I am very worried about one of Leon's ears. We had noticed a little wax in both of them so had bought some ear cleaner the last time we went to the vets. Decided that today we would give it a try so squirted some of the cleaner into one of his ears, rubbed it in as instructed and then started wiping it with damp cotton wool. He sat patiently at first while I did this and then got a bit fidgety and I discovered that the cotton wool was coming out quite dirty and a sort of reddish brown colour. Had a look inside the ear and discovered it was absolutely caked in what appears to be blood but i'm not really sure. Haven't noticed him scratching it or shaking his head (until I tried to clean it anyway) and it doesnt seem to smell as I believe it would if the ear was infected. In comparison the other ear is very clean and not red at all. Could it be earwax? Or is it more likely that he has scratched it causing a bl**dy mess in all senses of the word?!

I left it for 10 hours while I was at work and have just come back and given it another little wipe, he wasn't too bothered at first and then got a bit cross with me. Having had a look it is still all very red inside but doesn't appear very inflamed. Of course now I am worried there may be something in there that I can't see. Is it time for a visit to the vet? I feel so dreadful for having squirted something into his ear if it was hurting him. I don;t know what to do...please help!!

Yes a visit to vet is best :) Earwax can be a reddish brown so it may be that or if its blood could have been caused by a number of things but needs to be seen to be on safe side :)

Christine, Spain.

Hi Charlie, from your post it does sound like ear wax, sometimes in fungal infections, like Otitis externa which is very common in dogs, or parasitic ones for that matter, an awful lot of very dark wax is produced and the ear appears to be caked with it. I am not sure what cleaner you used but in my experience most loosen the wax, which is also very thick and you may not notice this until it comes out on the cotton wool. There is a chance that it could be blood also, due to self-trauma, but the only way to find the cause of this problem is to go to the vet where both ears can be examined and appropriate meds prescribed.
Carol :)