dog with swollen ear- PICs pg2

[Evermore Ranch]

Good luck with the snood thing. I have dealt with some that would NOT leave it on. I have one dog who it has happened twice and would not keep a snood on. I finally felt like she was going to prolong the problem and quit the fight over the snood and her ears healed fine just a little crinkled. Just wanted to let you know in case she will not keep the snood on.

 

[Slinkytoys]

I would extend the stocking a bit closer to her eyes and put a strip of tape 1/2 on the hose and 1/2 on her head. Then the same at the other end on her neck. If you spray the tape sticky part with a very light coat of engine starter fluid, it will make the tape super sticky. If you spray on too much, it will render it unsticky. Putting on the cone (we call them "bucketheads" around here) will stop her from digging off the hose.
Slinky

 

[thebritt]

I was able to avoid the vet visit by picking off the scab and flushing (w/a needless syringe) with a dilute Betadine soln. Then applied Neosporin. All better.

 

[lagpmgdsls]

This happened to my Golden awhile back.....my vet just aspirated the fluid out with a syringe. He said it may come back but we were lucky and it didn't.

 

[mypicklebird]

Usually there is a reason the dog was shaking it's head BEFORE the hematoma happened. The hematoma is usually the result of excessive head shaking. It won't usually go away for long until the underlying problem is addressed- even with surgery. Foxtails and ear infections (yeast or bacteria) are the usual culprits around here, but ear mites are also possible- but not very common in dogs. Chiggers/harvest mites sometimes. So the vet visit will be very helpful finding the underlying problem, and they may recommend draining the hematoma, or surgery, or putting in a cannula, or wrapping the head. The average dog needs an ecollar to make them leave the wrap alone. An ear hematoma is not a life threatening problem- but it is uncomfortable, as is the infection (or whatever) that caused them to start shaking their head in the first place...

 

[clport]

Another vet tech here...This is the product I use with my Lab, Velvet, who has very icky ears all the time (I think it's the moist climate we live in). Most of the time the problem with ear troubles is a moist environment inside the ear and if you put in a water-based solution to clean the ear, you're just adding to the problem. This product is witch hazel-based and it works as a drying agent. If Lucy's ear infection is really bad, the vet can anesthesize her and really clean it out well. Also, like someone else said, she may have gotten something in there that's worked it's way far down into the canal. A vet visit for this is probably the best answer since this is the first time for her to get something like this, just to be sure nothing is really wrong. Also, you should understand that the canine ear canal isn't shaped like a human's, which is straight. A dog's ear canal makes a "dog-leg" turn toward the jaw and you can't see all the way down there. That's why a vet will always tell you not to poke anything down your dog's ear any farther than you can see.

Good luck with this! Ear problems are the pits and usually recur for the dog's lifetime. I know that's the case with my sweet girl!
Carol

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

Thanks for the help, y'all. Lucy will be off to the vet on Monday morning. She has consistant ear issues, plus I think she may have some food allergies going on too. It is an ongoing issue. Unfortunately, it has gone on long enough for to really hate the ear wash and ear drops. We constantly battle her ears.

The swelling is no worse, but no better. It still doesn't seem to hurt her, so that's good. We'll go vetting on Monday to revisit the ear issues and see what we think about the hematoma.

Thanks again for the help!

 

[savingdogs]

Quote:
I was going to say just about the same thing, except I was going to add I took care of a dog that had chronic ear problems such as these, he was helped tremendously by being on a diet of Z/D which is a non-allergen type food you can get from the vet. That seemed to be the problem in his case. I also used Epi-Otic, great ear cleaner, and we occasionally used Mometamax, which only needs to be put in once a day, when he had flare ups.

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

Okay, so what is the trick to getting ear wash in a dog's ear? Lucy hates it with a passion and will not cooperate in any way with the ear cleaning. I can corner her and sometimes get the medicine in her ears, but that ear wash stuff is a no go. Is there a trick?

 

[breezy]

Try heating it up to about 100 degrees. Just put it in a dish of warm water. Dont use a microwave! Ever pour a cold liquid into a sore ear? Can tell you from personal experience its the pits..... really painful and extremely unpleasant!. You can feed her treats as your rubbing her ears to start an association between ears and a treat . Gradually add a drop or two of the wash as you feed her and rub her ears gently. Takes two people but it will work if you use food that has high value for her.Try string cheese or cooked liver or an egg mcmuffin( most dogs will knock you down to get an egg mcmuffin) . She associates having her ears worked on with pain and fear and confrontation. Change the setting of pain and fear and you will change her attitude. If she associates having her ears worked on with food she has a lot more incentive to work with you.