Black crud in labs ears?

Sounds like the dog has ear mites, You can detect dog ear mite infections at home by looking for dry, black ear discharge resembling coffee grounds in your dog's ear.This dark discharge is composed of ear wax, blood, biochemicals, and the ear mites themselves.

If not treated, the black discharge can actually close off the ear canal. Both the irritation and the blockage of air flow can further damage the ear and cause a fungal or bacterial infection.

Ear mites are very contagious. They can easily pass from one host to the next by physical contact. So, most likely if your dog has ear mites, she caught the infection from another animal with whom she had been socializing. Due to the ease of transmission, if you have multiple pets, they all should be treated for ear mites, even if only one displays the discharge and/or symptoms.

The dog should see the vet, and get a a good ear cleaning solution to help fight off the mites.

If the owners for decide not to take the dog to the vet, because of financial reasons or whatever try this home remedy:

Gently clean out the black discharge, then apply a dropper full of mineral oil to the dog's ear. Use the cotton ball to wipe it around thoroughly.

This should be done once or twice per day until the infection seems to be completely healed. You should also give your pet regular baths to ensure that any adult mites are killed and washed away.

Make sure to tell the owners to regularly change the bedding as mites can stay in there and infect the dog even after treatement.

Make sure the owners know all this, though it may not be as quick and effective as the medicinal approach, its better than doing nothing

Ear Crud

Adult dogs rarely have ear mites. It is either bacteria or yeast in the ears. Zymox Otic treats bacterial and yeast infections of the ear. It is available online and at some pet supply stores. A serious infection may take a week or so longer than stated on the bottle. Keep the bottle in your pocket for 30 minutes before using to avoid placing cold drops in the ears.

The dog has an ear infection and needs to be placed on antibiotic ear drops and perhaps an additional oral antibiotic. I had an english springer spaniel who had chronic ear infections and my vet just gave me a huge supply of this stuff to keep around when he had a flare up. Not treating the ear infection can cause hearing loss - so it's important to treat whenever it occurs. Dogs with floppy ears are very prone to this. Ear cleaning with treatments like Epi Otic will help prevent these from reoccuring.

Sounds like ear mites. Get a bottle of ear mite medicine. Take a warm damp paper towel and gently clean the crud out of her ears, then follow directions on the bottle to get rid of the nasty mites.

Ear mites. If the owners won't take her to the vet, there are over the counter treatments, but I don't know how well they work. Anything would be better than nothing though.

Vet first to make sure it isn't anything serious. After you get the OK from the doctor, maintain your pup's ears with an herbal ear wash. Safe, natural and keeps ears in check in between visits!

Cheers,

K9 Scrub Club

http://shop.k9scrubclub.com/

Take it to the vet immediately also my lab has ear infections a lot needing lots of cleaning.