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My dog has painful ear scabs. How can I treat them at home?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | American Staffordshire Terrier | Female | spayed | 4 years and 5 months old | 33 lbs

My dog has had scabs on her ears from sunburns and fighting my other dog for over 3 years now and I need to know how to fix it. Are there any home remedies as I can't afford to take her to the vet. It hurts so much I can't even touch it with a cotton bud

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Massimo Orioles, DVM, Cert AVP, MRCVS

Veterinarian

Published on September 24th, 2018

A buster collar would be very helpful to avoid any scratching and in the meantime skin ear can be washed and disinfected twice daily with some diluted hibiscrub solution or some diluted betadine or some salted water. A picture of the lesions can be quite helpful to understand the severity of the injuries.

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    Answered By Dr. Massimo Orioles, DVM, Cert AVP, MRCVS

    Veterinarian

    Published on January 31st, 2021

    This seems to be a small spot of skin erosion, possibly due to a traumatic injury or possibly a small spot of bacterial infection. You can start disinfection at home with very diluted hibiscrub or betadine or salted water baths twice daily. if not resolving in 4 days time, a check up, appropriate disinfection and possibly antibiotics (oral, topical or in a shampoo formulation) are needed to solve the problem. Buster collar may be useful as well to avoid any scratching (if any).

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