(Obligatory disclaimer – I’m not a vet, nor am I a medical professional in any way, shape or form. Seek the advice of a real professional before trying this on your dog. Thank you!)
I’ve searched for good advice on this, but haven’t been very successful, so I thought I’d post what works for my dog in the hopes that someone else will find it useful too.
I have two vizslas, but only this one tends to have ear problems. It starts with the itching – she gets a lot of waxy buildup along with allergies, especially at this time of year – which also leads to a lot of high-speed head shaking. When I clean the ears, of course, more vigorous shaking inevitably follows. The sound is rather like a small string of fireworks going off. The speed at the tips of her big dumbo ears is probably close to breaking the sound barrier, much like the tip of a properly-snapped whip. Combined with the fact that she often doesn’t care what her ears hit while she flaps her head (table edges, door jambs, box corners, etc.), it is inevitable that she will occasionaly cut the tips of her ears.
The problem is that once a cut is open and starts to bleed, it won’t heal on its own, because every time she shakes her head it opens again, and the cut gradually gets worse over time. It’s not prone to infection (the wound is certainly not stagnating), but it won’t close up. Among other things, this leads to tiny spatters of blood in unlikely places (high on walls, in an arc across the ceiling – seriously, if a forensics team ever examines my house they’re going to wonder what exactly we’ve been doing in here all these years…). It also leads to an anxious and apparently depressed dog – she knows she’s wounded, but she doesn’t look forward to the treatment (the first time involved a lot of trial and error, poor thing).
This was our first attempt at care, per the vet’s instructions. Using a very sticky two-inch-wide tape (like sticky ace bandage, and it’s vital for this kind of problem, so of course I can’t find it anywhere) we strapped the wounded ear to her head, so that it couldn’t be irritated by the flapping. There were many problems with this approach, not the least being her general misery. The ear began to bruise where it was held back, from her rubbing and laying on it, along with the decreased circulation caused by being held for a prolonged period in an unnatural position. Also, the tape would eventually fail and she’d still flap the wound open again. What finally helped, that first time, was Band-Aid Liquid Bandage (this is specific – the spray on types and the brush-on types are not strong enough for this!) in conjunction with taping the ear up. It was a compromise, and it took a while to heal, but it did work.
The next time I came up with a more ideal solution (which I can’t duplicate now because I ran out of that tape I mentioned earlier – I’ll have to see if the vet has more).
First, apply the Band-Aid Liquid Bandage (or better yet the skin-crack gel version). Next, cover it with either a regular bandaid (right now I’m trying a Curad Extreme Hold knuckle bandage – I was hoping it would stick to the underside of the ear without extra help, but it hasn’t held up) or better yet a Band-Aid Advanced Healing bandage (I love these – they work like a natural scab and are wonderful for people, but they don’t have the requisite sticking power on their own for furry ears). Finally, to make it stay on, overlay with the very sticky tape I mentioned above, using as much as needed to hold everything in place. This way, the wound stays covered while the ear can flap free. Right now, I’m trying regular sports tape, and I’m 99% sure she’s going to shake it loose the first time she flaps her head (as soon as she wakes from her nap…). Leave the bandaging in place for several days, if possible (this is where the Advanced Healing Band-Aids come in – they are meant to be left on for several days).
Now, this next part is just as important: when the wound has healed, or you need to remove the very sticky tape, for the love of pooch don’t just pull it off! – your dog will have abrasions and a bald spot, along with a serious phobia of anyone touching her ears. Instead, use oil: pure citrus oil or even cooking oil will work. Massage it along the edge of the tape, and carefully lift as you go. This will remove the tape and the adhesive painlessly, and will probably soothe the anxious dog as well. If the wound hasn’t healed yet, clean off the oil, dry the ear, and repeat the application process.
If this sounds like a plug for Band-Aids, what can I say? I’ve tried a lot of products in this particular endeavor and it always comes back to Band-Aid. Their liquid bandage and advanced care bandages really are the best that I’ve tried, for the dog and for me. Maybe later I’ll post my awesome method of healing a cooking-oil burn with no scar 
.
Anyway, for anyone else out there with a similar problem, I hope this has been helpful!
-o.o-
I’m all for creative, beyond vet solutions. Lilly was miserable with mites for a while until I by passed the vet and bought Hibiclens. I bathed her with that every other day for a week and now she’s fine. Saved big bucks too.
Your regime would work well for cats too – the ones who come home all beat up after a cat fight
I imagine cats would be pretty tough to bandage. I finally gave up on the Curad “Extreme” bandage, and bought Band-Aid Tough Strips this afternoon. So far, one of those is holding just fine.
Before I did that, though, I stopped by the vet counter at PetSmart to ask if they have any of that sticky tape for sale. Of course, it’s only available if I bring her in for a vet consultation. Unless it gets infected, I’ll stick with the Band-Aids.
Good idea, JulieC!
The liquid or gel band-aid is very useful. The Army medical research team (I believe at Walter Reed) invented the idea.
Our terrier mix, Cammilu, often has ear problems too, and she’s allergic to bee stings and spider bites (benadryl works good for that).
Her ears are too small to hit things, but the inside can get scratched up badly if we don’t catch it in time.
Our vet gave us some anti-fungal/yeast solution to put in her ears.
We put it on if her ears start getting pink inside and it works well. It clears up fast and she doesn’t scratch at it.
Fortunately, we don’t have a problem with mites here.
The Frontline Plus works very well againsts fleas, flea eggs, ticks, and lice. Should work on mites, but I’m not 100% sure about that.
I like it because it only takes one application per month.
It’s cheaper to get online than at the vets office.
Our vet wants $90.00 for a 3 month supply, but I’ve found it as cheap as $60-$75 bucks online.
Yes, Ben getting pet supplies online is a frugal move. Frontline, Capstar and Sentinal are in my arsenal for combatting Texas pests, but none of those three affect the mites . . . go figure.
Actually, since we no longer live with two quite unkempt Britanny spaniels anymore, I think we’ll be able to manage without meds, given that Lilly doesn’t care to go outside except for a car ride. [Her outhouse is on the back porch, which I hose down daily
]
As far as pests go, the only we have trouble with is the mosquitoes. Thank goodness, no fleas or ticks (I dealt with enough of those as a kid to last a lifetime!), and this year even the mosquitoes haven’t been too bad.
I was at my vet for three hours yesterday for a ear tip injury that has not healed for nearly 2 months now. Lincoln is my Great Dane (1.5 yrs old) and Dumbo ears describes him pretty well. The vet did a beautiful wrap job, the first shake (while in the room) the ears came right out. Finally the vet tried Silver Nitrate (looks like a long match stick) on the wound and it seemed to work, after he shook, there was more bleeding but not as bad, we applied more and it seemed to do the trick. This morning he went out for his morning duty and he did a pretty good shake of the head and sure enough blood… lots of blood. The vet gave some of the Silver Nitrate sticks to take home and I applied some more and it stopped. Unfortunately I feel sick to my stomach now… I googled Silver Nitrate and found out how terribly toxic it is and how it’s cancer causing in animals. I almost want to scrape it off of him…. did I just give my dog a death sentence? Well I promise I will not add any more to his ear. I am going to follow the advice above as the last measure before courterising the ear tip. I hate to put him under anesthesia… I lost a dog once this way.
So frustrated… I just want him to be ok.
Jeff, I do hope my advice helps! I’ve never tried silver nitrate, but it sounds like it wasn’t very helpful for his ear anyway. I’ll keep Lincoln in my thoughts today, and I pray for you both that drastic measures won’t be necessary.
Not a fun way to start the day. Did she drink any cold water or eat a ice-cube? My friend’s dog would vomit after drinking cold water or eatting an ice cube… I’m sure it’s nothing. Maybe she just wants to keep you on your toes. I’ll keep her in my thoughts.
