Otitis externa is the most common ear condition in dogs, causing significant discomfort and recurring welfare harm, with identification and management of underlying causes preventing recurrence.
Otitis externa causes significant ongoing discomfort - the persistent itching, pain on ear handling, and sense of blocked, discharging ears are clearly aversive. Dogs with chronic otitis shake their heads and scratch their ears compulsively, disrupting sleep and normal behavior. Chronic otitis that extends to middle and inner ear structures causes deeper pain and vestibular dysfunction. The welfare failure is recurrent ear infections treated symptomatically without investigating underlying causes. Allergic skin disease is the root cause in most recurrent cases - treating the allergy prevents recurrence rather than repeatedly treating the infection it enables.