Has your dog been shaking their head frequently or itching their ears a lot? While some itchiness can be normal, this can also be a sign of larger issues in the ear. For instance, dogs who aren’t on flea, tick, and heartworm prevention may have caught ear mites from another animal.
Learn more about dog ear mites, their symptoms, and how to treat them in this article.
What are Dog Ear Mites?
Ear mites are tiny, spider-like creatures that infest the outer ear of animals such as dogs and cats. They’re barely visible to the eye, though you might be able to see them as small white specks that move around. More often, ear mites are noticed due to the dark discharge they cause.
Ear mites are attracted to a dog’s ears because they like to eat the wax and oils inside. However, they can also live on the nearby skin such as the area around your dog’s eyes. Luckily, ear mites don’t live long in the environment itself, so your dog isn’t likely to catch them from simply walking outside like they might fleas or ticks.
Dogs usually catch ear mites from other animals, and they’re highly contagious. If one pet in your household has them, it’s likely that they all do. This is one reason that it’s so important to keep all pets in the home on parasite prevention medication, especially if they go outside.
Symptoms of Ear Mites in Dogs
Common symptoms of ear mites in dogs include:
- Itching
- Dark ear discharge
- Head shaking
- Head tilt
- Bad odor in the ears
- Scabbing
- Ear pain
- Hair loss around the ears and eyes
- Decreased appetite
- Lethargy
Ear mites can occur in one or both ears. While ear mites are not an emergency, you should treat them as soon as you can. They’re itchy and painful for your dog and can cause larger issues, such as wounds or ear infections, if left untreated.
How to Treat Ear Mites in Dogs
Ear mites can be treated using flea, tick, and heartworm medication. Typically, a single dose is enough to kill all of the mites, but sometimes multiple doses are needed.
Ideally, your dog should be on flea, tick, and heartworm medication year-round to prevent them from catching ear mites and most other pests. Even if one dose of preventative kills the mites currently in your dog’s ears, they may become reinfected once taken off the medication.
For this reason, it’s vital to treat all of the pets in your home at once. It can be tempting to stagger treatments, especially if you’re on a tight budget, but this will cost you more money in the long run as those not yet treated pass ear mites back to your treated pets.
Lastly, you’ll also want to keep your dog’s ears clean using an ear wash made for dogs. This removes debris and can alleviate some of their discomfort from the mites. If your dog wounds their ears while itching, cleaning them helps the wounds to heal properly and may prevent infection.
Can You Treat Ear Mites at Home?
Unfortunately, ear mites require a trip to the vet. While some flea and tick medications are over-the-counter, the ones that work on ear mites often contain heartworm preventative. These medications are prescription-only as they can be unsafe for dogs who have heartworm.
Your veterinarian will likely confirm that your dog has ear mites by swabbing your dog’s ear and looking at the sample under a microscope. They’ll then take a blood sample to test for heartworm before prescribing the right parasite preventative for your dog. This may be a topical or oral medication.
They may also prescribe other medications to make your dog comfortable, such as an anti-inflammatory medication. They can also check to see whether your dog has an ear infection or any wounds in their ears, and treat them accordingly.
Can Humans Catch Ear Mites from Dogs?
Catching ear mites from your dog is rare. Sometimes, they may live on human skin where they cause an itchy rash, or even in the ears where they can cause itching and pain. If anyone in your human family has these symptoms, they should see a doctor for help.
However, it’s much more likely for your dog to pass ear mites on to other pets. As we discussed above, ear mites are highly contagious and if one pet has them, all pets should be treated simultaneously to remove them from the household for good.
Final Thoughts
While your dog having ear mites can be stressful as a pet parent, the good news is that they’re easy to treat and prevent in the future. Remember to see a vet for prompt treatment, treat all animals in the home at once, and keep your dog on parasite preventative medications year-round.