Well Julie think you saved me and my poor Doberman a lot of grief. She got a bleeding ear tip from insect bites, and of course from flapping her ears, she started to drip blood. After lots of blood and bandaging, have resorted to liquid bandaid, a sticky bandaid with a larger sticky bandage over and low and behold, it seems to be working fine. I do have a plastic medical “bonnet” to keep her from pawing it off. Should mention that I went to the drugstore, told the pharmacist about the bleeding – she suggested alum – a few sprinkles and it stopped the bleeding so I could put on the antibacterial liquid bandaid. So far so good – and she is so much happier without all the bandaging. Intend to leave the bandaids on for a couple of days before I change the dressing. Think it will work. Thanks for the suggestions.
Daisy, I’m glad I could help. I hope your Dobie’s ear is better soon! I’ll try to remember that about the alum; I’ve never tried it, but I know it can be useful. It sounds as though it works rather like the silver nitrate, but possibly without the side effects.
It has not been easy clearing the ear up. Have foregone the liquid bandaid – it tends to build up and harden – and I am sure makes dogs more inclined to shake their heads. Have resorted to taking all bandages off while my dobie is under surveillance, soaking off most residue – dried blood, etc. and putting on minimal bandaids for night. The alum has been very useful for times when the ear has bled. It seems to be doing a lot better. Lets hope. Daisy
I should add that I have just been using peroxide after soaking. It has been working well and keeps everything clean. Daisy
Daisy, you’re right about the buildup making them shake their heads more. I’ll have to try the soaking next time, along with the alum.
Thanks for your input – it’s very helpful to hear how other people have dealt with this problem.
Lately, I have seen many flies flying around my dog and on his ears. The area near the tips of his ears look like the flies are eating his ears. Now there appears to be bleeding. I have no clue what is going on or what is happening. The flies appeared before any bleeding so I don’t understand why the flies are bothering my dog.
That’s a new one to me, Michael. It sounds like perhaps you should talk to a vet; he could have either an infection in his ears which drew the flies to start with, or the flies could be a species that prefers live flesh to feed on – I know there are many kinds of biting flies, especially at this time of year (assuming you are in the Northern Hemisphere). You might also look into some form of insect repellent to help keep them away. Good luck to you and your dog. I hope he gets relief soon!
Thank you so much for sharing- My poor Abilene had a few skin scrapes months ago, and they STILL aren’t closed. I also have discovered the mysterious blood flecks all over! Thanks for posting, gives me hope!
You’re very welcome – I’m glad to help!
Looking for sugestions on how to prevent a dog’s ear from flapping. She has an ear infection along with fluid build up in the inner lineing of her ear.
I tried ace bandage…didn’t work. Would the liquid band-aid, sticky tape work?
Thanks for any suggestions. She’s a schnoodle.
Hi Francine,
I’ve found that ace bandage just isn’t strong enough for my dog. The only thing that actually held her ear in place was the super-sticky tape the vet gave me, which I wrapped around her head like in the above painting. The downside to that was that between rubbing her ear on anything available, and the decreased circulation brought on by being held in one place, she developed some ugly bruises after a day or two, which could probably over time have turned into pressure sores (that’s when I took off the bandages and tried making bandaids instead). With the ear infection, though, sometimes the best thing is to hold it open so it can dry out. If it’s really bad, probably the best thing to do is take her in to the vet, if only because that’s the only way I know of to get the right tape.
I am so happy to hear my “Heinz 57 mix” thin-eared Gunner and I am not the only one dealing with this more-than-pesky issue. I cannot tell you how many times I have washed my comforter, kitchen cabinets, and walls from blood spatters. I have gone to the vet and he gave me prednisone for his head shaking, thinking it was allergies. Helped a little but not enough to allow the ear to heal. I have resorted to neosporin, gauze pads and medical tape, which last for a day or two before he works them loose. I am a speech therapist at a nursing home and am thinking of “borrowing” some pieces of super sticky healing tape we place directly on skin tears and other minor wounds on our patients to see if that helps. Thanks for the help and comradery if nothing else.
Erin, that sounds like the right tape to try. As a follow up, since I haven’t been able to find the tape I’ve been using the Band-Aid liquid bandage, which really does a great job of sealing the wound.
As to the head shaking, if the prednisone doesn’t help and antibiotics haven’t helped, it may actually be a yeast infection (that’s Lyra’s chronic problem). If that’s the case, antibiotics will probably make it worse, and prednisone won’t fix the underlying problem. I add plain yogurt to Lyra’s food in the evenings, which does seem to help a little, and I think there are some herbal remedies which might be very helpful. Essentially, it’s the same as when humans get yeast infections or thrush. The best bet is to get a proper diagnosis from the vet, and then decide what to do about it.
Thanks for sharing your story, Erin.
My Great Dane did the head-shake-tear-the-ear-open trick a couple of times. Went to the vet for stitches, and he shook them out before we got home. What we finally did was to use the liquid bandage, and then wrap the ear with gauze, then the blue sticky elastic tape, and then we bought a pair of support panty hose, and cut the legs out (making two headwraps), and cut a hole for the non-affected ear, then duct-taped the top and bottom. It will hold up long enough for the ear to heal.
what type of lliquid bandage did you use?
Hi Nicole,
I hope Leslie sees your question, but this is a pretty old comment so she may not. In ’08, you could still buy Band-Aid Liquid Bandage, but they don’t sell it any more. There are some similar types of products available (try searching for “wound closing glue” or something like it), though they tend to be expensive.
The pantyhose trick sounds like a stroke of genius; I may have to try it sometime. The past few weeks, I’ve been trying to tough it out with just the liquid bandage. It helps stop the bleeding for a while, but doesn’t make the wound heal up. I think I may have to cave in and go back to the vet for some more super sticky bandage.
Thank goodness for the wonderful people who post boards like this.
Over a week ago, my feisty adopted Boxer mix somehow managed to scrape his head right next to the ear. It bled a bit for the first night, but then the bleeding slowed down and we thought he was fine. Since then he’ll go a day or so with no visible bleeding but after a while it starts up again–usually after a good head shake or a jog around the yard. I was worried about the blood spraying off (does anyone know how it’s possible for a wound so small to splatter so much?), so my husband tried putting Bag Balm over the area. The Bag Balm seems to keep it from spraying, it has a mild antiseptic, and Clutch doesn’t seem bothered by it at all. I don’t know that it would work for a deeper wound, but for where we’re at now it seems to work pretty well.
That said, thank you so much for this post. I’m going to try to keep the supplies that you listed on hand for the next time that we’re faced with a situation like this; I think it could have saved us from a lot of grief–and scrubbing.
Pingback: Wounded Dog Ears, Part the Second « A Work in Progress
You can mix flour with a little bit of water to make a doughy paste and rub that on the wound and let it dry for a minute or two while making sure the dog does not shake, then apply some more and it forms an almost concrete barrier over the would so when the dog shakes it’s head it will not bleed. I’ve tried this on a very bad ear cut and it worked beautifully.
Thanks, Mandy – I’ll try that if it happens again. Since I’ve been using the Zymox, she’s stopped flapping her ears all the time and they’ve finally pretty much healed up on their own.
Wow, Mandy, what a great suggestion, thank you. I just found this site as my dog got his ear cut up by a pit bull just a few hours ago, and is missing quite a chunk, but fortunately he’s a shepherd/husky mix there’s plenty of fur on his ears. Medical tape sticks beautifully, so I’m okay. I tried the liquid skin and it didn’t do anything–who knows why? Different dog breeds?
I have an Elizabethan collar, which I will definitely employ tomorrow when I’m at work so he doesn’t have the luxury of time and inattention to try to pull off his tape. We’re going to the vet on Friday–the first day I can–to make sure it’s not infected and to maybe get some antibiotics, because he is missing a serious chunk of his ear. Great to see this post and the resulting comments, thank you so much.
I am currently having this problem right now. My great dane has a small chunk missing from one of his ears. It gets blood EVERYWHERE when he shakes his head. Some of you have some great tips, I think I will try the Liquid Band Aid first, then the baking soda after that. I cannot see ANYTHING staying on his huge ears when he shakes them though….
Any more inputs?
This seems to work, Dermal gel spray promotes healing. Bought Nexcare Tegaderm waterproof transparent dressing made by 3M, bought it at the drug store.
