Head Shaking & Itchy or Sore Ear for Poor Sara - Your Thoughts Please!

[chickensioux]

Does her ear have a smell? Could be a yeast infection if there is an odor. If there is alot of wax visible, could be earmites.

 

[natrgatr]

My dog had a yeast infection in his right ear and my vet had me mix 4 parts rubbing alchohol and one part vinegar and wash his ear out a couple of times a day. Within a few days everything started to clear up. The vet said the vinegar changes the pH level in the ear and that stops the yeast from growing.

 

[Picky Chicky]

Thanks everyone for the thoughts on this!

Sara's ears don't have a smell - after checking both I've come to the conclusion that they smell the same as the rest of her... like dog.

I'm a little leary about putting anything in her ears - I know she'd sit still but I'm worried about making matters worse. I've also wondered about it being something terrible like a tick in her ear.

I'll keep on DH about needing to take her to the vet - he's usually my penny pincher. He also is insufferable to be around when the vet says, "oh it was nothing".

LOL hopefully it won't be anything serious, but when we take her to the vet hopefully they'll validate that Sara needed to come in.

 

[Imp]

Could be ear polyps. I don't know about dogs so much, but I just took in an 18yo stray cat that had scratched the side of her face off. Turned out to be polyps. They can do surgery to remove. Good luck. Google dog ear polyps You'll get lots of info.

Imp

 

[chickensioux]

If there is not an odor, it's not yeast. Yeast has a very distinct smell. I would put mineral oil (as someone else suggested) in her ear. It will kill earmites (you will have to repeat it in 2 weeks) but it will also feel good to her and soothe the itch and discomfort. Just about 6 or 7 drops should do and then massage her ear at the base. That should feel good to her too if done gently.

 

[lemurchaser]

Quote:
Dogs don't really get ear mites (except in rare cases), and oil in the ears isn't really recommended.

 

[chickensioux]

Quote:
Dogs don't really get ear mites (except in rare cases), and oil in the ears isn't really recommended.

As a former vet. tech., we treated ear mites frequently in dogs and cats. Mineral oil is safe and it works...... There are many, many problems that it could be that are more common tho'. Shaking her head alot could also lead to another big problem and that's a hematoma on the ear. The shaking will cause a blood vessel to rupture under the skin and fill up an area between the skin and cartilage. This many times has to be repaired with surgery. So taking her to the vet to find the exact cause is always best to ensure the quickest and proper fix.

 

[Picky Chicky]

I'm happy to report that I scheduled Sara a vet appointment for Thursday. I feel terrible for coming in a day before Christmas, but since they're open and I'm off of work, I figured there wasn't any better time. I don't want to keep putting it off, especially if she's in any discomfort.

I'll come back and let everyone know what they said. Hopefully it will be an easy fix and won't be anything expensive. Goodness knows we're strapped for cash - especially at this time of year.

 

[Picky Chicky]

Sara just got back from the vet and her ears were clean as a whistle. They microscoped things and didn't find squat. Since I missed her flea treatment this month, they started asking me if she had sensitive skin - and doh! I forgot about the vicious case of mange she had when the rescue group found her - it took almost a year for her tail to grow back because she had gotten into the habit of chewing it.

So they think that maybe it could be allergies to fleas or something like that.

Sara was behaving for the receptionist - loving the attention etc, but boy did she show her rearend for the nurse and doctor - growling like she was Cujo. Sheesh! The vet was much more personable and tried harder to win Sara's affection - and she did. The nurse didn't want anything to do with her, so I guess the feeling was mutual.

So now we're all set. The vet prescribed an ear medicine that she uses for her dog - it's supposed to make her ear feel more comfortable so she will stop scratching at it. We also got her microchipped today - so that made me feel good. The microchipping was free, but between the ear medicine, the office visit fee and a couple refills on flea and heart worm preventatives we spent $113. Ouch. Merry Christmas to Sara!

 

[Tala]

good!!

Dusti is going after Christmas, to a new vet, so hope it comes out as good as Sara's trip.
She was treated for a hot spot on her tail a while back, caused probably by this same problem, but the old vet only treated the symptoms (the reason that we're changing vets!!!) and it took till she blew her coat for her to grow her tail fur back where I shaved it. I'm reluctant to do much shaving because of that, but she's due to blow her coat again in February so I guess it's not THAT long....