Plain-English summary
Ear disease is one of the most common reasons dogs see a vet, and one of the most commonly dismissed — a bit of head shaking, a smell, some scratching, treated with whatever drops are to hand.
This study of a random sample of 22,333 UK dogs found that 7.30% were diagnosed with otitis externa in a single year. Roughly one dog in fourteen.
What predicted it best was not lifestyle or grooming. It was breed and, specifically, the shape of the ear. Dogs of breeds with drop or pendulous ears carried close to twice the odds of dogs from erect-eared breeds, and the highest-risk breed in the study — the Basset Hound — carried nearly six times the odds of a crossbred dog.
What the study found
The study used a cohort design drawn from dogs under UK primary veterinary care at VetCompass clinics during 2016, analysing a random sample of 22,333 dogs from an overall population of 905,554. Risk factors were examined using multivariable logistic regression.
The one-year period prevalence of otitis externa was 7.30% (95% CI 6.97 to 7.65).
Breed and ear carriage were the highest-ranked risk factors. Sixteen breed types showed increased odds compared with crossbred dogs, including Basset Hound (OR 5.87), Chinese Shar Pei (OR 3.44), Labradoodle (OR 2.95), Beagle (OR 2.54) and Golden Retriever (OR 2.23).
Four breeds showed reduced odds: Chihuahua (OR 0.20), Border Collie (OR 0.34), Yorkshire Terrier (OR 0.49) and Jack Russell Terrier (OR 0.52).
Designer breed types overall had 1.63 times the odds of crossbred dogs (95% CI 1.31 to 2.03).
On conformation, breeds with pendulous ear carriage had 1.76 times the odds (95% CI 1.48 to 2.10) and breeds with V-shaped drop ear carriage 1.84 times the odds (95% CI 1.53 to 2.21) of otitis externa, compared with breeds with erect ears.
The authors' conclusion is that breed itself and breed-associated ear carriage are important predisposing factors, and that awareness of this could support cautious, low-harm preventive advice in predisposed breeds.
A separate 2023 review of recurrent otitis externa adds the clinical frame that matters most for a dog with repeated episodes: all recurrent ear infections in dogs are secondary. Managing them well means diagnosing the primary condition, treating the secondary infection, correcting predisposing risks and reversing perpetuating factors — and the review argues most ear canal surgery is avoidable when recurrent cases are addressed properly at an earlier stage.
What this study cannot tell you
The prevalence figure counts diagnoses recorded in clinical notes during one year. Dogs with ear disease that was never presented, or that was managed at home, are not in it. The 7.30% is a floor, not a ceiling.
Breed odds may partly reflect who gets examined. Owners of breeds famous for ear trouble may present earlier and more often, and vets may look in those ears more readily — a record-based design cannot separate that from true incidence.
Ear carriage was assigned at breed level, not measured on individual dogs. Within any breed, individual ear conformation varies, and this analysis cannot speak to a specific dog's anatomy.
The study is a single year of UK primary practice. It reports no severity distribution, so "diagnosed with otitis externa" spans a mild one-off through to chronic, painful, end-stage disease.
And it evaluates no prevention or treatment. Nothing here tests ear cleaning, cleaner products, drying, plucking or diet — which is exactly why the authors' advice is framed as cautious rather than prescriptive.
What pet owners should track
Ears are easy to check and easy to leave until the dog is clearly uncomfortable:
- Head shaking, tilting, or rubbing an ear along furniture or the floor
- Scratching at one ear specifically — note which side, since one-sided problems can differ from both-sided ones
- Smell, and whether it has changed
- Discharge: presence, colour, and whether it has altered
- Whether your dog has become reluctant to have its head or ears touched, which often signals pain before anything is visible
- The date of each episode, what was diagnosed, what was prescribed, and whether it fully resolved
That last point does the most work. A dog on its fourth course of drops in two years does not have four separate problems, and a dated episode list is what makes that visible in a consultation.
Do not put anything into your dog's ear canal without veterinary direction, and do not start a routine cleaning regime on your own — the study's own guidance warns against overzealous cleaning.
What PAWai can help organize
An ear episode history is short to record and genuinely changes a consultation: it converts "he gets ear trouble sometimes" into dates, sides, treatments and outcomes. PAWai does not diagnose ear disease, cannot examine an ear canal, and does not advise on cleaning, products or treatment. Otitis externa requires an otoscopic examination and often cytology to identify what is actually growing, and — as the 2023 review stresses — a recurring case needs its underlying cause found, which is clinical work. What PAWai contributes is the pattern across episodes that is otherwise scattered across years of appointments.
Disclaimer
PAWai organizes information and educates pet owners. PAWai does not diagnose conditions or recommend treatment. Always consult a licensed veterinarian for medical decisions about your pet.
Citation
O'Neill, D. G., Volk, A. V., Soares, T., Church, D. B., Brodbelt, D. C., et al. (2021). Frequency and predisposing factors for canine otitis externa in the UK — a primary veterinary care epidemiological view. Canine Medicine and Genetics, 8. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40575-021-00106-1
Nuttall, T. (2023). Managing recurrent otitis externa in dogs: what have we learned and what can we do better? Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 261, S10–S22. https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.23.01.0002