Clean the wound, dry, spray on Dermal gel, put on Nexcare bandage, wrap blue painters tape around Nexcare bandage on ear and around collar. You must give the dogs ear a rest without bandage for a few hours every other day or risk other problems. 7 to 10 days should be healed.
Thanks, CC. I had never heard of Dermal gel spray, nor the Tegaderm, though I have seen it used in hospitals (I didn’t know what it was); sounds like you found a great combination! It’s amazing what products are out there to help with wound healing.
Hi Kelly,
If you look under the category Wounded Dog Ears, you’ll find some more useful information. One key component to getting his ears to heal is to stop the shaking; if you haven’t tried it already, Zymox Otic is an excellent product for irritated ears. If he has chronic ear infections, this will probably save you hundreds in vet bills, and that’s no exaggeration.
I hope something here is helpful!
Hi,
I just wanted to thank you for this! My dogs were playing & it got rowdy and one of the ear tips got ripped. It was a Sunday night in the middle of a snowstorm and this saved me a trip to the emergency vet! I will still need to take her (its a sizeable cut)but thanks for the fist responder info!
Britt
You’re very welcome, Britt – I’m glad this was helpful!
What a great post. Just wanted to add that the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser works awesome to remove the blood splatters!
Thank you, D! And I’ll second that about Magic Erasers – whoever invented them deserves to be sainted.
Thank you for this information. My dog, a Male boxer, Merlin 7, has had an open wound on his ear for over a year now. same scenario, ear shaking keeping the wound open. I have tried many things and none have worked. I will definitely try this approach.
One of my dogs has been dealing with a similar wound on her ear for quite sometime. I am a RN and I am certain it is not infected so I have not taken her to the vet as of yet. Her ears are visually clean except for this wound near the tip of her ear. It seems to start healing and then opens up again after a vigorous shake/scratch. I plan to try your method and see if it helps. *fingers crossed*
Hi there I have done what you mentioned to my dog from a cut he got. He has had it a while now. AnywAy a question I have is after a few days should I redress it? And usually how long does it take to mend? Also will it heal being covered like this fully. Any tips I would appreciate. Cheers allan
Hi Allan,
Yes, I would redress it after a few days, if for no other reason than to check how well it is healing. If your dog is in good health and the bandage stays in place, my totally unscholarly opinion is that you should give it a week. I’m one of those who tends to get overly optimistic about healing times, so after three days or so I would try taking the bandages off because it appeared mostly healed, and then within a couple of hours it would be open again. So overestimating the healing time is probably not a bad thing. But yes, so long as you’re using breathable bandaging material it should heal well, as the bandages work like a scab that won’t come off too soon.
Thanks for that. After 3 days I have taken off the dressing. It’s looking ok a little moist. I have reapplied another dressing and will check in 2 days. All this sound like normal. Thanks heaps. Allan
Hi Julie,
I sure appreciate all your posts so thought I would offer a little help myself. I believe that the “super sticky 2 inch wide, like sticky ace bandage” you got from your vet, but can’t find elsewhere, is “Vetrap” — we use it on horses, and it is available anywhere that regularly sells horse health products, like Tractor Supply Stores, or most feed stores. It is an incredibly “webby, stretchy” material that sticks to itself like glue (although easily pulled apart). You can sort of re-use it, but easier to start fresh. I hope this helps.
~Shelli
My dog has been suffering from this for about a year now. It started out as a rash on both ear and now her ears are missing chunks at the tips. I have brought her to the vet 3 times in the last year and I am convinced that vets, or at least my vets (not plural) have no clue how to treat this. They wrapped it once, but it was so wrapped up that it got infected inside. Then they put her on antibiotics and have me put this ointment which I have used up about 3-4 tubes of this stuff. So I have lost all confidence in my vets. I am trying a daily regiment of soaking the soars in hydrogen peroxide and putting neosporan. Not sure if it is working but I dont know what else to do. Tapes or bandages are no match for her propeller head. I put every ingenuity and creativity but comes right off in one shake. Sometimes it would get to the point where it looks healed but next thing you know, it starts bleeding again which starts the process all over again. Id like to get her tips surgically trimmed because it looks so mangled by this soar that wont heal but I cant due to her heart murmur. So all I can do is keep doing something
my dog just bite my other dog on accicdent because of food. the dog that got bit was bleeding for a very long time. i used to have another dog that would never go near the dog that bite the other dog. when this happened, we all new that it was no dogs fault. i have 3 sisters and 3 brothers. one of my sisters was not here and me, my and one of m brothers and one sister went to go out. when we came home we saw the oldest sister on the computer searching for this imformation and the brothers trying to stop the bleeding. my dog is almost done bleeding and we are getting some help!!!!!!!!
This is great advice. I am going to attempt this technique with my rhodesian – ear tip wound that has persisted for ~ 1 month. It hasn’t healed on its own and I would like to avoid ineffective vet techniques and an expensive vet bill – also avoiding the “cone of shame” is a goal we have.
A note to Irving (comment #41): hydrogen peroxide will not promote healing/granulation of wound tissue, it actually inhibits wound healing. You should use this only if you really need to clean the wound upon initial injury.
Julie, I will keep you posted on the success of this technique with Macey.
Thanks.
Thanks, Joel – any updates are welcome, as every dog is different and there’s a lot of trial and error involved. I hope Macey’s ear heals soon!
My 1.5 yr old female Vizsla has a cut on the tip of her ear – now almost 3 months old. She is on her 2nd round of antibiotics from it getting infected. The old super glue liquid bandaide trick glued an infection in
I find a bandaide on the ear works best – it keeps blood splatter to a minimum and keeps infection at bay. Her ear was almost like 95% healed and then she had a good romp in the frozen snowy woods and it became inflamed and thus our 2nd course of meds.
It may never heal? The tip is fatter than her well ear too? strange.
She also has constant skin flare ups – philiculitus (sp?) so tough…. my poor baby.
Oh, that’s rough – I hope the antibiotics help!
For the skin flare ups, I can’t recommend Zymox products enough. They’re available online from a variety of retailers, and are very effective. We started using them on Lyra more than a year and a half ago, and she hasn’t had any major problems since then, just a few minor hot spots that are easily managed. I wish there was a similar product available for humans.
My 1 year old bull terrier has the same problem of flapping his head and opening the cut on the tip of ear everytime. it has been going on for a couple of months and nothing has worked so far. I have tried multiple tapes jobs( my own plus the vet) and none stayed on longer than a few min., the vet cauterized it and it didnt work, he then tried to kind of stitch it closed and of course as soon as we were home it was bleeding again. It is so frustrating plus he gets blood all over his head. I am def going to try your method and really hope it works! wish us luck haha
We’ve also been dealing with this problem for a couple of years now, with no help from the vet. I had to laugh at your forensics team comment as I’ve said the exact same thing to my husband about the blood spatter in OUR house! We’ve got a yellow lab and I can’t use regular bandaids on her ear as they don’t stick to her short ear fur. The self-stick tape also doesn’t work, for the same reason. While wonderful for leg wounds (or on my son when he hurt his hand) it slides right off the ear. I’m going to try liquid bandage and the flour/water trick and see if either of those help. I have an e-collar on her right now, but she is the clumsiest cone headed dog I’ve ever seen and keeps knocking into things, pushing the baby over, banging into my legs, etc. She also is still shaking her head, so blood is getting smeared inside the collar.
Side note; while Mr. Clean magic erasers DO take blood off the walls, they also take off paint. Try Woolite Pet + Oxygen stain and odor remover carpet cleaner. I know it’s carpet cleaner, but it is the most amazing product and takes the blood spatters off the wall (floor, cabinets, windows, deck and yes, even the carpet) with very little scrubbing.
I was so glad to see your post and to have a Vizsla like me having this problem!! I also have 2 Vizsla’s and only the female gets the ear infections and skin problems along with the split ears. She shook her hears so hard a year ago that her ear flap filled with blood, it looked like a balloon. I took her to the vet who drained the blood and then stitched the flap back together.
