My dog's ears are pigmented and thinning. How do I safely clean them?

There can be several causes for pigment change. The most common causes are low grade allergies, hereditary aging changes, endocrine disease or superficial infection. If Pathy shows any evidence of infection or irritation, I recommend to have her examined by the veterinarian. At home you can try giving him an omega 3 fatty acid supplement for pets but it may not correct the underlying cause. This can however improve over all skin health. There are two brands of food, Royal Canin and Nutro, which are aimed at skin health and they may help as well but again, they may not affect the underlying problem. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

That is a mild amount of discharge that can easily cleaned with a some wet cotton (do not use cotton buds) ONLY on the outside of the ear canal (basically the bit you have taken the pics of). You can use a cleaning solution for the ears (Sancerum or Cleanaural) but only once a week or every two weeks. Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

I can see what you've mentioned with darker skin pigmentation and a bit of hair loss around his ear. It's certainly possible that the pigment change is a normal variation, because skin pigment can change a bit over time. However, that doesn't explain his hair loss. I agree that the area pictured doesn't look consistent with significant inflammation, which is often associated with allergies or many infectious conditions. Instead, I'd tend to be more concerned about vasculitis or autoimmune issues. Ultimately, I think it would be best to take your puppy to his vet for an exam. Depending on their exam findings, your vet may need to examine some skin cells under a microscope or submit a biopsy sample of skin to a pathologist to get to the bottom of this issue. A bit of sneezing or very mild itching isn't uncommon this time of year, as springtime allergens can bother dogs just as much as people.

If there is no sign of inflammation, discomfort, swelling, redness or discharge this is a normal pigmentation of the skin and there is no need for a vet consultation or to be worried about. Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

This is sometimes an autoimmune disease skin issue so it’s important to have your veterinarian examine Mozzie and not try to treat it like a skin infection at home. I would be concerned that the hair loss might actually be a vasculitis and this can happen with many different kinds of autoimmune diseases. Your vet may have to do bloodwork and potentially even skin biopsies under anesthesia to figure out what’s going on. Hopefully it’s not something major, but the only way to find out is to have him checked out. Good luck!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Based on your description, it sounds as if Daisy may have a skin allergy or infection. If she is losing hair behind her ears, she may be scratching at the base of her ears due to an ear infection. If her ears look infected, I would recommend having a veterinarian examine her so you can get the infection treated with prescription ear medication. Below are some recommended products, which you can find online, that you can try to see if these help relieve the symptoms you are seeing. If the condition worsens or does not resolve, I would recommend having her examined by a veterinarian so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. 1. Douxo PS Chlorhexidine combination shampoo and bathe twice weekly until resolved 2. Malacetic conditioning spray and apply to the affected areas 2-3 times per day until resolved 3. Essential 6 spot on by Dermoscent 4. Douxo PS Calm mousse and apply to the entire body once daily on the non-shampoo days.

If you are noticing a lot of redness in the ears, the most common reason for scratching at them are infections, allergies to food/environment, or parasites like fleas or mites. To determine this, a veterinarian can obtain an ear swab to look for the presence of bacteria, yeast, inflammatory cells, or a mixture of everything. Usually an ear flush that is treated with something antimicrobial and anti inflammatory will help quite a bit. Some of these are over the counter while others are prescription only. You will also have to fit Mushy with an e-collar to prevent further itching during the healing process. He won't like it but it is for his own good! In terms of cleaning the ears, periodically you can use some q tips and an ear flush to wipe out the ears. You don't have to worry about puncturing the dogs ear drums since their ear canal is curved. You would have to be bending the q-tip to cause damage. There are several videos on Youtube on how to clean ears if you need to see someone do it first. Let me know if there is anything else that I can assist with.