Hey All, Over the weekend, I noticed my dog shaking his head more than usual. I decided to clean his ears. One ear was 'normal dirty' some dirt and mud. However, the other ear was really dirty, black grainy stuff which left my tissue very streaky. Nothing I've ever seen before. My concern is that when I went in to go clean it, my dog looked like he was in discomfort. Any recommendations on good ear cleaning products or homemade remedies. If the shaking persists after cleaning I might bring him to the vet for a checkup. Thanks
What part of his ears? The inner flap which you can easily see and access? Or is the black, grainy stuff issuing from within the ear canal? If the latter, does it smell? I'm going to guess the latter because you say he, In that case I would visit the Vet. It might be infection and you need to know if it's bacterial or yeast because you would treat them differently. Plus, many yeasts and bacteria are now resistant to the things we used to use on ears. In Oban's case the Vet started out with one commonly used, it didn't work, he had both bacteria and then later yeast and we had to move to a new med, much more expensive but finally worked. NOW that infection is gone, now I can clean weekly. But you might find you need the big guns to get rid of a problem before lesser, home made, cleaners work. IN other words the ounce of prevention likely won't help till after the cure with the pound. I now put Burroughs in once a week.
Sam has recently had a yeast infection in his ears , he has lymphoma which has also thickened the membranes in his ears . A course of steroid drops used in conjunction with a medicated ear wash has helped a lot , I would recommend the Vet too .
Oh yes, the vet as soon as possible. I don't mess with ears..they are fine if caught early and treated, if left they cause discomfort (which our dogs hide very well..) and also the ear shaking itself can cause problems, swelling and a sort of bruising.
Yes it has a smell to it. The internet says points towards ear mites. I hope this isn't the case. However, I noticed that I would clean his ears and 2-3 days later they would have a smell to it. I will be going to the vet tomorrow and will keep you updated Thanks for the response
We have had plenty of ear infections and yeast infections over the past 12months. They do get treated differently. We now have a solution from the vet that we need to apply either once a week or every two weeks and clean. This depends on bad her ears are. It is different/stronger mix then the ones you can by from the shop. Hope he feels better soon...
We use vet ear cleaners for Tilly on a pretty regular basis. She is prone to yeast infections in her ears, and we normally use an ear cleaner like epiotic. Some times we also go with a steroid.
Finn had also an infection lately. Went to the vet and from the vet he got antibiotics in his ear. I had to clean his ears with baby wipers. I then bought ear cleaners at zooplus. I had to come back to the vet after a week for controlling his ear. Ear was clean then, but after 2 days it was back again. Now I clean his ear regularly. At first he didn't want me to, but when he knew he was getting a reward for it he let me clean it!
Hey what process do you use to do this. Our boy looks at me like i'm the devil and struggles. He then flabs his ears before I can give them a good rub as shown by the vet to work the cleaner. He hates it and unfortunately the stuff we have from the vet has a fragrance so he knows its coming.
I'm lucky Rory is a bit of a weirdo and likes having his ears cleaned. He squeels with delight when I get ear cleaner out. He likes it so much he goes into a coma when they get cleaned. It one of his favourite things. The other 2 hate it and will let me do it but they do it because I trained them to tolerate it. they started with a touch and treat moving onto cleaning slowly it took a while but its ok.
Oban doesn't mind either but my procedure leaves him little choice. IN the bathroom with the door shut. I sit on the side of the tub with him facing away from me and between my knees. This allows me to hold him with my legs and knees and I have both hands free to come at his ears from behind and above. Some treats and he goes willingly into the bathroom even if he knows what's about to happen.
There is a way to train things like this called 'the bucket game' that Chirag Patel demonstrates. There is a thread on it here: https://thelabradorforum.com/threads/scared-of-eye-drops.16798/
I show him what I am going to do to his ear. Let him smell the ear drops. Also show him his reward. This reward must be super special....! Finn didn't like to get his ear done, but he longed for his reward. At first he walked away and I let him. After a while I started to encounter him again with the drops and the special treat. I could see he made up his mind and seemed to think "okay, when I walk away I won't get anything".....He was still very reluctant to obey, but immediately after the drops I gave him the special treat and he was very happy with it!
Cooper looks at me as though he is going to be killed.....slinks away.....head down.....so I wait but dont walk away....he then gets on the sofa gingerly with his backside towards me and i can do it then....he doesnt fight it but, if he could talk, I know he would say he hates me doing this to him! Still, it has kept infections away or yeast or whatever. He used to get infections easily until vet told me to clean his ears every week.....dont know if that has helped or he just got older or what but (touch wood) he has been minus infections ever since. Of course he gets a good treat after, and he knows it!
