Maltese Ear Infection - Your Maltese and Healthy Ears

Malteses are known for their luxurious white coats and their gentle, yet fearless, personalities. Your Maltese’s temperament may be friendly, excited, energetic, and ready to say hello to any dog or human who comes their way.

On the outside, their beautiful, bright coats are pretty and polished so their wide eyes shine through. These exterior traits make them excellent show dogs, but their warm and vibrant personas actually make them even better as companions who love nothing more than to cuddle up close with their parents.

However, there’s one thing in particular that you’ll want to keep an eye out for with The Maltese breed: ear infections.

Why are Maltese ear infections so common

Ear infections are common in dog breeds with floppy ears, such as the Maltese. The floppy nature of their ears tends to trap bacteria and yeast and combines with the hair already growing in there to form an unpleasant situation.

Understanding the maltese ear structure

Maltese and dogs in general have a very different ear structure than humans, so it's important to understand that first to better know why ear infections in Maltese and dogs in general are so common compared to humans.  

The dog ear is structured in a way that it has two areas: 

• Vertical canal
• Horizontal canal 

The vertical canal goes down from the ear flop to the dog's jaw, when at some point it takes a 45 degree twist and goes horizontally to the ear drum.

For this reason, treating the ear canal is much more complicated than you might think. Dogs have longer ear canals than humans do, combine that with fur, and long floppy ears that cover the entire area and you have a perfect place for infections. 

Here's the ear structure of a dog:

The good news is that preventing an ear infection in your Maltese is easier than you think.

Signs Your Maltese’s Ears might be infected:

Thanks to their energetic temperaments, you can spot an ear irritation in a Maltese a mile away.

Have you ever noticed your Maltese incessantly scratching at her head? Or noticed your precious pup sliding her head along the carpet or floors? Excessive rubbing should be your first indication that something’s up.

These are all signs that your Maltese’s ears may be bothering her and a possible infection may be present. Here are more symptoms to look out for:

1. Head tilting - Your dog tilting his head sideways, if you notice this happening often, it could be a sign of an ear infection.
2.  Crust - If you notice a crust inside the ear, it may also be a sign of an infection.
3. Discharge from the ear - Usually it's a brown or even black color. 
4. Bad smell - Infections usually come with bad smell, so it's easy to tell.
5. Rubbing the ears - Your dog will use his paws to rub his ears, if this happens a lot, it's a sure sign of pain or discomfort or infection.
6. Head shaking - Some dogs will shake their head hard, they try to shake the annoying feeling of the ear infection. 
7. Rubbing ears on hard surfaces - this is similar to the previous note about rubbing the ears with paws, but dogs will also rub their ears on any hard surface trying to get rid of the pain.
8. Black pecks - You may also notice small black pecks on the inside of the maltese ears, if you notice these, you should go to the vet and treat the infection. 
9. Showing signs of pain when ears are touched - This should be obvious, if you touch your dog's ears and you notice a pain reaction. Go to the vet.

 

Now while these signs are common, please do not only rely on what you read online, and if you notice your dog in pain or in any discomfort please take him to your vet as soon as possible. 

Maltese ear infection or any other dog for that matter can be treated with relative ease, but while you might think you can handle it yourself, it's not recommended and you should see a vet. 

The main reasons are you are not a veterinarian and there are also a few types of different ear infections in dogs so you won't know which one your dog has and how exactly to treat it. 

For example, if your dog has yeast infection and you are trying to treat it as a bacterial infection, things will go wrong. Giving the right treatment to specific infections is key, so leave it to the pros. 

Treatment for Maltese dog infection ( or any other dog breed )

 

After you visited the local vet and he clearly diagnosed the infection, you will likely be able to treat it at home. The vet will usually flush the ears and apply some sort of medication in the form of ear drops. 

You should expect to get some sort of anti inflammatory medicine to take home and maybe some antibiotics to take home and instructions on how to give them. 

Your dog's ear infection should heal after about 7 - 10 days but you should see signs of improvement as quickly as 2 -3 days. 

Maintain proper ear health and prevent future Maltese ear infections

If you’ve spotted any of these symptoms, it’s a good time to clean your Maltese’s ears.

First, and most importantly, do not try to clean your dog’s ears using a Q-tip or other swab. You could end up pushing the infection or bacteria further into the ear canal which will certainly make the problem worse.

Instead, use a soft cloth on the outside ear grooves and a safe, natural solution for the inside of the ear canal.

EcoEars is the perfect, all-natural option for treating internal bacteria, yeast, and fungal infections, as well as ear mites that can cause problems for your pup.

If symptoms are already present, EcoEars can work its magic within the first 24-48 hours, providing relief for your itchy pup.

The majority of infections are gone within 72 hours of using EcoEars. Which means your Maltese won’t have to wait several days to see their vet and they won’t need an expensive bout of antibiotics, saving you hundreds of dollars in the long run.

Once you’ve removed the ear infection, it’s time to prevent another one from forming.

Preventing Ear Infections in Your Maltese

The idea is to keep your Maltese’s ears clean and dry at all times. Therefore, whenever you bathe your pup, you’ll want to stick a dry cotton ball in their ears to prevent any water or moisture from entering.

If it’s hot out and your pup has been outside all day or just came back from a walk, you may also want to wipe their ears down using a soft cloth to prevent bacteria growth.

You could also use EcoEars as a preventative measure to keep yeast and bacteria at bay. Simply add a few drops to your dog’s ears every few days and you’re good to go.

Benefits of EcoEars

EcoEars was designed with your pup’s safety in mind. Using all natural ingredients instead of chemical combinations created in a lab, we’ve created a special, gentle formula that keeps your Maltese’s ears as clean as their bright, white coat.

But this gentle formula is also effective at providing relief and complete elimination of infection in 94 out of 100 cases. That’s because our natural ingredients contain antimicrobial and disinfecting properties.

You’ll love the convenience of using EcoEars for preventing and treating active ear infections in your Maltese.

To help your Maltese stay fresh and clean, order a bottle of EcoEars today!