Brown Stuff In Ears?

[Percy's Mom]

Percy has always had this brown stuff in his ears when u clean them and the vet never seemed to be worried about it, but lately I've lost a lot of trust in my vet.

Anyway, I clean his ears maybe every 2 weeks with some vet solution and cotton ball and a Q tip. I usually always get some brown stuff on my cotton ball and Q tip and was never concerned. However, I mentioned about this today with another pug owner and they said their pug never has this. Does anyone know what this is? Should I go back to the vet?

[Pugpillow]

This could be wax, but if it is happening this often, it may signal chronic infection. Is it smelly? If so, definitely an infection, either yeast/fungal or bacterial. Some of my pugs never have to be cleaned; some regularly. I swear by Blue Power Solution rather than the vet stuff (Otomax?) which can cause temporary or permanent deafness (yes, really!). But before you put any solution in the ears, you must check that they have not punctures.

Here are a couple of links you might be interested in:

http://www.itsfortheanimals.com/BLUE.HTM (click on The (Genuine) Blue Power Ear Treatment)

http://www.drugs.com/vet/otomax.html

And yes, I would get a new vet!

[Percy's Mom]

Yah, it does have a smell to it...but not a bad one. Do you think he could have an ear infection for a year? The vet does look in his ear everytime we go and has never said anything.

[Pugpillow]

Yah, it does have a smell to it...but not a bad one. Do you think he could have an ear infection for a year?

Yes. We get many pugs in rescue who have had chronic ear infections, even though they have been vetted.

[crazypugmom]

Does he scratch at his ears or shake his head a lot? If not, he probably doesn't have an ear infection especially if your vet has been checking.

I would start cleaning his ears about every 3-4 days until you are able to get a clean swipe with a cotton ball or q-tip. Then, I would clean once a week.

Taz gets a lot of ear wax and dirt, but he rarely gets any infections which is nice.

[lawpug]

Gracie and Jack's ears get a bit dirty too - we just clean them with a cotton ball, or a wet wipe, or some toilet paper. Our vet said NOT to use a Q-Tip, b/c we might hurt them, and to just use a cotton ball and we would be fine...

[Imon]

I clean Otto's ears weekly. Usually get some gunky brown stuff, but not a lot of it, and no smell to it. He's not been shaking his head much, so I'm not too concerned. Our vet checks it when Otto sees him for any reason, but feels it is within the realm of normal.

[Percy's Mom]

Does he scratch at his ears or shake his head a lot? If not, he probably doesn't have an ear infection especially if your vet has been checking.

I would start cleaning his ears about every 3-4 days until you are able to get a clean swipe with a cotton ball or q-tip. Then, I would clean once a week.

Taz gets a lot of ear wax and dirt, but he rarely gets any infections which is nice.

No, he may scratch his ear once in awhile but never a lot.

I'm going to take your advice and continue cleaning his ears, sometimes when I do it once a week there is hardly anything there.

But I'm going to mention it to my NEW vet when I go in a couple of weeks.

[Percy's Mom]

I clean Otto's ears weekly. Usually get some gunky brown stuff, but not a lot of it, and no smell to it. He's not been shaking his head much, so I'm not too concerned. Our vet checks it when Otto sees him for any reason, but feels it is within the realm of normal.

I think I'm gonna smell the gunk next time, I usually stick my nose in his ear and smell...it has a smell but not bad..I kinda like it actually..haha..

[ViralMD]

Sounds like normal dog ear wax. Dogs do need to have their ears cleaned regularly - just a little piece of cotton or a Q-tip should do it. Because dogs' ear canals aren't straight (like human canals) Q-tips can be used safely.