dog with swollen ear- PICs pg2

[QuailHollow]

Same here. If it was to happen here again I would not do the surgery as we have been through this several times with the rescue and have always had complications or difficult healing process. Everytime we let it heal itself it does better ad seems easier on the dogs and us.

Absolutely. I'm glad someone else could vouch for the no-surgery option.​

 

[Evermore Ranch]

QuailHollowP&P :

Same here. If it was to happen here again I would not do the surgery as we have been through this several times with the rescue and have always had complications or difficult healing process. Everytime we let it heal itself it does better ad seems easier on the dogs and us.

Absolutely. I'm glad someone else could vouch for the no-surgery option.​

Oh my mother was also a vet tech for over 20 years and she is the one who told me to not do the surgery, Have never done it again and dogs and us have had much easier time since. I do recommend a snood of some sort though​

 

[amity3520]

Our lab had it, we weren't sure if he'd been stung by a bee and that caused it or not, but his whole ear was puffed up and filled with fluid. The vet put a tube in it for drainage, and once it was removed it had to be put back in again because the ear started filling again, but eventually it was fine. The dog still doesn't like that ear handled much, but it looks as normal as could be now.

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

Quote:
Okay, so I tried this minus the tape and she can rub it off in about 2.7 seconds.

When you say tape, do you mean medical tape? Do you just tape it down to the fur? Lucy pretty much hates having it on her head and was going nuts trying to get it off. I'm worried that tape will do more damage than help.

She's really shaking her head. Poor baby has a consistant ear infection. It's gone on long enough that it's a battle to get drops in her ear and you can just forget about the ear wash stuff. She shakes her head constantly.

I looked up the snood online. Thanks for the link. Any thoughts on a variation I can find locally? I'm still going to haul the dog off to the vet tomorrow just to see what she thinks. My vet is a very cautious, surgery is the last possible option kind of gal. I love her for it. In the meantime, it makes sense to keep that ear still.

 

[Slinkytoys]

A snood has loose elastic on both ends. With the hose, it's the same principle but holds the ear in closer to the head with less movement. I've used adhesive tape, vet wrap and even duct tape in a pinch. Just use in on the head and neck. Not too tight, but enough to hold the hose in place. Yeah, it feels different and they'll try to get it off---but after a while they forget about it. Put it on and stay around, maybe give them a chewie or something to distract them from it.
I tell my dogs it makes them look like a nun.

Slinky

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

HA! It does give her a nun like look!
I've got vet wrap in the house somewhere, but I can't find it. I put it up for safe-keeping.

I'll try round two once I find the vet wrap. If not, it's off to the co-op.

Thanks for the help!

 

[mekasmom]

QuailHollowP&P :

My husband has an older Labrador R. who had this problem twice. The first time it was fixed surgically - with a lot of problems - and it looks absolutely terrible. The scar tissue crinkled the ear and there little hair on it now. The second time we opted not have the ear fixed. It did stay filled with blood for quite some time, but once it healed it reabsorbed. I'll say it took about 6 to 8 weeks before it went away completely and never came back. On the upside - that ear looks wonderful, and the problem never reoccurred. It is just a little crinkled.

If you opt not to do surgery and the dog shakes it's head a lot, you can always try bandaging the ear with some vet wrap.
ETA: The actually make an ear hematoma snood now. Check this out: http://www.dogleggs.com/files/Ear_Hematoma_Snood.cfm

Sometimes surgery isn't always the answer.

Our vet also chooses to treat aural hematomas conservatively. Ice for the first 24hrs on and off (not constant). Then leave it alone. You do need to treat the underlying yeast infection or ear mites that caused the dog to shake his head in the first place. But the surgeries they do on the ears are not always the best option. Less is more sometimes. Just take her into the vet to make sure the ear infection itself is treated to prevent more head shaking and swelling. And the pantyhose idea to hold the ear still is wonderul. Our vet uses that sticky ace bandage type stuff to hold the ear, but the pantyhose is an even better idea.

Aural hematomas are caused by either head shaking from an underlying ear infection (usually itchy yeast) or else a playmate pulling on the ear or biting it. The most common cause is simply an itchy yeast infection in teh dog's ear.​

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

Does this look right? It has pantyhose covered with a layer of vetwrap and covered with the other end of the pantyhose.

Lucy is not a happy dog.

The worst part is that her little friends are making fun of her.

Did I do it right? She's off pouting right now and won't come back to me.

Poor baby is not happy, but her ear won't move so that's good. Do I seriously have to keep this on her for 6 weeks?

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

She got it off. Sigh.

 

[Dar]

do you have a cone?

Elizabethan collar ?