Dog's ear infection

Re: Dog's ear infection

• JennaMichelle88 member

  

  May 2013

  My family had a beagle growing up who got ear infections all the time. It's the floppy ears - they trap moisture in there. I think the vet just gave my mom medicine to put in her (the dog's, not my mom's) ear once a day.

  

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• gmcr78 member

  

  May 2013

  MIne hasn't had an infection, but he's had dirt and crud in them before.  Once I thought he had a yeast infection in his ear b/c it had that weird smell, but luckily the test was negative.  The vet gave me an ear cleaner for him, which is messy, but effective.

  Luckily he rarely needs it, his ears stay pretty clean on their own.  I check them regularly for dirt buildup.

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• harper0813 member

  

  May 2013

  LingerLonger1 said:

  
  

  zoberg said:

  I brought Margot to the dog park yesterday and she was slobbered on as usual and she loves to play "submissive" and roll around in the dirt in front of dogs, so she came home caked in dirt. Normally, giving her a shower isn't a big deal - but this time, she woke up irritated in the middle of the night afterward (around 12:30 am) shaking her head, scratching her right ear and sniffing/licking our faces. Let it be known that she RARELY gives us face kisses. She was clearly asking us for help, and being disoriented and sleepy, decided it could only be fleas (which I didn't find) or I hadn't washed the soap off of her head properly. So I proceeded to bathe her head in the sink. Stupid.

  
  

  Fiance speculated this morning that her ear was bothering her and maybe she'd gotten water trapped inside. Yep, sure enough, the inside of her ear is all irritated. It doesn't smell, and I don't hear water swishing inside, but it's absolutely swimmer's ear and perhaps an ear infection already.

  
  

  So here I have an overly affectionate puppy whose ear I am rubbing (and she's in seventh heaven - she loves these ears rubs) and while I feel bad she's in so much pain... it feels nice to have a little tiny being completely trust you and depend on you. She's never been so cuddly before.

  
  

  Taking her to the vet at 12:20 - here's to hoping they don't charge me an arm and a leg. Has your dog ever had an ear infection? Was it expensive to have it taken care of? What did the vet do?

  I'm impressed you wer eable to diagnose the exact problem if you're not a vet.

  Eh, I just put 2 and 2 together. I basically Google-diagnosed her, and the vet confirmed over the phone that it's almost definitely an ear infection.

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• ally91 member

  

  May 2013

  My labradoodles have had multiple ear infections. The medicine can be expensive, but it's usually a one-time cost. They'll probably give you some sort of liquid cleaner that has  a drying affect, it will help get rid of the excess moisture. Depending on the type of ear infection they might also give you an antibacterial cream. If it doesn't smell it's probably not a yeast infection, which is good because those are a PAIN to get rid of. Worst case scenario it's a bacterial infection and they might also give some antibiotics to help flush it out. But again, with it happening right after being in water and no smell, most likely it will just be the drying cleaner. Save it! Use it after your pup goes swimming or takes a bath or anytime she gets her ears wet, it'll be a great preventive measure and it never hurts to keep their ears clean! Hope she feels better!

  Soon-to-be Mrs. Kent

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• harper0813 member

  

  May 2013 edited May 2013

  Oh Linger. Cut me some slack. I got 2 hours of sleep because my dog wouldn't stop breathing in my face.

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• OjitosVerdes member

  

  May 2013

  Yes - we adopted a pug a couple months ago that has recurrent ear infections.  His symptoms are exactly what you described - obviously uncomfortable, shakes his head, etc. 

  
  

  We took him to a vet for a diagnosis the first time he got one - it wasn't horrendously expensive - I think the office visit was $30 and the medicines (oral antibiotic and antibiotic cream) were another $30. 

  
  

  Because his infections are recurrent (pugs' ears cover their canal making them prone to bacterial infections), we don't take him to the vet every time now - I did some research and read that apple cider vinegar is a great, natural cure - so when he starts shaking his head, we use a dropper to apply a warm vinegar/water mix into the canal, rub his ear gently to swish it around, and then blot with cotton. It clears the infection up right away. 

  
  

  Hope your pup feels better soon! It's awful watching them feel bad. 

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• avolker1 member

  

  May 2013

  This is our second basset hound and they are VERY prone to ear infections.  We have to make sure to clean her ears at least once a week or they start to get irritated.  Luckily she lets us really go to town and thoroughly clean out her ears, but our previous basset had a lot of issues and we literally had to wear oven mits to get anywhere near her with ear cleaning stuff.

  The vet will probably give you stuff to clean it out with, and if it is an infection they might give you antibiotics.  We sometimes also use an ear powder that's supposed to keep it dry and prevent itching.  It's usually not necessary though because we clean her ears so often.  PS my dog does the same submissive thing at the dog park and always comes home soaked because she practically dunks her whole head in the water when she's drinking and then is rolling around like crazy.

  

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• Jessa617 member

  

  May 2013

  The best way to do it is to hold the ear straight up, then go straight down with the q-tip. You can also use a mild cleanser (chlorhexiderm), squirt in the ear, massage the bottom of the ear canal and then scoop out with cottonballs until dry.

  

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• harper0813 member

  

  May 2013

  Thank you everyone for the tips! It was a bacterial ear infection AND they found ONE squished ear mite in there... I have one dirty dog. She was such a little weenie at the vet but she MOANED with pleasure when the doctor swabbed the inside of her ear to view under a microscope. I couldn't stop laughing. She's already stopped shaking her head so much after just two doses of the medicated ointment. And I get to clean out her ears every day for the next two weeks, yippee!

  
  

  Lia - I'm going to pick up some of that ear-drying powder. That will be so nice to have once the hot/humid weather kicks in down here. The vet says that the weather likely caused it, since Margot doesn't seem to have allergies.

  
  

  Margot thanks you all:

  
  

  
  

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• d2va member

  

  May 2013

  I have an ear cleaning agent (that I got from my vet) that is also a drying agent. Lily LOVES the mud, and her ears get dirty all the time. One time she got an ear infection and my vet gave that to me. 

  
  

  I will update this post later with the name so you will be able to call and check with your vet.

  
  

  ALSO I would suggest to any dog owner to NOT use a q-tip to clean ears, cotton ball can get in and out quickly. 

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