I have a one and a half year old pitbull who has always had normal ears, but recently in the last week or so I noticed his right ear flap swelled up. The swelling has gone down slightly, but it is still there and he does scratch at it from time to time. There is no redness or pain that goes along with this, and when he shakes his head the flap doesn’t flop to the side like an ear flapping would usually do if there was a tear in the inner part of the ear, or something worse going on. He hasn’t been messing with it either until a few days ago. It seems to look more full than flat at times, almost like an air bubble under skin?
I’m not sure if it is an infection, some type of allergy or something entirely different. I have a normal vet appointment for him in a few days, but would love to know what your take on this would be and the best way to treat it short of going to my vet.
How do you treat a dog’s swollen ear flap?
Hi,
I cannot tell what is going on here from the given information. It could be a foreign body in the ear, growth or tumor of some kind, dermatitis(allergy), hematoma (a collection of blood under the skin), or anything else. The best way to find out would be to have your vet check it out. If it is an abnormal growth, your vet will need to take a biopsy for further investigation.
Why is my dog’s ear flap swollen?
You need to contact your vet for an appointment. This could very well be something simple, but until you can get it checked, there is no way of knowing. An infection or tumor are the most likely culprits here.
Can a dog ear hematoma heal on its own?
I can’t tell without examining this myself. It depends on the cause, location and size of blood collection under the skin. If it is an ear canal hematoma(blood in front or back of the ear flap that has not ruptured through the skin), then there’s a chance it will heal itself, but I always recommend monitoring and follow-up with your vet to be sure.
I have a 3 week old puppy with a large fluid filled sac on the side of his face. I’ve included a picture, however I’m not sure if you can see it very well. Can you tell me what this is and how we should treat it?
What happens if you leave a dog ear hematoma untreated?
This is a deep skin abscess. The fluid filled sac surrounding it is pus. If left untreated, the dog would likely get very sick. There are several things that could be causing this, and your vet will need to do some tests in order to find out what’s going on and how best to treat it. I would recommend having your vet take a look at it immediately.
I found this thread on the web, not sure if you would be interested or not, but thought I’d pass it along anyway. As someone who has dealt with ear hematomas in my dogs before, once they rupture through the skin and drain out, they just leave the scab looking like a lump. Unless you can see something else going on inside, I wouldn’t be too concerned about it.
I hope this information has been helpful. If you need any additional information, please don’t hesitate to let me know!