Ear sore?

My Whisky has had an open sore on the bottom of his ear for a few months. When it get crusty, I clean it off, put some ointment on and that is that. How can I get it to heal? I think the reason it doesn't heal is because of his scratching the ears.

Thanks!

An open sore that refuses to heal should really be seen by a vet to find out the cause and appropriate treatment.

It's somewhat healing fine...but when it scabbed over, when he goes to scratch, the scab comes off and bleeds again...

Have a vet double check for mites, though they're probably unlikely since you'd notice the dark build up they make.

Are his ears waxy at all? Have the vet check the wax for a yeast or bacterial infection, and check inside the ear to make sure there's no polyps growing - if there is a polyp it could cause hearing loss or there may even be a risk of it being malignant. So this isn't something to ignore.
The other possibility is allergies.

As for the sores, keep them clean, use ointment as you have been doing, and gently discourage Whisky from scratching. When he scratches push his feet down and tell him "no scratching". Eventually you should be able to get him to listen without you needing to actually stop him.
I would suggest that you rub at his ears to help with the itch, but until you're 100% there's nothing bad in them that isn't a good idea.


I have one who had terrible ear mites when I got him, they left a bit of damage. His right ear gets extra waxy. While he's been thoroughly checked out no one has figured out why that ear gets waxy - ironically my own ears do the same thing. I keep his ear clean and when it itches, I tell him "no scratching" and rub it for him. It's prevented him from ever scratching his ears open.

Have done all that. He has bad ears. I've got to put drops in them every day to keep the pain of the polyps at bay. I can't afford the $2000 surgery to have his ear canals taken out. Plus, at his age of 16, probably not a good idea. Anyway....

I am thinking maybe one of those cone things for the head might work until it heals?

Oh, it is polyps! Poor boy. The cone wouldn't do much good, he'd just go back to scratching at them when it came off.

$2000 doesn't seem that much to me, but than DH and I aren't in debt - I know that's beyond some people's control.

Keep discouraging him from scratching and ask the vet if there are any other options, even a payment plan if possible.