Dogs ears.

Question
Hello,

My dog Stella is a year and a half mutt, and over the last few months I have been noticing a funky smelling brown waxy build up in her ear(s). I first noticed it probably in March at my father's house. My step mother informed me that as long as there was not a lot of it, it was probably just dirt mixed with earwax, and I quickly just shrugged it off and cleaned her ears with a mild antibacterial soap and water. In May of this year I noticed both her ears (her left one especially) kept getting a lot of dark brown waxy gunk, and cleaning her ears out was not doing much and it kept building up over a few days. We brought her to a vet and he prescribed an antibiotic to put in the ears along with an ear rinse. It worked, but then the brown gunk came back in her left ear. When I cleaned her ear out I noticed little red bumps, and found that it was ear mites (or at least I thought it was ear mites). I gave her some of the antibacterial drops just to be safe, and it cleared up. Now the brown gunk is back, again, and again, only in the left ear. I'm starting to wonder if maybe it's some type of pseudomonas? Should I have her ears cultured? Is there anything I can do at home?

Answer
Before saying that it is pseudomonas, your vet should do a cytology of the ear debris.  Usually it is a yeast infection or a Staph infection.  But if the vet sees small rod-like bacteria under the microscope, then certainly a bacterial culture would be indicated.  At home you can use a 50:50 vinegar and water rinse twice daily.  That kills most bacteria and yeasts.  It can be very irritating, though. Almost all ear infections in the dog are caused by some type of allergy, so you and your vet should pursue allergy therapy as well as ear therapy.