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My dog's ears are crusty and infected. What's causing the issue?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Small (up to 22lb) | Female | unspayed | 2 years and 1 month old | 14 lbs

My dog has had this infection around her ear for a month now and it has gotten worse quickly these past few days. Nothing is wrong with her behaviour although the 'crusts' around her ear is increasing by the day. What could these be?

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2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Susan England-Foster

Veterinarian

Published on August 21st, 2017

IT looks like peanuts ears have an infection present. IT is possible the infection is secondary to allergies or an underlying vasculitis or parasites. I would recommend taking Peanut to the vet for a good exam and to determine the cause of the ear infection. The vet can also provide proper medications to heal the ears. You can try to apply warm compresses to the ears to remove the crust and help decrease inflammation. Also you can start an over the counter anti histamine but a vet visit would be best.

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    Answered By Dr. Dayna, DVM, CVA

    Veterinarian, Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist

    Published on November 21st, 2017

    The picture looks like this could be vasculitis, or inflammation of the blood vessels that occur at the ear tips. However, a diagnosis can not really be made off of a picture. I would encourage you to have Paris seen by your veterinarian soon. Topical medication may be tried to see if it improves before other types of diagnostics or therapy may be tried. Best of luck and I hope she heals soon. Thank you for using Pet Coach.

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