My dog has a large pus pocket in his ear what do i do with it. Pet's info: Dog | American Pit Bull Terrier | Male | neutered | 4 years and 8 months old | 75 lbs

This is actually filled with blood. This is a hematoma between the skin layers in the ear flap. They develop when dogs scratch or shake their heads excessively, usually from an ear infection or some type of allergy. Generally this requires a veterinary exam and surgical drainage. They will also check Dozer's ears to see if they are infected or try to find the cause of the hematoma. He will need to wear a cone probably until the ear heals. Without treatment the ear swelling will go down but it may take a month or more and the ear will scar up and become deformed. This can be uncomfortable and there is a risk of infection so I recommend veterinary treatment soon. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Dozer.

Hi there. So sorry Leo has this issue. This is an aural hematoma - you are correct. It's basically a blood blister. He has broken a blood vessel in the ear flap and it is from some trauma to the ear like shaking the head or scratching. The underlying is usually an ear infection or allergy but I have seen some in dogs where I have found no underlying cause. Unfortunately, there is no home treatment you can do. You will just have to leave it until you can get him into the vet. The vet needs to check down inside the ear canal to see what is going on - if there is an infection, or a foreign body (a grassawn/seed or something in there bothering him) then that needs to be addressed first. Then they need to make a plan for the hematoma. When the hematomas are very small sometimes they will reabsorb on their own with no treatment. When they are that large usually surgery is required to get full resolution :( Some vets drain them and do laser therapy for the inflammation. Some vets drain them and inject steroids in them for the inflammation. Bottom line is there are a lot of different treatments for these - no right one way to do it. The main point is that you need to treat the underlying cause. I hope this helps. Best wishes for a speedy recovery! Dr. Amber

This is most likely an aural hematoma, which is a blood blister in the ear. These can happen for various reasons and are sometimes associated with an ear infection. It's possible that it will go away on its own in the next 2-4 weeks, but there will be some scar tissue that builds-up under the skin. It's also possible that it will grow to fill the whole ear. If it grows and/or is not going down in the next 2-4 weeks, then it's best to take Abbey to the vet. These can get infected if left too long. The vet will be able to drain it and can do a procedure to keep it from swelling back up again (these often swell back up after they are drained). You can always have it checked by a vet just to be on the safe side. Since it doesn't seem to be causing a problem now, I think it's fine to wait and see if the problem resolves on its own. I hope that helps and this clears-up soon.