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My dog's dirty ear is bleeding from a scratch. Can I clean it?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed | Female | spayed | 9 years and 5 months old | 4 lbs

I just checked her ears & I noticed in 1 of them there was blood. What could this be? Her ears are dirty so maybe she scratched too hard? I was going to clean them but can I use ear wash if it’s bleeding? It’s not bad or runny bleeding. I attached a photo of a wet q-tip I put on the spot. I kind of pressed down & she did scream a bit when I did that. What should I do? Everything else is great

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1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Daniel Fonza, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on July 8th, 2018

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. This is likely secondary to her scratching at her ear. If the ears do not smell and there is no discharge in the ears, she likely just had a scratch that caused her to cut her skin with her toe nail. I would avoid any ear flushing until that spot scabs over and heals completely. If she continues to scratch at her ear(s) then I would have a veterinarian examine her so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

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