I have found for the split ear problem that putting Neosporin with one of the CVS brand cloth band aides that are super sized works well and the glue on the extra large band aids stays on for days, unless she chews it off. I have left it on for days then changed it and left it on some more depending on how it looks. Usually in about 10 days she is all healed up. I was able to teach her “no shake” to stop her from shaking her head and she will stop on command now.I have often said to my husband the same thing about the forensic team, if they ever came in they would put us in jail until they figured out it was dog not human blood.
My girl has been tested for everything under the sun, I have spent thousands of dollars in 10 years time and nothing can be found to fix the problem and she has no allergies, parasites or anything else wrong with her. HA! I feel so badly for her.
did your vet check for vaculitis? our vizslas both have a type of this (might be hereditary). we notice its impact most on ear tips which seem to spontaneous start to bleed sometimes but its probably in response to something we didn’t see – like head shaking or ear flapping against a hard surface. I also notice the seeping and bleeding around one dog’s nose where the nose meets the snout. there is a topical medication which is very spendy (about 86 dollars for a small tube of ointment) but it does the trick when the ear flaps get that oozing bleeding problem.
Thank you so much for this! I know this post is really old but it was the most helpful artical on exactly this problem. I was getting more and more frustrated because though the wound isn’t infected it’s certainly not healing like it should.
Thank you SO MUCH! I’m heading to Target to get the bandaids and supplies right now.
Cheapest place to get sticky wrap is at tack stores for horse stuff. It will likely be 4″ wide so will need cutting to 2″ dog width. Usually called Vet Wrap. Horse brushes are often similar and much cheaper than the dog version for some reason. Same for supplements for joint health.
My Airedale just had his ear bitten and ripped and finding hard to keep the bandage on – flies off with the head shake. The other dog is a new rescue and never even growled – went in with a tail wag then jumped him. Thought there would be tons of info on the Net on how to treat and wrap – but this blog is the best.
Thanks, Lynn – I’m really glad this post is still helpful for people, and any extra advice is always welcome!
Pantyhose. Or a tube sock.
Cut the leg off and the end off so it is just a tube and then slide it on and arrange your doggies ear as necessary. My poor coonhound was on the wrong side of an aggressive dog at the dog park yesterday and her formerly perfect ears are no longer. Fortunately it was just one ear and just a small slit at the end of it but man was I angry!
Anyway the pantyhose in conjunction with the bandage and elizabethian collar works well.
Dear goodness thank you all for the post and comments. My thirteen year old Boxer, Christy, got into a fight with a few of my other dogs over food. She was definatly in the wrong since she attacked but she ended up the worse for wear. Her ear has multiple cuts. We thought it was healing fine but then today, a few days after the fight, she started gushing blood all over the place. So we have wrapped it in guaze and an ace bandage for now until the bleeding stops long enough to fix it. I’m lucky she tires easily so she hasn’t messed with it for about two hours now. I am going to wait another hour then take it off and try the flour recipe. Especially since as soon as she wakes up again the temporary bandage is going to come off due to the fact that she does not like it at all. So thank you so much for all the tips!!!
my lurcher bitch was laying by the door and the door was opened her ear was bleeding so after i cleaned the wound i flapped her ear above her head gently and put a eye bandage on going round neck held on with a plaster. I would like to no if what I did was right as it has just happened and like all pet owners panic. If not could someone please let me no what I should do.
It sounds like you’ve managed it well so far, Ricky. If the bandaging stays in place and helps to stop the bleeding for a few days, hopefully she’ll be okay. If the ear has a very bad tear that needs stitches, or if it starts to smell bad or look infected, you should probably take her to a vet. It sounds like you’re taking good care of her. I hope she’s better soon!
Hey! I just wanted to let you guys know that there is this spray that you can buy called Vetericyn. It is an infection/wound treatment that keeps wounds/cuts from getting infected and heals them very quickly. My dog had multiple cuts on her ear from a fight that i mentioned a few comments ago. A friend reccomended this product and it has honestly worked amazingly. It healed up within a week and is now just a scar. When she first cut it we had worries that it would take a long time to heal but we bought the spray and didn’t have any trouble with it. She even stopped scratching at it when we had that trouble before. It’s a little pricey but lasts a long time. We bought a bottle for about 35 bucks. But it heals it faster than anything a Vet had given. They sell it at like feed supply stores. but there is a website if you want to check it out. http://www.vetericyn.com it really does work.
Thanks, Melissa! That sounds like a useful addition to a pet first aid kit.
Hi there-what great info! So happy to have found you all- There is NO info on this on the internet!!
I have a 9 year old male weim who has had an issue with his ear tip for over 5 years ugh! He has the longest most vascular ears! Duct tape has been our best friend-when he really blows it open we have been using a large size sheer strip bandaid over the tip and then tape it to his ear with either duct tape or a combo with really sticky almost clear surgical tape (wish I had the package to tell you the actual brand) We also use snoods-hats made to keeps dogs ears from getting in their food. The owner made me custom Muffs with terrycloth for summer use-http://www.chillydogs.ca/productHeadMuffAllBreed.html
Another very cool option is to use an egg membrane as a way to pull the edges together -check this out
http://tipsandhintsforyou.blogspot.com/2009/07/6-tips-using-egg-shell-membrane.html
it worked great for a few days until he gave a huge shake but for smaller cuts it may be a good answer!
I came home from work today and it looked like a mass murder in my house my very old weim managed to slip in the blood and made such a mess-wow-I am sure many of you can relate-
I am not sure what we are going to do-I am working with a homeopath hoping to come up with a permanent solution other than amputating the tip of my boys gorgeous ear -the tip is puffy like Nena the vizsla-I think it is compromised tissue after bleeding so many times-but not sure-
oops should be Dozer : )
Try the Vetricyn. My Mom and step Dad talked me into trying it on our yellow lab, who has been breaking open her ear tip for 3 years! It had gotten to the point where it was constantly open and varied between wet and spraying all over the house. We’ve been using the spray for about 3 weeks now, daily treatments (twice a day the first week) and her ear tip is just about healed! It’s the best it’s looked in years. She’s happier, she’s not shaking her head all over the place and I’m THRILLED that I’m not cleaning blood off my walls!
Thanks Wendy-I saw this on Melissa post too and I will definately look into it! Do you know whatthe actual ingedients are-I will look on the website too-
Just happy Dozer is sleeping and not shaking to get his tape off-he is a happy ear flapper-always has been-a few months ago he got a hematoma in his other ear-the biggest one my vet has ever seen! now that’s a whole other story-all the vets want to do surgery-but then what? we have a dog with quilting stitches all in their ear trying to keep them from shaking-my vet worked with me and we put a drain in his ear and left him untaped-and he is fine-has a wrinkly thickened ear but no hematoma-and no surgery-poor guy!
I have another weimaraner who is in her twilight years but has never had an ear problem in her almost 14 years-her ears are flat and smooth-so curious!
There is also a chinese herb called Yunnan Baiyao that helps with any kind of bleeding-can be used topically as well as internally-it was used in Vietnam to stop bleeding from bullet wounds
https://www.shopsuigetsu.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=147&Click=3751
this website has moved and is now at https://www.modernherbshop.com. Yunnan Baiyao is great because not only does it quickly stop the bleeding, but since it can be taken internally, it won’t matter if the dog should lick it off the wound.
It is quite commonly given to dogs with hemangiosarcoma- with excellent results.
Our girl got a hematoma in her ear too, vet drained it and it seems to be getting better. I also showed our Vet the Vetericyn and he said it’s fine to use, that it won’t do any harm and if it helps, to go ahead and use it. Ingredients are: Electrolyzed Water, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Hypochlorite & Hypochlorous Acid. It’s supposed to be safe for eyes too. As Melissa said, it’s about $30 bucks a bottle or so, but I’ve been using it on her daily for three weeks and still have about 1/2 a bottle left, so it lasts. (we have an 8oz bottle)
Thanks Wendy-they do not list the ingredients on the website-which always concerns me-
Which version of it did you get?
