Ear mites in dogs

What are ear mites

Ear mites in dogs and cats are the size of a pinhead and have a grey-white colour. Ear mites live in the ear canal of earwax and dander. Female ear mites can lay between 15 to 20 eggs, which hatch after about three weeks. The saliva of the mite causes irritation in the ear canal, causing the sebaceous glands to produce more earwax. This earwax and irritated skin create a good climate for bacteria and yeasts to multiply. In case of ear mite infection in dogs, a secondary bacterial inflammation may occur.

Symptoms of ear mites in pets

The most noticeable symptom of ear mite infection is itching in and around the ears. Your dog will scratch his ears, shake his head or rub his ears against furniture. The intensity of the itching may vary from one animal to another. Furthermore, your pet will often have dirty ears with lots of earwax.

If your dog is scratching his ears, it’s wise to take him to the vet. Your veterinarian can see if your dog has an ear mite infection. Ear mites are hard to see with the naked eye. Even with an otoscope, a special device to look into the ears, it can sometimes be hard to see these small animals. Which is why your vet may take an ear swab to examine under the microscope.

An ear mite infection never disappears by itself and should therefore always be treated correctly. If the ears are very dirty, they will be rinsed with lukewarm water to remove the earwax. A possible bacterial ear infection should be treated as well. The treatment differs per animal and per case.

Ear mite treatment

Dogs with an ear mite infection are usually treated with spot-on pipettes that kill ear mites, like Stronghold or Advocate. These treatments should be done twice with a month between each treatment. These spot-on pipettes are available at your local veterinarian. You can also treat an ear mite infection with a cleaner, like cdVet MitesEx Ear Cleaner or the Clear Ear Cleaner, or drops, like Organimal Colloidal Silver.

Ear mites in other animals

Cats and dogs aren’t the only animals that can get an ear mite infection, other animals, like rabbits, guinea pigs and ferrets, can too. Dogs, cats and ferrets all have the same type of ear mites. However, rabbits and guinea pigs are infected by a different type of ear mite. All ear mites have similar symptoms and treatments.

Small animals with an ear mite infection will also shake their head or scratch their ears with their paws. Young animals or small animals living in a shelter or at a petting zoo or more susceptible to ear mites.

Stronghold is the best treatment for ear mite infections in ferrets and other animals. These treatments should be done twice with a month between each treatment, as well. Make sure your veterinarian determinates the right dose for your ferret or other small pet. You could also use a cleaner like cdVet MitesEx Ear Cleaner or Clean Ear Cleaner.

Ear mites complications

Due to the itching feeling caused by biting ear mites, animals can regularly shake their heads or scratch their ears. This is how the auricle can be damaged and othematoma (blood between the two cartilage layers) can occur. If the latter is the case, this condition has to be treated under anaesthesia by a veterinarian physician. As mentioned above, an ear mite infection often causes bacterial infection. If it takes a long time before this infection is treated, the ear canal can get affected worse and worse and as a result damage the eardrum. This can lead to a middle ear infection. If this happens, the animal will walk around with a tilted head, feel very ill and can have problems with their balance. A middle ear infection is much more difficult to treat, as ear ointments cannot be applied when the eardrum is damaged.

Complications

Due to the itching feeling caused by biting ear mites, animals can regularly shake their heads or scratch their ears. This is how the auricle can be damaged and othematoma (blood between the two cartilage layers) can occur. If the latter is the case, this condition has to be treated under anaesthesia by a veterinarian physician. As mentioned above, an ear mite infection often causes bacterial infection.

If it takes a long time before this infection is treated, the ear canal can get affected worse and worse and as a result damage the eardrum. This can lead to a middle ear infection. This is a very painful infection that’s very hard to treat. Prevention is the best cure!  Don’t wait too long before visiting your veterinarian when you think your dog’s ears are troubling him.

Do you have any questions? Contact us at veterinarian@vetsend.co.uk.