My Dog Has One Floppy Ear - Causes and What to Do

The pinnae are the outer part of the ear. In dogs, these are either standing up or floppy, but can be of various sizes. When only one is erect and the other is floppy, it is a sign of concern for some guardians.

As we have stated above, it is normal for puppies to have floppy ears according to their breed. However, this can be difficult to tell with a mixed-breed dog since we don't know if they are supposed to have erect ears or not. It may even be possible for two litter mates to have different degrees of ear floppiness. This is due to the genetic inheritance of their parents.

If you know your puppy should have standing ears and they have reached the stage of development when this should have happened, it is important to know there may be a problem. One of the most important is diet. Puppies will need a specific type of nutrition to grow properly. When they are not fed enough protein and other vital nutrients, it is possible one or more of their ears will remain floppy.

There are also some medical conditions which prevents their ears from standing erect. We will detail these the following sections. One factor which might mean your dog's ears don't stand up is due to ear cropping. In dogs which should have erect ears, some owner cut the otherwise long ear off. In these cases, even if the dog should have erect ears, you might not be able to tell.

There are different conditions that can cause a dog to have one ear standing up and one droopy ear. However, they are normally accompanied by other symptoms. These other symptoms will usually be more obvious and prompt us to go see a veterinarian.

When the dog does not receive treatment in time, such as what can happen with abandoned dogs, it is possible the ear will never stand up. Unfortunately, this is often the case with stray dogs. They may have one ear floppy or deformed due to malnutrition, fighting, disease, fungal ear infections such as malassezia, parasites or other causes. Some of the most common include:

• Bite wounds: when dogs fight it is not uncommon for the ears to be injured, since they are vulnerable and accessible areas. Animal bites are often complicated by ear infections. Except for minor injuries, they need to receive veterinary attention and even surgical intervention as a means to avoid deformations.
  
  
• Otitis media: otitis is a general term for inflammation or infection of the ear. This can occur on only the outside of the ear (otitis externa), but it can also occur in the inner (otitis interna) or middle (otitis media) ear. For the latter, it is common for the dog to regularly hold their head to one side and even shake it in frustration. It is caused by an infection (usually bacterial) entering the ear and it can affect other part's of the dog's face if acute. Some dogs are predisposed to otitis and, in these cases, may need surgical intervention to solve the issue.

Sometimes our dog has a drooping ear that is also inflamed. It is common for this swelling to be due to an abscess. This occurs when pus around the infection site proliferates. A hematoma (blood collecting in the tissue) can also be the cause of ear swelling and drooping. The root cause is either fighting, parasites, injury or simply a hygiene issue. The latter is why it is important you clean your dog's ears regularly.

Hematomas in the ear (auricular hematoma) can appear when the dog shakes their head too violently or scratches persistently. In these cases, we need to find out the underlying cause. Ear mites are common in some dogs and they cause the animal to scratch their ears to relieve the frustration. You will need to take the dog to the veterinarian to diagnose the problem and provide the right treatment.

There are techniques and home treatments you can read about online which say they can stop a dog's ears drooping. Do not listen to them. They are usually either misinformed or selling an ineffective treatment. Go to see your veterinarian if you think your dog's drooping ear is a problem.

One way to avoid ear problems is to keep them clean at all times. Watch our video to see how it is done by the professionals:

This article is purely informative. AnimalWised does not have the authority to prescribe any veterinary treatment or create a diagnosis. We invite you to take your pet to the veterinarian if they are suffering from any condition or pain.

If you want to read similar articles to My Dog Has One Floppy Ear - Causes and What to Do, we recommend you visit our Other health problems category.