I sent the link to my vet and homeopath to get their input! if it works
I don’t care HOW much it costs!!! : )
Hey! I definetly understand where your coming from with the blood all over the place ear thing. My dogs ear started bleeding and it was all over the place. Funny part was she wasn’t even concerned about it. She just got angry that we were trying to stop her from eating to fix it because there was blood in the bowl (she didn’t seem concerned about the blood). But dogs’ ears are like human head wounds so I’ve been told.
Anyway, the vetericyn works like a charm. It isn’t bad for the dog, it’s a lot like water (at least so the dealer told me) as far as how bad it is for the dog. The only thing you might notice wrong about it is that when you put it on regularly (i put it on about twice a day once in the morning when we got up and once in the evening before we went to bed) it will cause the site to turn a bit pinkish redish. But that is completely normal and is what the product fully intends because it even tells you that will happen on the bottle. The reason it turns that color is because the spray causes the blood to flow more in that area to speed the healing process. Yea I know what your thinking wouldn’t that cause it to bleed more? but no it doesn’t because the spray first dries the area outside to form a good scab that won’t come off very easily. We researched this product good and well before using it because we didn’t want to accidently put anything bad inside her ear. (because it was a spray we were afraid liquid might get in her ear.) I kept my dogs ear wrapped for a few days. I think it was about four or five, just to be sure that the healing process started. I was actually surprised because it even stopped the itching part of it. The only complaint my dog had was that she didn’t like being sprayed on (she doesn’t likes baths either who woulda figured? )
Hi Laura. We got the 8oz pump, it’s called “Wound & Infection Treatment” ($28.00 if you use the “buy now” link on the website) Our vet said it wouldn’t do any harm, and we’ve been amazed at how well it’s worked.
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I found this thread when googling “Duct Tape” and “Dog Ears”. I have heard from a couple of people that duct tape works well for ear tips, but I’ve been reluctant to try it. My Ridgeback has a small wound on the end of one ear. He has been flapping quite a bit so as you know, almost impossible to stop the bleeding. In the past, I have managed to heal these injuries with a combination of Vitamin E oil and Arnica gel. The gel works really well to relieve the swelling and fluid accumulation that makes it so hard to heal. Somehow, its not enough now. I might try some of the suggestions here. Thanks for the great site.
It is great to find others with the same problem. I rescue dogs and the vet bills are so high, I could have gone to vet school and saved money. When it comes to minor issues, I try to rely on the internet to help, so I was happy to find this site. All great suggestions in dealing with a cut ear. It’s going to take CSI a year to analyze my house.
My Vizsla just got a small ear tip bit this morning at the dog park – he is not fazed, but I’m going to try this to see if it heals it up. Thanks for the tip!
Hi! This was not only a helpful website, but also entertaining. My dogs recently got into a scuffle and I think I have a second career in crime scene cleanup now. My boxer got a nice gash in her ear whiiiiich was a gusher. For two days now. We did try the pantyhose idea, but it slid off her fat head too easily, then she shredded it outside.
We have had pretty good luck now with a combination of butterfly bandaids and gianormous bandaids over top. It has worked pretty well so far. Hope this helps someone! Also, we have had more luck keeping the ear down with an ace bandage than anything else. Good luck to everyone else (and my puppo).
I FOUND THE SOLUTION !
We struggled with this exact issue with our 75 lb Rhodesian Ridgeback mix, Hudson. Nothing worked and 2 vets could offer no help. Here is what FINALLY solved the problem after many months:
1.) Use 2 dog cones. One soft one (we used the All Four Paws Black Comfy Cone from Petco) and one standard hard plastic cone. Attach the soft cone snugly (without being too tight). It also attaches to the collar to keep it in place. Then attach the hard cone over the soft cone. The combination of the 2 cones keeps the dog from ever getting at the ear with its paws. It also keeps the soft cone compressed to some degree next to the dogs ears. When the dog shakes its ears (which our dog did violently), the ear will not get the same velocity because it will be impeded by the soft cone. Also, it will not slap against the dog’s head due to the soft cone being in the way. As a result, violent head shaking will NOT cause the scab to break open.
2.) Spray Vetericyn Wound & Infection spray directly on the cut/would 3 times per day liberally. It will take a solid week before it even appears to be working. It also makes the cut appear more pink or red than usually, but this is normal. After a week or so, you will start seeing it work.
3.) That’s it. NEVER take the cones off until the wound is completely healed (no scab left). This can take from 2-3 weeks. Clean the cone with the dog wearing it. If you take it off, all it will take is one head shake or paw scratch and you will be back to square one. We learned the hard way. You have to be vigilent and committed to this treatment and it will work. Hudson had a horrible gash on his ear that would not heal after many months. In 3 weeks with this method, it has competely healed and he is back to rough housing with other dogs at the dog park. Let me now if you have any questions and good luck ! —Joe
Thanks, Joe – that sounds like a great solution! I didn’t even know they made soft cones, and wouldn’t have thought of combining one with the hard cone, but it makes perfect sense.
My pleasure, Julie. I hope it can help somebody. It can be such a frustrating experience.
Our dog just had part of his ear ripped off by another dog last night. We have found if he is in his crate he does not shake his head or scratch his ear. Thought it might help someone. Thank you for all of the above tips. We are still on day one.
Thank You for all this info i have had a vet come to my house several times for my great danes ear problem several times, however this last time the vet gave my tanner the medicine to put him to sleep and she didnt wait till he was asleep and he bit her and me. My poor boy never was aggressive before but now i cant go near his ear without him snapping PLEASE HELP there is blood all over and he wont let me near him. I need to try these remedies his cut is getting worse and the blood is worse then ever. How can i calm him down enough to let me repair his ear
The only help I can give is to put whatever medicine you’re using on him near him when he lays down. like on a coffee table if he’s on the couch or some such thing. and when he has finally laid down to rest. come up to him slowly eyes down and definetly in a non-threatening way. confort him for several minutes. scratch his favorite place under his chin or rub his belly for a few minutes. It’ll take a good ten minutes for him to warm up to you. when he lays down while you’re petting him finally relaxed the gently,very gently work your way up to his ear. just scratch or pet the area to get him used to you being around it again. be sure he is completely relaxed with you around the ear before introducing the medicine. it will take a long time at least half an hour but totally worth it. when you do finally work yourself up to the medicine part be as gentle and loving as you can. talk softly to him saying ” It’s ok boy” or if he flinches say ” oh i know it hurts i’m so sorry” just soothing words of comfort. This stuff always works with my dogs. I have five big dogs. I like you have a lot of trouble helping my giant mastiff when she wants me to leave her alone
I found this site after spending Christmas Eve working on the cut ear of my dog. It happened while I was gone so I came home to a Dexter crime scene in the “dog room” and didn’t realize it until he’d made a pass through the family room and kitchen. The next 4-5 hours were spent with my mom (nurse) trying to find a solution. Independent of this site, she picked up some Band-Aid Tough Strips (they say “durable heavy-duty fabric with super-stick adhesive”) and they’ve been the best so far. The original solution was an ACE bandage with gauze that he shook out of every time. And if he was shaking out of it he was rubbing it or pushing it against you for you to rub it. Obviously, it is uncomfortable having the ear held in place (normally semi-flopped ears). This site was awesome and I’ll use your oil advice when it comes time to removing the band-aids.
I have been going through the same thing for three months. I discovered a large cut on the tip of my lab’s ear. It took nearly two months to heal, and then opened up and was raw across the whole tip. She has had stitches, and for two weeks it looked promising that this would do the trick. Stitches, e-collar, antibiotics, keeping a 2 year old dog penned and calm…… Well, tonight she went out to go potty and then inside to eat. When I put her back in her pen, I see blood and a chunk of her ear hanging there. I am heartbroken and just want her ear to heal!!!! There is no infection, and she is in good spirits. I have dried blood everywhere in the garage! But that’s nothing compared to getting her healed up and back to normal.
