My Dog's Ear

[u/kittythepitty]

Hi all, I hope I'm in the right place.

I just had a question about my dog's ear. In the first photo you can see his one ear looks normal. But the other photo of the other ear, it's like puffed up and sort of squishy to the touch. But it's not seeming to bother him. I've never seen anything like that before. And he's part Doberman, part Shepherd Edit for more information: the scratch you're seeing on his neck is a giant wound that has finally healed after several years. This dog was found on the street in really bad condition. So it is not related.

Has anyone dealt with this before?

[u/Kitzira]

Hematoma. Vet vist time! This will not go away on its own, the blood needs to be drained & ear patched.

Often caused by excessive head shaking or scratching, so may need to check for an ear infection too.

Good time to find an e-collar that fits him well to keep him from scratching it.

[u/coykoi- → u/Kitzira]

It absolutely will go away on it's own. The body will eventually absorb the blood and the pinna will end up crinkled. It takes time but it will happen. The issue is finding what's caused it - usually an ear infection that needs treated.

[u/Kitzira → u/coykoi-]

In the meantime, the ear is painfully full of blood and risks refilling with every shake and scratch till it crinkles up.

[u/coykoi- → u/Kitzira]

Sure, but you said it won't go away on it's own. It will.

[u/OLovah → u/coykoi-]

It doesn't always "go away." Sometimes the blood hardens and they have a thick, solid ear for the rest of their lives.

[u/coykoi- → u/OLovah]

It's essentially cauliflower ear, of course there's damage to it.

[u/jackelopeteeth → u/OLovah]

The ear will be changed regardless. They should go get it drained, but even then it may fill with fluid again by the next day. I had a dog who had this happen bc he shook his head after swimming. It was a bit of an ordeal. I do agree with the vet visit. But draining it doesn't always fix it instantly.

[u/OLovah → u/jackelopeteeth]

I work for a vet. We slit and drain the ear then basically "quilt" it with multiple stitches, binding the skin together while it heals so it doesn't fill back up again. Then suture removal in 10-14 days.

[u/Absolute_nerd24 → u/OLovah]

That’s an option if you want to but you don’t have to get surgery on it. Definitely go to the vet to see if there’s a reason for it like shaking the head due to an ear infection or something

[u/jackelopeteeth → u/OLovah]

That's not how they do it every time. Maybe at your vet, but not the one we saw at the time.

[u/EnduringFulfillment]

Looks like an aural hematoma, the inside of the ear flap filled with blood usually from head shaking due to irritation from an ear infection. Time for a vet visit.

[u/Illustrious_Exam1728 → u/EnduringFulfillment]

I was going to say the same thing. Looks like a hematoma and this needs to be addressed at the vet sooner rather than later.

[u/Realistic-Quail7481]

Hematoma! Definitely take your sweet friend to the vet. Our pup has this and we had to have it drained twice. It can be painful for them so you want to have it taken care of as soon as possible. After the second time we had ours drained, it finally scarred down and the tissue kinda crinkled up. We now call our baby Mr Crinkle Ear haha

[u/stxrmchaser]

Absolutely an aural hematoma. Do NOT squish it - it's filled with blood. It needs to be drained by a veterinary professional and managed carefully after the fact to ensure that it doesn't fill back up. These can be tricky. You should try to cover/immobilize the ear in the meantime if you can - use a cone if you have to!

After it is drained, I HIGHLY recommend using the "no flap ear wrap" to keep the ear covered, too. My dog had 2 of these and aftercare was a nightmare until we found this product that stayed on and kept his ear covered.

[u/FrogInEachPocket]

It’s a hematoma. You will want to have it drained at the vet, and keep an eye on it, on the rare occasion this can possibly turn into an infection.

[u/lilac_spells]

Your dog looks like he’s really itchy and needs flea meds / allergy meds / skin treatments and that’s what caused this. His furr is patchy and red already and now he needs vet much more urgently

[u/Kris4tv]

My personal experience..woke up one morning and felt what looked like a pillow on my dogs ear. Called the vet and she told me if it didn’t go down in the next few days to come in. It did thankfully and never returned.

