courtnek Posted March 3, 2004 Share Posted March 3, 2004 My hound has ear infections. I have cleaned them with a vet solution, but I'm not sure I'm doing it right.....I never had a dog with ear infections before... I was told to use cotton swabs, not q-tips, but how deep do you push it in? I dont want to hurt her eardrums, but I'm not sure of what I'm doing. I know some of you clean ears regularly...can you give me pointers? thanks so much in advance!! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted March 3, 2004 Share Posted March 3, 2004 *Deleted* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mutts4Me Posted March 3, 2004 Share Posted March 3, 2004 err :oops: ... Bandit had perpetual ear infections (worse in the winter from rolling in the snow), and our vet told us we could use Q-Tipes using the general rule of only swabbing out what you can see. If you can't see it, then it's too deep. He never said not to use Q-Tips :oops: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsefeathers! Posted March 3, 2004 Share Posted March 3, 2004 Since that ear canal is L shaped, you usually don't run a great risk of damaging anything unless you're really just driving it in there (which I seriously doubt :lol: ). Still, if their ears are really tender, I really don't like using cotton swabs, or vigorously digging (which I inadvertently ended up doing in an effort to "help" :oops: ). We are battling a major yeast infection in Pauly's ears right now and the vet told me to STOP cleaning so aggressively at this time (not aggressively as in rough.... aggressively as in thoroughly cleaning them twice a day, digging out the goo) and we are going with just a flush. Pour the stuff in, skitchy skitchy skitchy (you know, where you massage the base of the ear and can hear that stuff skitching around) and then let him shake out the excess and whatever has worked its way outward. I do wipe away whatever goo I find on the outer areas of the ear that are easily viewed and easily wiped. I imagine I was inadvertently making his ears more tender by constantly digging in them. He seems a bit more comfortable already. Really, I believe if you ask 10 different vets the best way to clean ears, you might get 10 different answers. My personal opinion is that if Laurel's ears are tender, I'd avoid too much digging around in there unless it's just absolutely caked in. If this keeps up, I'm going to be trying the blue power stuff that K and Cassie posted about in the other thread (I don't have the link handy right this second :oops: ). I have heard wonderful things about it. It might be worth you checking into? Does Laurel have chronic problems, or is this an isolated thing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
courtnek Posted March 3, 2004 Author Share Posted March 3, 2004 I've only had her 6 months, and I think she came with the infection..she was constantly scratching and shaking her head..since I never had to deal with ear infections, I didnt realize it was a problem until her scratching caused her to yelp in pain. Her infection is bacterial...since the antibiotics she is no longer yelping, but still shaking her head. I was cleaning her ears maybe twice a week, and once I saw blood...that's when I stopped cleaning and took her to the vet. I was really afraid I had done something bad to her eardrum in that ear. Also, Freebee licks in her ears constantly (she wants everything clean..she licks my feet if there is dust on them) and while I stop her when I catch her, I'm not here all day... another thing...arent infected ears supposed to smell bad??? hers never have... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsefeathers! Posted March 3, 2004 Share Posted March 3, 2004 Many times, ear infections don't necessarily cause that holy moly, good grief, what died in there smell (but the ones that do... hoo boy!). Pauly's ears don't smell particularly bad, either (not particularly great, but not so bad). Did the vet mention where the blood was coming from? Was it perhaps just some sensitive tissue that had been rubbed raw? It's a really sensitive area and easy to abrade. Maybe call the vet back and ask about a good flush. Perhaps you can just flush her ears really good, skitch it in there, and let her fling the rest out. It's usually great for loosening up gunk and goo and you can wipe away the stuff that comes up. If not that, give that blue power recipe a try. I don't think Freebee licking Laurel's infected ears is a good thing (is it?)... at least not for Freebee :-? . Could you perhaps dab a bit of Bitter Apple (or something similar) on your hand and then just rub a bit on Laurel's ears... enough to deter the licking? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
izzy Posted March 3, 2004 Share Posted March 3, 2004 The vet makes me clean Lola's ears with a piece of cotton humid with a little alcohol not too deep in the ear. I do it every daily, but it depends on the activity of the dog, if he/she is a blood or a basset hound that walks daily with you, you need to clean those ears frequently 'cause they keep ears and nose right in the floor, exploring the smells. Also they can carry dirt with the ears and infect eyes. Until now we haven't problems with that. Not to mention the real atractive of this dogs are their beautiful ears! :wink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsefeathers! Posted March 3, 2004 Share Posted March 3, 2004 I used to clean my own dogs' ears with alcohol several years ago. What broke me from it was the first time I cleaned my own ears with it. Holy balls, does it burn (or maybe I'm just a weinie)! I do still use a 50/50 mixture of alcohol and vinegar for regular maintenance ear cleaning at home (on Devin, whose ears are itchy, but not infected, I add a tiny splash of mouthwash). I keep some in a mason jar... it looks right like an ol' fasioned jar of 'shine. I have also used witch hazel. It doesn't bother my ears too much, so I guess that's how I gauge it for the dogs. :oops: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
