Expert: Dr. Louis N. Gotthelf - 4/11/2005

Question
Hi,
I have a 13 yr old black lab who is having trouble with one ear.  When I  rub it she leans right into it and seems to be telling me to keep doing it.  I have cleaned out her ear with a qtip a bit but am nervous.  The qtip is quite dirty with a dark brown(muddy) substance.  When touched in a certain way, it also does sound like there is fluid in the ear.  
Is there a way I can treat her without a trip to the vet?  
Thanks
Lana

Answer
If there is liquid in the ear canal, that is not good.  Treating her at home is difficult in dogs because the ear canal is a long "L" shape and the goo maybe coming from deep in the horizontal ear canal.  We often need to sedate these dogs to clean deep in the ear canal.  Your vet may need to make sure that there is an eardrum present and see if there are any tumors or growths in the ear canal.  Do not use Q-tips as they tend to push everything further down into the ear canal.