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Why are my dog's ears crusty and losing fur? What's the cause?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed | Female | 3 years and 5 months old | 57 lbs

Hey my dog has crust around both of her ears and some of the fur of her ear fell off what should i do please help

3 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Oneal Bogan, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on August 11th, 2018

Hi there. There could be a couple of things causing the crusting around Nava's ears. It could be she has a skin mite, or she could have allergies. I would recommend having your vet check a skin scape on her to check for mites. If that is negative, your vet can check for allergies and help find treatment to resolve the issue. I hope that helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

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    Answered By Ricardo Fernandez, DVM

    Veterinarian, Veterinary Oncology Resident

    Published on June 19th, 2018

    Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is possibly due to allergies. It really comes down to figuring out what is causing his allergies so that they can be treated or the specific allergen avoided. A secondary infection is likely and also needs to be addressed. This could also be something like mange. This is something that is typically worked up with a physical examination and basic cytology performed by a veterinarian. There are many things that can cause allergies though in most cases they can be broken down into 3 big categories: flea, food and environmental allergies. Allergies are usually worked up in a stepwise fashion starting with flea allergies as this is the easiest and cheapest to take care of. If not on a flea preventative, then it would be a good idea to get started on one. If already on one then it would be a good idea to change to something else (there are many new products out in the market). If not improved in 1-3 months then it is time to move on and check for food allergies by switching to a novel diet (new protein and new carbohydrate). If that does not seem to be the issue then you are left out having to check for environmental allergies which require blood and/or skin tests. Allergies can be very frustrating to deal with at first but so rewarding at the end when we are able to treat them effectively!

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    Answered By Dr. Heidi DVM, CVA, CCRT, CVTP, CVSMT, CVCH

    Veterinarian, Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist, Certified Canine Rehabilitation Practitioner

    Published on June 18th, 2018

    From the pictures, I believe the crusting and hair loss is along the edges of the ears. Ear infections generally occur inside the ear canal. I would recommend taking Harvey to your veterinarian, so they can examine his ear canals to see if there is an infection in the ear. They can also take a sample of the crusting along the ear margin to examine under the microscope to determine what is causing the crusting and hair loss, then determine an appropriate medication for it. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

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