courtnek Posted March 3, 2004 Author Share Posted March 3, 2004 [quote]Did the vet mention where the blood was coming from? Was it perhaps just some sensitive tissue that had been rubbed raw? It's a really sensitive area and easy to abrade[/quote] she couldnt see. There was a lot of wax and stuff, she took swabs and found the infection, but couldnt see past the "crap" I take her back Saturday. She thinks the antibiotics will clear it up enough that she can see in there. It hurt too bad to look really deep, and she is a very gentle vet and doenst want to hurt the animals while treating them. I respect that. The swabs told her it was bacterial, so she is gonna go from there. I dont think it will hurt Freebee, dogs have a natural antibiotic in their saliva, (that's why they lick themselves when injured) and God knows, she has licked dirty feet, dirty ears, cat accidents, even raided the litter box, with no repercussions... she has licked wounds on me, that never became infected...I cut myself once, and while I was bandaging it up, she jumped up on the counter and licked it. I tried to stop her, but she got quite a few licks in before I could. It healed, with no scars, and no special tending. She thinks she is a med-tech...lick the wound clean, that's the ticket!! :o Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsefeathers! Posted March 3, 2004 Share Posted March 3, 2004 [quote name='courtnek']I dont think it will hurt Freebee, dogs have a natural antibiotic in their saliva, (that's why they lick themselves when injured) and God knows, she has licked dirty feet, dirty ears, cat accidents, even raided the litter box, with no repercussions... she has licked wounds on me, that never became infected...I cut myself once, and while I was bandaging it up, she jumped up on the counter and licked it. I tried to stop her, but she got quite a few licks in before I could. It healed, with no scars, and no special tending. She thinks she is a med-tech...lick the wound clean, that's the ticket!! :o[/quote] I'm sure I'm just a weirdo. I absolutely positively can !!NOT!! stand it when my dogs begin licking each others' ears, eyes, privates, or whatever. It makes me nuts. They HAVE to do it when I'm not here because I can't stand it. I tell them all the time, "I'll be doing the ear cleaning, eye washing and butt scrubbing around here! :o " I know it's natural and I hate to damage their little psyches by quashing a perfectly natural behavior, but it's just one of those little things that makes my skin crawl (ever watch Monk? if so, you understand). On the flip side, I don't mind a good "foot massage" every now and then... :oops: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted March 3, 2004 Share Posted March 3, 2004 [quote name='courtnek']I cut myself once, and while I was bandaging it up, she jumped up on the counter and licked it. I tried to stop her, but she got quite a few licks in before I could. It healed, with no scars, and no special tending.[/quote] That's crazy! Concidering letting my dog lick my wounds from now on :lol: :lol: :wink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted March 3, 2004 Share Posted March 3, 2004 Horsefeathers I agree with you. It drives me nuts when my dogs do that too. The two older dogs have learned that they can't do it around me to each other. But with the new puppy all the licking of EVERY body part has started up again. I know it's natural to them but gross to me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
courtnek Posted March 3, 2004 Author Share Posted March 3, 2004 I think they know things we dont..that cut was very deep, and bleeding alot..I sliced myself with a shearing knife, used to cut meat off of chicken and such..I was bleeding profusely, and went into the bathroom to run cold water and bandage...except it wouldnt stop bleeding...she jumped up on the sink and started to lick. once I had the bleeding under control. I pushed her away repeatedly, and she kept coming back...she would not quit. I let her lick, when she couldnt quit, intending to disinfect afterwards. (I always have Neopsporin on hand) but her licks STOPPED THE PAIN.. Once it stopped hurting, I realized that nothing I had done, had stopped the pain...her licks did. I did not treat it with anything else. It healed, no scars, no pain.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StarFox Posted March 3, 2004 Share Posted March 3, 2004 A while back Zebra had a perty nasty ear infection and there was blood in his ear. The vet gave us a solution of Acetic Acid and Aloe. It works wonders and zebra felt better in two days. I know they sell it at the vets and I think I've seen it a Petsmart too. I don't know if you have tried it already but if you haven't it might be worth giving it a shot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imported_Cassie Posted March 3, 2004 Share Posted March 3, 2004 Here are 2 great links for you...the first one is about ear infections, proper cleaning of the Canine ears....and it goes over every thing from yeast infections to bacteria infections of the ear canal. [url]http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=2&cat=1591&articleid=273[/url] This article is for the Blue ear powder as HF mentioned...before using this I would finish the antibiotics your vet has prescribed. [url]http://itsfortheanimals.com/BLUE.HTM[/url] Good luck, dogs with drop ears are very prone to ear infections...the moisture can build up very quickly and cause problems...My Rottie was having a few problems with yeast infections, a change in her food made a big difference.... bacterial infections such as what Laurel has are different...bacterial infections don't alway smell bad. The best thing you can do is give the antibiotics until finished; its very important to gvie exactly as the vet prescribes...believe me, I have battled bacterial infections before...thought it was all cleared up and stopped the antibiotic before I was supposed to...I ended up with the infection right back again :oops: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kendalyn Posted March 3, 2004 Share Posted March 3, 2004 [quote]A while back Zebra had a perty nasty ear infection and there was blood in his ear. The vet gave us a solution of Acetic Acid and Aloe[/quote] Acetic acid (white vinegar) works really well in a pinch because most people have it around the house. I've used it on myself before for bad swimmers ear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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