See my post above. It will work for your dog if you follow it to a “t”.
julie i love the idea…. my poor dog is just one hot miserable mess. he wont let me clip his nails so now they are like bear claws, so he scratches his ears and makes them bleed. its more on the inside of his ear so julie would your idea still be useful?? would the head shaking still make the inside cuts open again? if so then im just going to do exactly as u did. my dog hates the vet and i try to do all i can to not have to take him there. its not any kind of mite or infection just simply him scratching way to hard at his ears and not knowing that he needs to leave them alone to heal =( my poor baby
i have at least been keeping a watchful eye on it every few days just cleaning them out with a damp cotton ball then drying them out with a dry one.
Hi Catie. If he’s scratching because the ears are itchy, then stopping the itchiness will probably be the best way to help the cuts heal up. Again, I can’t recommend Zymox enough – I probably sound like some kind of nut, but this stuff has saved me so much on vet bills I almost can’t believe it.
If he’s scratching just to scratch, though, I don’t know what to do about that besides making him wear an e-collar until it heals.
I hope something here helps!
I have been having this same problem with my lab mix for about a year now. She has recurrent ear infections and consantly shakes her head which will not allow the cut to heal. We have tried everything and haven’t found anything that will work! The vet now says the tip of her ear is so bad that we should have part of it cut off and that it should then heal up. Has anyone had their vet recommend this before? I just want her ear to heal so she doesn’t have to be miserable anymore.
Hi Kristi,
I have heard of that, and it might even work. However, if you can get your lab to stop itching from the ear infection, it would probably heal up on its own. I keep recommending the Zymox, but only because I still use it and it still works wonders. Since I first tried it, her cut healed up and her infections, though they occasionally still happen, are now quite mild and easily treatable with no pain and suffering on either of our parts.
If you haven’t tried it, I’d strongly suggest giving it a go. Don’t just take my word for it, though, read the reviews. Seriously. It only costs a few bucks for a small bottle, and if your dog has had problems this long waiting a week or two to try one more thing before resorting to surgery doesn’t seem like a bad idea.
For that matter, even if you do opt for the surgery I’d suggest trying Zymox for the chronic infection. We tried the vet’s antifungals and cleansers for years; that’s how I ended up writing this post in the first place. That was 3 1/2 years ago, and I haven’t had this problem since.
Whatever you decide, I hope you do find a good solution for your poor lab!
You might also try Joe S’s suggestion, above, about using both a hard and a soft collar. It would take patience, but if you’re thinking of surgery you’re going to need to do almost the same thing regardless.
My dog has been suffering on and off for six years with a bleeding tip of his ear. I have tired everything, a stocking over his head, a cone, my own contraption which proved utterly useless. The last and final attempt now is actually working. I have stabilised his ears with duck tape so that his ear is taped loosely to his neck. unfortunately i only did one ear and as soon as he shook the other ear bashed on the tape and started to bleed a little and so as a result i have now basically put a thin strip of DUCK tape round the whole of his head, which he much prefers to all my other methods and it has started to scab up and decrease in size, at last. It does not seem to bother him but i have to remember to change it just after 24 hours are up or it loses its grip and splits again. anyway, touch wood progress is being made so for anyone out there with a similar problem would highly recommend this way. Good luck
just wanted to say thanks to Julie if that is the picture of your dog. it reminded me to keep it stable and now I have some progress, so thank you
You’re very welcome. And thank you, for the great suggestion. I’m glad this post has been so helpful to people over the years!
My Wiem had this problem for 5 years on both ears. Once I took an afternoon nap and he was in the room with me. When I woke up I was covered in blood and so was the entire room. I know….. gross.The carpet and the walls were ruined. The vet suggested I crop both ears, that sounded like an extreme solution for the problem at hand. It was a loosing battle until one ear had a wound so large, the flesh just started to fall off in the form of scab bits. Then it got to the point it just stopped bleeding, healed and never bled again. There is about a 1/2 to 3/4 inch pencil width notch missing from his right ear but he still looks like a Wiem. Then we struggled with his other ear for a year, until he was having surgery for an unrelated issue and the Vet called me asking about his ear and if I wanted the wound cut out and edges sewn together. I told her yes cut the wound out but just sew the two edges of flesh and keep the wedge shape. She took a very small wedge of flesh out and sewed the edges. The notch it left was about the 1/3 inch and it too never bled again. I knew that the impact of this ear smacking into his head was causing the trama to his ear but having the notch helps release that impact energy, Once the small wedge of flesh was removed, that energy at impact met no resistance ( ie. no flesh) and traveled down the either sides of the notch.
I like Joe’s idea about the double E-collars. I don’t have the bleeding ear problem anymore but now my dog has an ear hematoma. Vet only wants to do surgery but looking at picture and listening to the procedure it sounds really extreme for the problem my dog has. has it drained once and the Vet wouldn’t do it again. I’m going to find another vet to drain it and I’ll use the double E-collars. I need to control those ears.
Thanks for the helpful info. Sanya
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Thanks everyone for their comments and experience. We have been fighting a sore on our Dane’s ear for months with no real success. Same problem as everyone else-starts to heal and then he shakes his head and blood every where. We have laughed before and said that we hope the police never have to come to our house for any thing because of the blood splatter! For the person who was having trouble with the flies our vet gave us an ointment type fly repellant to put on the ears (mostly the tips). It was fairly inexepensive. We are in the middle of a move so I can’t locate it to post the name but it came in a little white tub.
THANK YOU!!!!!!
OK IM GONNA SUCK WHEN I SAY THIS OUT LOUD BUT I WAS TRIMMING MY PUPPYS HAIR WHEN HE MOVED AND I CLIPPED HIS EAR OFF…HE DIDNT CRY OR NOTHING BUT …BLOOD BLOOD WAS COMING OUT DRIPPING STOP DRIP STOP DRIP .. HE DIDNT CARE HE WANTED TO PLAY..BUT HOW EVER I DID BY THIS SPRAY TO HELP WITH THE BLEEDING THEN HE SHOOK HIS HEAD.. BLOOD BLOOD AND MORE BLOOD. THEN I GOT THE BAND AIDE SUPER STRENTH AND THE LIQUID BANDAGE SO FAR SO GOOD I THINK KINDA LIKES WEAR THE BAND AIDE BUT THIS SITE WAS VERY HELPFUL AND NO MORE SUPER CUTS FOR HIM !
Thank you so much! I have two pitbulls who both have their natural ears. They always wake me up at the crack of dawn to go outside to potty and eat breakfast. Sawyer, the male who is only a year is super goofy and spoiled and Layla is the 2 year old female who is the big sister. Sawyer just doesn’t understand food manners yet and no matter how many warnings Layla gives him, he’ll still try to eat her food. Well this morning at 6am she finally nipped his ear. It’s the tiniest wound, but it bled EVERYWHERE and of course like you said he shook his head and splattered the blood all over the patio. I’m lucky it happened outside. I tried to hold his ear for about 20 minutes in hopes of stopping the bleeding and helping it clot, but that didn’t happen. So I looked up some tips and came to your blog. I rushed out to Walmart and bought everything you recommended. It seems to have helped. He hated the liquid bandage and I had to sit on him to make him lay still so I could apply it without him shaking his ears. I put 2 “tough” bandaids over it and then some of that flesh colored waterproof medical tape that feels like skin. Now he’s in the Kennel in the living room sleeping it off a bit. Thanks a bunch for posting this and helping me out.
You’re very welcome. I hope it works!
My Akita is battling a chronic systemic yeast problem (which was exacerbated by a money grubbing vet who injected him with steroids before I could tell him to bugger off). I almost have his skin under control, except for his head and ears. I have ordered the Zymox, and it should be in tomorrow. That should take care of his head shaking.. and when that stops, I will try the remedies suggested here to heal up the open wound on the tip of his ear. I am so thankful that I found this page! I just want to suggest to those who know their dog has yeast… Zymox drops for the ears; Malaseb for their skin; a grain free diet, coconut oil, and probiotics for their guts (which will also help with the ears and skin). And don’t EVER let a vet tell you that steroids will help your poor baby! It might take away the itching briefly, but all that does is let the yeast get totally out of control before you realize it is still there. Two weeks after the steroids, my once healthy looking dog with itchy ears became a patchy balding dog with nasty ears. It has taken me five long, expensive months (with much muttering and cursing the vet) to get his coat back to some semblance of normality through diet and bathing. All I have left is his poor ears and face… Again.. Thank you for these suggestions!
