This study was conducted on 32 dogs with Malassezia otitis externa in order to determine the effect of heat-fixing exudate on cytological analysis. Malassezia infection was confirmed by cytological examination of otic exudate. Otic discharge collected with cotton swabs was then rolled onto glass slides. One slide per dog was heat-fixed prior to staining; another slide was not heat-fixed. The number of yeast in 10 oil immersion fields (1000x) was counted for both slides from each dog. Statistical analysis revealed that heat-fixing did not systematically cause there to be increased or decreased numbers of Malassezia on cytology of otic exudate.