Pawing at ears

tahi193 · Post by **tahi193** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 3:54 pm

Hi everyone. I have a dog who paws at his ears. Sometimes he does it out of the blue and other times he does it if I happen to touch his ears. He also tries to rub his ears on my legs and arms like a cat. I've watched him when I'm not around and he doesn't do it unless I'm close to him. Does anyone know what the source of this might be? Thanks!

Brittguy · Post by **Brittguy** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 4:44 pm

some things could be, wax, ear mites, hair deep in the ear.

Post by **ezzy333** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 4:59 pm

Look at his ears and see what you think. They may need cleaning or he could have an infection but you should be able to tell if you look.

Ezzy

wberry85 · Post by **wberry85** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 7:47 pm

Smell em. If they stink bad, might be infected. You can clean em out with a qtip.

If hes got long floppy ears you can get ear wash or mineral oil to put in his ears if he is going to get wet. Moisture that sits in their ears will increase their chance of getting infected.

Gertie · Post by **Gertie** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 10:07 pm

I have a young setter that does this whenever her ears get wet like in the rain or snow. I wipe the outside with a towel and then put a dry cotton ball in her ears and then rub her ears from the outside massaging the cotton ball around (she loves it). I'm not sure if this is the same problem but I'm sure it's just as wet in NC as it is here now so might be similar. Good luck.

tahi193 · Post by **tahi193** » Sun Jan 22, 2012 9:32 am

Thanks! I'm just starting to worry because he has been doing this for a while. I keep checking his ears and they look fine. I'll try everyone's suggestions and if it doesn't stop we'll have to take a trip to the vet.

If ear mites are the problem I should see a dark colored discharge, right?

Post by **Sharon** » Sun Jan 22, 2012 11:17 am

And that is the whole point. All dogs occasionally rub their ears . but if you've noticed it to be excessive, happening more often then usual, then a problem is likely. I think it is worth a trip to the vet as they can use an instrument to look deep into to the ears where the trouble may lurk.

bluestemkennels · Post by **bluestemkennels** » Thu Jan 26, 2012 7:35 pm

Sharon wrote:And that is the whole point. All dogs occasionally rub their ears . but if you've noticed it to be excessive, happening more often then usual, then a problem is likely. I think it is worth a trip to the vet as they can use an instrument to look deep into to the ears where the trouble may lurk.

+1. A trip to the vet is cheap insurance if you think there is a problem.

Bluestem

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Pawing at ears

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