Ear infection?

[Sandy]

Toby's one ear is redder than the other, and feels warm to the touch to me. But...it is not sensitive to the touch at all, and he gives no sign that it hurts. Could it just be irritated and not infected? I have some drops from the last time he had an ear infection (April). Would it be okay to use those and see if whatever irritation this is clears up? The drops are not past the due date, and have been refrigerated (the vet told me to hang on to the end of the bottle in case we needed them again).

[F, Calla & Luca]

I find the best way to tell if the ear is infected is to smell it. My dogs usually have a slight yeasty smell but nothing much more. If you have a potent yeasty smell or a foul odor it could be an infection. I'd clean the ears, if you haven't already just done this and observe for a while. If when you clean you have a lot of "gunk" it may be an infection. I don't think using the drops would hurt but you'd need to know if they are for yeast or bacteria, might be wasting them etc. It's always best to reserve antibiotics for when you need them to avoid the development of resistant organisms.

[Sandy]

There is no smell at all. Is there a "home remedy" I could clean it with?

[F, Calla & Luca]

It may not be more than an irritation or nothing at all. there are recipes for home cleaners on the web. I stick with the commercial cleaners.

[Tammy & Gracie]

I use a solution from the vet from occasional cleaning. Just don't use alcohol. If there is any irritation, it will hurt like mad! Has he been scratching or rubbing that ear? I included a link for ear discussions here on DK. Maybe you will find some ideas there.
http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/healthandmedicalissues/forum/topi...

[DeeDee and Sheila]

I vote for a quick check at the vet. Then get THEIR ear solution and use periodically. The worse you let the ear get, the longer and more expensive the treatment will be. Dogs don't show pain until it gets really bad. I only had one infection with my labs who swam in lakes, streams, oceans, creeks doing this. And that breed is made to swim. Labradoodles aren't and my breeder has warned that ears can be a problem if not handled properly.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Poodles I thought are designed to swim and if labs are, why not labradoodles?

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

You tell-em, F. Parker! Poodles ARE water dogs. The problem is with ears that flap over which can cause a breeding ground for bacteria to grow. My Springer is a also a water dog but because of the ears flapping Springers get ear "stuff."

[Cocco's Mom]

Cocco gets this red ear a lot. We live in Florida and it is humid. I use ear cleaner. You can get this at the vet or at Walmart. Just make sure it is the one with a drying agent in it to prevent bacteria. The vet told me to clean her ears every 10 days. I save the antibiotics in case of infection.