Expert: Kaza - 1/21/2010

Question
Hello

My Bichon has always been healthy.  He has never had ear infections.  I noticed today he was shaking his head a bit.  I inspected his ears and one has a tiny red area inside and when cleaned was painful to him.  It has no discharge or smell.  My groomer warned me this could be from not removing his inner ear hair often enough, or is this an ear infection?  I cleaned it with 3% hydrogen peroxide today and was wondering if I should call vet.  I am on limited funds so if I can fix by cleaning that would be best option.

Thank you

Answer
The red area is due to him scratching he has ear mites possibly. Your groomer is wrong you do not have to remove inner ear hair and some vets will advise against it whilst others expect it, rule of thumb if its dirty remove if not keep clean by daily cleaning with olive oil on a cotton ball NEVER a bud type thing and never insert into the ear canal.
Buy some ch-ears from www.bichonhotel.co.uk
It is an ear powder that stops infections and kills mites.

If you also look on my site
www.eurobichons.com

you will see a few recipe for natural ear cleaning
If it is swollen take to a vet the cost will be about $40.