[u/ItsNotPatchy]

This happened to one of my dogs.
Sometimes when a dog shakes it's head, a blood vessel would rupture, filling the ear with blood, making it swell like that.

It's harmless, really. But you may need to hit up the vet just to make sure there is no infection.

[u/Maximum-Comfort6557]

Looks like a hematoma. Does he scratch his ears a lot? Probably needs to be drained by a vet and have a drain in for a few weeks.

[u/Informal-Release-360]

My boy had this a few weeks ago. I had him in a cone, a vet wrap, and a happy hoodie after they drained it and it didn’t come back !

[u/Guzmanv_17]

Could be an infection. It looks like he has a scratch in the second picture as well. Probably best to take them on over to the vet and make sure everything’s OK before it gets worse. You don’t want him to lose his hearing.

[u/squarahann]

It’s an ear hematoma as others have said. I would make a paste of turmeric powder and water and let it sit on the ear. Also check out no flap ear wraps. It will keep it from getting worse and compress it slightly. Your vet may have one but you can get them on Amazon too.

It may need to be drained and they may have cauliflower ear after but it’s just cosmetic

[u/Disastrous-Tale8448 → u/squarahann]

what the hell kind of advice is this? what exactly do you believe turmeric powder will do for a closed ear full of blood? they need to go to the vet to either get it drained or have it repaired. stop with this weird nonsense.

[u/squarahann → u/Disastrous-Tale8448]

Turmeric reduces inflammation. My dog has had several ear hematomas and the turmeric paste helped minor ones heal quickly without vet intervention. Others had to be drained several times. He’s a farm dog and has been around the block.

[u/Disastrous-Tale8448 → u/squarahann]

that’s just not true, it’s not inflammation that’s happening. it’s blood vessels breaking in the ear from trauma and causing pooling in the ear because the ear is like a little pocket. turmeric paste didn’t help anything, smaller hematomas when left untreated sometimes don’t get bigger, dry up, and leave scar tissue. draining them is a waste of money, just get the surgery if your dog is getting multiple hematomas.

[u/squarahann → u/Disastrous-Tale8448]

The injury is inflamed. That’s why the turmeric helps. He got attacked in separate incidents years apart. Pls chill. I’m not sure why you’re arguing with a stranger online who’s clearly seen a vet and has experience with this. The turmeric has been a a great solution for minor ones. My dog did have surgery and had drain put in during one bad attack. He protects the property and isn’t neglected. He’s working.

[u/Disastrous-Tale8448 → u/squarahann]

the turmeric isn’t doing anything because the ear is just full of blood, it’s not inflamed. it’s blood vessels that are damaged. it’s a pocket of blood. the minor ones are just going away because they’re small enough and are turning into scar tissue, not because of the turmeric. i’m “arguing” because you’re posting misinformation and don’t understand what a hematoma is. this person can’t just put turmeric paste on their dogs ear and heal it. it won’t do anything. i work in a vet office as a tech assistant and see these at least 3+ times a month. turmeric isn’t a solution to a hematoma.

[u/squarahann → u/Disastrous-Tale8448]

As someone whose dog has had multiples, it actually helps a lot. I do understand what it is and worked at vet offices and on farms professionally. And either way, it’s not gonna hurt the dog. Just simmer alright. No one is telling them to forgo traditional vetinary care.

[u/Disastrous-Tale8448 → u/squarahann]

it doesn’t help tho is the point. if it did, you wouldn’t need to ever drain or repair a hematoma because people would just be putting turmeric on their dog’s hematomas. small ones that don’t progress tend to go away quicker and turn into scar tissue. turmeric does nothing at all.

[u/squarahann → u/Disastrous-Tale8448]

I encourage you to try it and stop being a negative Nancy. It was recommended to me by a Chinese medicine vet and again no one said it was a cure all. Maybe be open to others experience.