Being one of the most favorite places to scratch, areas around the ears would be your go-to spot when you spend time with your dog. However, you might have noticed these small bumps & lumps inside your dog’s ears when you went through with your normal petting routine.
In addition, you might have spotted your dog scratching his ear frequently due to the irritation in his ears, which can lead to bloody scabs and hard callouses. If left untreated, these symptoms can spread to other parts of his body, so let’s take care of this threat while it is small and growing.
How Do I Treat Bumps In My Dog’s Ear?
The best way to treat these bumps in your dog’s ear is to figure out the cause behind them. To do just that, I have listed several causes with their underlying symptoms to help you along the way. If the symptoms are too hard to pinpoint, you can always ask for professional help along the way.
What Is The Medical Term For These Bumps In My Dog’s Ear?
The scientific term for ear bumps is called ear dermatitis. You know what ear means, and dermatitis refers to a general form of skin irritation. Those bumps on your dog’s ear might not pose a problem at first, but as time passes, it might either go away on its own or start to irritate your dog to an extreme degree.
Causes of Bumps in Dog’s Ears
By covering our introductory questions, you have the basic foundation regarding this skin condition, and I hope that you pinpoint the cause, which can open the path of finding a solution for your canine friend. Without further ado, let’s jump straight into our list that contains 6 general culprits behind the bumps in your dog’s ears.
1. Parasitical Infections
Due to your dog’s love of nature and physical exertion, you can’t really prevent your dog from going through places that are insect-free. In one of your hikes, a parasite might have latched on to your dog, which can pose a serious health risk for your dog for prolonged periods of time.
Parasitical infections that can cause bumps in your dog’s ear include (but are not limited to) ticks, fleas, and microscopic mites (mange). These parasites can burrow down in your dog’s ear and cause frequent irritation which is followed by excessive amounts of scratching.
Symptoms of ear tick infestation include head shaking, head rubbing, and drooping ears and mite infestation usually occurs on the outer edge of a dog’s ears, which often happens to young puppies that didn’t fully develop their immune system. Check the inside of his ears and try to see if they are any pests inside.
For flea infestation, the regular symptoms of these bites often result in tiny, red raised dots in your dog’s skin. Even though one of its primary places of infestations is around the ears, they can travel to areas around the neck, lower back, abdomen, and the base of its tail.
Solutions to Parasites
Parasitical infestations have been around for a long time, and to counter that threat, many companies have made medicated products to safely eliminate those pests. For flea & tick infestation, you need to apply a medicated treatment to your dog, which eliminates ticks & fleas from all stages of life (larvae to adult ticks).
For mite (mange) infestation, you can either try an ointment or a medicated shampoo to solve this case. You can try both of these options, but the final choice is up to you. As I have mentioned before, mange infestation usually occurs around the edges of your dog’s ear, so keep that in mind!
In addition, you need to thoroughly clean your house and its surrounding environment of remaining pests to finally get rid of this problem once and for all. If your dog’s favorite places around the house are also infested with parasites, he will just undergo the process of infestation over and over again.
2. Allergic Reactions
Even though you might not have known it before, dogs also tend to react adversely to certain allergens such as pollen, dust, insect bites, and even to certain food ingredients. This means the same allergies that humans face are being passed down to domestic dogs.
Allergy symptoms are often associated with rashes and itchiness in the ears, which can also spread to other parts of your dog’s body. If you are seeing these symptoms after recently changing your dog’s diet plan, implementing a new ingredient, or using a new medical product, allergies might be the culprit here.
Allergies due to environmental changes might be hard to spot since they might be something that your dog faces each and every day. If you are suspecting allergies but can’t determine the exact source, asking for your vet’s help might be the best method to figure out the exact cause behind all those allergic reactions.
Solutions to Allergies
As I have mentioned before, allergies can be easy or hard to spot depending on the allergen. If it is related to food ingredients, toxic chemicals, and pet materials, they can be easy to spot since these symptoms arose after the new change has taken place.
The best method of treating allergies is to remove the allergen from your dog’s environment, but if you can’t really do that or don’t know the culprit behind it, you need to provide adequate support to your dog’s immune system to defend against future attacks.
To do just that, Zesty Paws has formulated an immune supplement to protect your dog from allergic reactions and also to shore up the final layer of defense concerning digestive health. Their product has two different categories, which are split into supplements for puppies to adults, and supplements for senior dogs.
In addition to all their health benefits, these supplements are created with natural ingredients and also with varying probiotics & prebiotics. To top it all off, it also comes with protein, fiber, and antioxidants that have been proven to maintain your dog’s overall health.
