has and she proceeded to say no and wanted to do more testing but I felt she was just beating around the bush. She could have said although I heard the term it may not apply to your dog lets do some testing.
But she was not coming across like that so I picked up GiGi and walked out.

I now have an appointment with another Vet so we will see how that goes.
Pretty upset....will be back.

tina

I am so sorry. I hope you find a vet you will be happy with!

Hi Ladyjane

our vet appointment went much better but he said that there is really nothing that they can give her. He said an antibiotic would not do anything and she might end up with diarrhea or constipation so they never give dogs any thing. But at least he didn't treat me like I was some kind of A@@ pardon my French, esp after taking me for a ride on my last visit. I hope I put a hole in her wall, lol

So you say that vinegar and water solution really works? It sounds better to me than coconut oil cause that can clog the pores I think, although a few people do swear by it.

I will keep looking around for a recommended Vet. And hopefully this stuff will come off her ears. When you cleaned the rescue ears were they caked with goop...cause GiGi's ears have no goopy or waxy build up....wondering if they have the same thing.

tina

Finding a good vet is really hard, and some are better with certain health issues than others. We found our current vet through a neighbor. We had both started out with one vet whom neither of us liked.

Coconut oil is anti-fungal. I don't think it clogs pores, not on my skin. Max had something going on with his nose, something pimply, a few years ago and the coconut oil cleared it up. Has to be the good stuff without any preservatives or additives. We use Nutiva and Cocotherapy brands.

Older threads I've read on YT about leather ear talk about the vinegar solution as Linda described. I also read about using Lotrimin antifungal cream as a follow up. I would check with the vet before trying that. The potential for the dog to lick it would make me nervous. Something to think about.

Glad this vet was nicer. The other one sounded like a total jerk. I am surprised he didn't suggest something though. Oh well..some are better with skin stuff than others I guess. He gets a plus for not prescribing just anything.

No...no goop. I have had a couple of these pups. I just mentioned the one because he was a mess. Here are links to his before and after...I often use him as an example of how fungal infections can clear up. I don't recall if he had "leather ear" but I have a pup now who had it. No..not goopy...just black skin on the back of the ear with no hair. It does rub off on a cotton ball. Does not come off...just will color the cotton ball if you rub it.

Index of /cody

Linda, I cannot believe Cody started out looking that way! Amazing turnaround!! Love seeing that.

You have never seen that before? I have to say I was amazed. I really didn't believe that vinegar and water would do the trick...I remember pushing her for an anti fungal and she told me she didn't want to risk the side effects. I remember saying he was going through puberty when he started growing hair on his chest. I so loved that boy!

Oh, and he smelled terrible...she said that he would smell like a dirty Easter egg after the rinses. LOL Cody really was a diamond in the ruff!

Dirty Easter egg, lol! He really was a diamond. Amazing testament to the power of the vinegar and water solution.

Hi All.....

yesterday after I got back from the 2nd Vet and posted here...GiGi and I ran to the post office. I was then pretty exhausted from the day so I fed her and later me then read a little and conked out. I did read your pots though first and really appreciate your taking the time to do so. I just finished feeding and walking the princess so I just want to catch up with you all.

First I am going to check out the pics posted by ladyjane....second I wanted to mention that I believe that the coconut oil is organic cause it says that the only ingredient is coconut oil....please correct me if I am wrong.

once I check out the pics I will see of GiGi ears look the same. I would like to decide what remedy I should use on her today so look like I have a lot to do on the puter today.

if you have the time please let me know if it sounds like my coconut oil is organic or should I try one of the brands that stipulates that it is organic even though there are no other ingredients in mine.

thanks so much you have helped through this and helped me not to fall into a trap that will lead to no benefit ( at least for GiGi and me)

be back in a few

tina