Thanks for all the posts. My boxer got a chunk of her ear bit off on a Friday night. I didn’t want to take her to an animal emergency clinic. i was able to stop the bleeding by using a paper towel folded up and over the ear and a clamp from the garage. (That was my 9 year old son’s idea–pretty smart!!) I made an e-collar with duct tape and two plastic pee chee type folders. It worked great. I took her our vet on Saturday morning and they were impressed. they rewrapped her ear around a roll of gauze and kept it in place with the sticky tape that was referred to in earlier posts. the sticky tape is called Elastikon. It is made by Johnson and Johnson and is available at vet stores and online. The vet also put on a legit e-collar. The vet thinks she should be healed enough in a week to take off the bandaging and e-collar.
This WOMAN IS CLEARLY A RETARD my god I have never heard so much jabbering in all my life I normally would just hit the back button the second I read all this touchy feel shit right off but my dog needs real help and this retard appears at the top of my google search please lord someone block this site from any google search as to avoid a person needing help with out reading an entire medical journal of band-aids which ones she likes best here is a tip people if your dogs ear is bleeding put some anti bacterial cream on it and medical tape the ear down for a few days.
Hi Chris,
I agree, it is disappointing that in the four years since I posted this there isn’t a better place for people to find advice. I’m surprised my site still comes up at all.
I do hope you find the help your dog needs.
(Sorry if this caused any confusion earlier; I had to move Chris’s comment from the “Contact” page, and when I went to reply to his remarks here it still posted under his name. Fixed now.)
Chris Walters
You may not appreciate the “Touchy Feely” stuff, but it does help to know what kinds of bandages might work and what won’t. If you think you should just grease it up and tape it down, then do so. Why spend your energy trying to make someone, who so clearly wanted to help, feel bad for posting their experiences? Misery loves company I guess.
On to my relevant comment… The Zymox drops worked amazingly! And as soon as my Akita stopped shaking his head, I was able to use a large band-aid tough strip and some gauze padding with a little neosporin on it for the tip of his ear (which stands up so no, I could not just “put some anti bacterial cream on it and medical tape it down”). I was so impressed with the Zymox ear drops that I bought the topical spray as well, and have been using it on his face and external parts of his ears, as well as any other sites that are proving hard to rehabilitate. Thank you, Julie, for your effort to help those who are trying to help their pets.
Thanks, Jenn.
Re. Chris, no worries. I find it amusing that after all these years, I managed to attract one trollish comment.
Re. your Akita, I’m very glad to hear that he’s doing better! I can’t imagine how tricky it would be to work with the pointy ears.
Hi Julie,
Thank you Thank you Thank you for posting your experience and for all the other comments that have been made to this post over the years!!! This really is the best thing I’ve read on healing this sort of wound. My pit bull had an ear infection and was shaking her head vigorously and scratching at her ears. I’ve finally cleaned up the ear infection with meds from the vet that worked fine (although Zymox is way less expensive and I will probably use that in the future), but I have not been able to stop the ear tip cut that resulted from all the head shaking. The vet said the cut would clear up on it’s own after the ear infection was gone, but I’ve been dealing with the bleeding problems for 3 months now after the infection was solved. Yes, my house too looks like a forensic scientist’s wet dream. Blood is on the ceilings, walls, rugs, bedspreads, and even her doggie bed looks like she murders small animals in her sleep. I’m going to try your recommendations tonight. I hope this works!
Chris, I’ve been using the antibiotic cream and medical tape remedy you say works SO WELL for the past 3 months, and needless to say here I am reading this post looking for a BETTER solution. There’s no need for you to be rude about an open and honest discussion on the internet that is just trying to offer up advice to others struggling with the same issue. And using the word retarded for those trying to help is just awful. It’s a much better word choice for someone who posts comments with no punctuation or correct English grammar at all.
Thank you so much for all the help and suggestions. I’m a first time puppy mommy and my pup got attacked at the dog park and she sliced his ear! I couldn’t believe the amount of blood! And when he shook, it did get everywhere! Right now I’ve managed to put a bandage on it after I cleaned it, but that task wasn’t easy! He shook so much, it was hard to get it stuck. But because he is part Great Dane and has long floppy ears, I’ve managed to get it stuck on there. So far after a few shakes it’s still there.
So thank you for all the tips and suggestions!
My baby’s first cut…think it hurts me more than him!
Cheers!
Hello, I’m in Surrey England and so relieved to have found this site. My lurcher boy, Bracken is forever nicking the tips of his ears on brambles, then the furious head shaking, blood splatter – well you all know the story. Through trial and error we too have found the really really sticky plaster to be the only real answer. I’ve tried our UK versions of liquid bandage and found that they seem to make the wound larger so when it inevitably gets shaken off, the hole is bigger still! That said, the bandage has slipped and I’ve got to start again. I’ve ‘googled’ sticky plaster remover and discovered that baby oil is the answer to that issue (if you rip the plaster off most of the hair comes with it…). We’ll do the removal and reapplication this evening. Good luck to you all and thank you so much for the shared experience – finding out it is quite common is such a relief!
Hello JME and Sarah, I’m so glad this site has been helpful to you! It’s amazing to me that people are still finding it after all this time
I hope your boys are both on the mend soon!
Thanks for writing this entry! My beagles left ear has a cut and I used the liquid band aid! I didn’t thought of it right away. Thanks again!
Maybe you can help with this. My issue isn’t so much a wound not healing but a nasty ear infection with major head shaking. My baby girl Lexi has an inner ear infection and when she shakes her head you can hear the fluid build up. She is on meds (abx,drops,pred) but is there anything i can do to keep her from shaking so much? Would it do harm if i lightly rolled some gauze and placed it on the surface of her ear to absorb fluid and tape it? I know she’s tired of me telling her to stop shaking her head and it’s making a mess. I know the fluid is normal with a bad infection but there’s got to be something I can do.
help
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Hi Stephen,
The shaking is always the worst part, it seems. Since Lexi’s already on meds, I don’t know that there’s much that can be done to reduce her irritation. It sounds like the gauze idea might work; it would be worth a try, anyway, and I doubt it would cause any harm so long as the circulation to her ear doesn’t get cut off (from the tape being too tight). Otherwise, I wonder if Joe S‘s solution with the two e-collars might help?
The only other thing I can think of is another solution I tried before we conquered Lyra’s infections: I made a headsock for her out of an old pillowcase with a drawstring roughly sewn into the top so that she could shake without making a mess and injuring her ears. It did help, but she eventually became quite adept at removing it if memory serves. At the time it seemed a better solution than the e-collar, though.
I hope you can find a good solution for poor Lexi, and that she is on the mend soon!
My dog went into a fight recenly and got his ear split 4 inches through to the end. Th gash was dreadful. It was bleeding profusely. It was a Sunday and we had to go to various places before we checked him into a vet hospital. the Vet was kind enough to come back on call. He put him on anae, did a major surgery and applied a couple of stitches. He has to wear acone for 1 month to prevent him fro scratching his ears which would break up the stitches.
Hey I have a Golden Retriever who was itching the side of his head just beside his ears and i noticed blood stains. It seems like he cut it, it doesn’t too serious but i can see a bald spot and its bright pink. I can also tell he’s in pain when I try to clean it.
All the stores in my area are closed, what can I do to seal the area? Thx.
I would not try to seal it until you know what it is (unless it is dripping blood) . It might be he has scratched open a cyst you were unaware of or has a dermatological issue there that made him scratch in the first place. if it were me, I would clean it with some very mild soap and water or wound wash, rinse well, dry gently and put an e=collar on him (or a rolled up towel donut around his neck) to keep him from scratching it anymore tonight. In the morning, see how it is looking and decide from there.