3. External Wounds / Insect Bites
Those bumps in your dog’s ear might be self-inflicted in various ways. Your dog’s ear might have gotten burned through direct contact with a hot object, and it might have gotten scratch from a nearby thorn or items with sharp edges. In addition, insects might be bitten your dog’s ear during his outdoor excursions and more!
For self-inflicted burns, the area will be swollen and inflamed. For wounds caused by sharp objects, you might see a scratch mark with bits of blood showing through. Last but not least, insect bites should look similar to round, raised spots with a bloody center point, where the insect has penetrated the skin layer.
If you are living in a cold climate area, you need to also think about the possibility of frostbites. Dogs that are poorly adapted to living in cold climates are highly susceptible to frostbites, which can affect the parts with poor insulation (ear tips). Symptoms of frostbites are pale, red, and even swollen patches of skin.
Solutions to Outside Wounds
For burns, you need to immerse that spot in cool water or a saline solution (salt with purified water). Use antibiotics to prevent bacterial infection and use dry, sterile dressing on top. You might need to frequently change the dressing from time to time, and for serious conditions, take your dog to a vet for professional guidance.
For insect bites and external wounds, you need to use an antibacterial product to clean up the wound and to prevent infections from festering inside. If that product has gentle, soothing properties, it might be even better since that will prevent your dog from scratching that spot and making the wound even worse.
For frostbites, you need to immediately move your dog to a warmer area and soak a towel in warm water (the temperature that you can comfortably place your hand into). Warm the affected area using the towel, and do not rub it against that skin patch! Also, don’t use direct heat sources such as the dryer or a heating mat.
Last but not least, gently pat the area dry, and go to your vet for further assistance. Your vet will be able to determine the extent of the frostbite, and he will be able to administer the right treatment from there. For extreme cases, amputation is sometimes used, so don’t wait till the last minute!
4. Skin Disorders / Infections
Acne is a common skin problem that is often found in teenagers, and this skin condition can also cause the formation of bumps in your dog’s ears. If an oil gland inside your dog’s ear is blocked, it will start to form small, white raised bumps. Even though it can happen in any part of your dog’s body, it is often formed in areas around the ears.
Being our next runner-up, warts can be also one of the culprits behind these problems. Instead of small, tiny spots, this type of skin infection is often associated with a lump-like structure that tends to grow in dogs with a weak immune system, which applies to puppies and senior dogs.
As your dog starts to develop its immune system, it will naturally fight back against the bacteria inside warts, which means they will go away with time. However, for senior dogs, you might need to increase your pet’s immune system by using immune supplements.
Solutions to Acne / Warts
For acne treatments, we normally use products with benzoyl peroxide or naturally cleaning soothing ingredients such as aloe. A similar strategy is put into place for dogs since you need to use a medicated product with the right ingredients.
For starters, you can try out the medicated spray made by Pet MD, which is formulated for various types of skin infections such as hot spots and acne. To be easily used in pets around the world, this product is a non-stinging solution that can be applied using a spray-like mechanism.
5. Blocked Patches of Fluids
Even though the cause of our last culprit is still shrouded in mystery, we know that ear hematomas are one of the primary reasons behind those bumps in your dog’s ears. Hematomas are bumps that are formed due to trapped fluids, and general symptoms for hematomas are normally associated with head shaking and ear itching.
In your dog’s ears, there are many blood vessels that are put into place, and external traumas can cause them to burst, which can lead to an accumulation of trapped fluids. Due to these heavy sacs in their ears, the dog’s natural tendency is to shake that feeling off or try a brute force method of scratching off the irritation.
If the latter happens, that patch of skin will be callous from frequent itching and can turn into bloody scabs due to scratching. The best way to solve ear hematomas is through a scheduled appointment with your vet, and this method is probably the only way out of this situation.
Solutions to Hematoma
If you feel the bump in your dog’s ear with your hands, you can probably sense a liquidy substance inside that lump. If your vet determines the culprit as an ear hematoma, he will do surgery to drain the fluid out, and probably take some precautionary measures to make sure that the fluid buildup doesn’t happen the second time.
Conclusion: Need Financial Backup?
If your dog is young and healthy, you probably don’t need to schedule a vet appointment at all, and you would be better off doing so. However, as your dog gets progressively older and your bond with him grows stronger, it might be wise to invest in pet insurance for upcoming medical problems.
Nobody wants a bad ending for their pet, but it tends to happen to some pets. If that happens to be you, this investment might pay off if something unexpected pops up. Similar to your health insurance, this program is not set in place for right here and right now, but for future medical conditions that might occur.
As always, the final decision is up to you, and I thank you again for reading through our post about general causes & solutions about bumps in dog’s ears. Sharing this information with others helps us a lot, and if you have found it helpful, please convey this good news to dog owners around you.
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