Answer

Thanks for the question XXXXXXXX.

In direct answer to your question : If your dog is shaking its head and the ear is irritated and you have seen a brown discharge on the Q-tip then this is likely to mean ear disease deep down in your dog's actual ear canals. If it is the same disease as before then the previous ear drops might work if they are not out of date or have not been opened for more than a month, it could take five or six days to work though. The general name for this disease is Otitis Externa and the possible causes of it in the dog would be the following :

1. Bacterial infection
2. Fungal infection
3. Ear mites
4. Foreign objects in the ear canal
5. Polyps and tumours in the ear canal.
6. Allergic ear / skin disease.

As a first approach what us vets do is have a good look deep down the ear canal with our otoscope and then decide which is the most likely of the above conditions and prescribe some meds such as antibiotics usually in the form of drops. Often we are lucky and hit the target the first time, then if no joy we try a second time with a different drop.

If the first line approach fails the disease may become chronic and my approach then would be to have the dog in and carry out a few tests to work out what is going on :

As you can see from the above ear disease in the dog is caused by quite a range of conditions so if your ear drops do not quickly work you should have your vet take a look.

If I have not answered your question fully enough or if you would like to ask more I will be on line for the next hour or so and I will be pleased to discuss your question further.

Scott Nimmo BVMS MRCVS