Hi Alex,
If it’s close to or on his head, you might not need to seal it so much as just keep him from scratching it, so it will scab over on its own. If you have some on hand, for tonight just regular Cortaid might help the area for soothing, and even better an e-collar if you have one. Some of the earlier suggestions such as alum or styptic powder would be good, too. If you have a regular first-aid kit, there’s probably something in it that can help for the moment.
Since he’s got a bald spot, he could have some type of skin infection or allergy that you might not have noticed before, something very itchy. I’d suggest taking him in to the vet to find out what’s going on, because if the itch isn’t treated he’ll keep scratching and the wound will get worse. For the longer term, it doesn’t hurt to keep some Zymox with cortizone on hand; that stuff really saved my dog’s skin, and once you know what’s going on it might save you some trips to the vet. But do see the vet.
I hope this helps, and I hope your Golden is better soon!
(I see Cordybrown is a faster typist than I am! Pithier, too…)
Hah. Pithy is a complement to a New Englander, for sure. Its not so much that i am a fast typist but just that I was reviewing old posts on this thread for ideas for my Vizsla’s latest bandage shedding-bleeding profusely ear snag when Alex’s post came into my inbox. Alex, it might be good to take a look in the ear also and perhaps flush gently with ear wash. Since they lack thumbs or access to Q- tips, some dogs will dig and dig and dig at the outside of the ear when something is irritating the inside of their ear (seed, tick, dirt, scab, yeast or even trapped water). We had a GSP who got a barbed seed (like a foxtail but not) in her ear and it got imbedded and she formed a cyst which she then broke open from the outside just in front of her ear opening.. If you see something in the ear, I recommend having the vet take it out so you don’t inadvertently force it further in.
thanks guys, i just cleaned it with soap and water/ I hate the vet in my area, seems incompetent and the last time I visited him he overcharged me for various medications, outrageous receipt. I haven’t sealed the area as it seems like hes not itching it anymore but he is resting his head (cut site). I will visit my nearby pet store (organic pet store) for solutions! I really appreciate the fast response!
hey another question, the blood stains from my dogs wound has caused the hair to be wet and stuck together… how do i loosen up the hair safely (around/on the wound) so that i can cut the hair? can i wet it with milk and comb it down?
Milk would probably work; I wouldn’t have thought of that, but it’s probably pretty effective. Assuming it’s pasteurized, it might even be sterile, which would be good if it gets too close to the wound. I don’t know what effect it would have if there’s an underlying skin infection, though; do you know yet if it’s just a simple cut or part of a larger problem?
You could also try a non-stinging saline wound wash solution (for first-aid you can usually find a sterile solution at your local drug store). Either way is probably fine, I’m sure it’ll just be a relief to have the excess blood out of the hair.
Just wanted to add a thank you for posting this. my dog ran into a wall and sliced the tip of his ear. Thanks!
Just found this post, and THANK YOU. I also have a female vizsla who does the exact same things you described. I’ve been trying to heal her ear for a bit now and all the bandages I’ve used have been horrible. The closest I came was the bright-colored plastic Band-Aid ones for staying on. I would also like to recommend using Dr. Harvey’s Organic Healing cream (http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/products/Dr-Harveys-Organic-Healing-Cream/269058.aspx) to help speed the healing. I put it on after cleaning the wound with witch hazel and let it absorb before covering it (while petting my girl and telling her how good she is). I will look for the liquid bandage you recommended though! The brush-on stuff has helped a little, but not enough. Thank you sooooooo much! I’m glad to know I’m not the only one who has/is having this issue!
Hi Charity,
thanks for the link to the healing cream, it sounds like a good addition to a first aid kit. Re. the liquid Band-Aid, I’m not sure they make it any more. A quick online search shows it’s still available from a place or two online, but I suspect those are packages that have been sitting around for a long time.
Unfortunate, because it worked really well, but understandable because it was challenging to apply – you had to carefully place drops on a little applicator that had a chemical in it to activate the drops, then dab the applicator over the injury, but quickly enough that the stuff didn’t dry and get too tacky. For most people, it was probably just too many steps when a regular band aid would work just as well.
Searching on Amazon, you might try looking for “wound closure adhesive” or similar terms. Quite a few products come up, both veterinary and for human use, though they tend to be on the expensive side.
Excellent ! Thanks for starting and keeping this advice line going for so long. My 16 month JRT had her ear bitten by a rabbit at 5 months old (did her street cred with other terriers no good at all !). The wound did heal up, after weeks of scratching, blood splatter, etc. However, in the last couple of weeks (whilst playing roughly with her spaniel boyfriend) she has now got a small nick in exactly the same spot as before. It seems to scab over, then there’s the super speedy head shake and we have blood & gore all over again. The scab seems to get bigger every time. The one that fell off today was the size of a bean. Another thing that worries me is that the veins along her ear flap going down towards the wound seem really prominent right now. She doesn’t seem to be in any pain, swims in sea with it, doesn’t scratch, plays like crazy, runs in terrier races, did agility today with no probs, but I really want it to heal properly. I’m off tomorrow to find liquid bandage, some antiseptic spray and that eastern herbal stuff. So hoping it all works for her.
I have this same problem with my boxer. Last year it happened to his left ear and took months to heal and now it’s on his right ear which is a little worse especially during this season bc he has been getting dirty so hes had several bathes and also he LOVES to play in the water so of course it breaks the scab and blood goes everywhere. It has been 2 months and still not completely healed, I’m so tired of it. I have spent too much money on magic erasers lol! And I have been using “New Skin, liquid bandage” it works for a little while, but he somehow manages to break it again. I am going to try everyones suggestions. Thank you for your tips and tricks everyone!!!
Ok so all this stuff is great but my problem is I hav a lab and great Dane, my lab chews the Danes ears!! That’s why they’re bleeding
if I put any bandages on the Danes ears my lab will just chew them off!! Please help!
Well I do have a suggestion but you may not like it ! Put a smear of hot chilli paste or mustard on the ears but NOT (!) anywhere near an open or bleeding bit. Theory is that your lab will associate ear chewing with a nasty burning mouth and stop doing it. Better still get a high pitched screamin attack alarm or similar and lie in wait to set it off each time a bit of chewing starts. Try both and the labs hearing and taste will get assaulted. If your lab has the urge to chew I suggest also providing lots of more appropriate chewing objects. Have you tried antler chews ?
Yes I hav tried everything bones doys chews etc ! Im worried he’s doing it cuz he actually likes the taste of the flesh/blood? An of course being a grate Dane with floppy ears he constantly shakes his head an makes it worse aswel as blood spots going everywhere
You are right of course…blood is food to any dog ! Of course your lab loves the taste, being a carnivore. Dogs will lick anything with blood on it, they’re really not fussy at all and as human we sometimes find this shocking. Your lab seems to have learnt that the more he licks and chews the more blood there is…so he licks and chews more…so the ears bleed more…etc. He is not associating it at all with hurting or damaging or even eating your Dane. Your Dane is obviously not yelping in pain or telling the lab off for his behaviour. Therefore it’s ended up as your job to break the cycle, which is proving tricky. My advice is just try and think like your dog. What does the lab hate most ? What abhores his senses most ? Teach him that ear chewing results in whatever those things may be so instead of loving the taste of Dane blood he associates the taste of Dane blood with horrible noise, squirt with something he hates, hot burning sensation in mouth, etc. You may well laugh but if Holly is being naughty I just put my hand towards the pot where I used to keep the nails clippers, she instantly stops, I don’t even have to say anything. Sorry for wonky typing by the way, I am balancing notebook on a cushion which Holly has buried under and is now vigourously chewing a rawhide bone…bless !
Oh, that sounds frustrating. I can only second Sarah Holly’s mum; coat the ears with something that tastes awful to your lab, and then watch him. Every time he starts chewing, do something startling – the noise could work, or my dogs always hated getting sprayed with water from a squirt bottle (though some dogs love that, so whatever works for your dog). Also, if he does it while you’re away, I’d suggest crating one or both dogs so he can’t get at the ears.
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