courtnek Posted September 23, 2004 Share Posted September 23, 2004 Laurel has a really bad ear infection, which she had when I got her. She has been before on ear drops but now is requiring antibiotics cuz it wouldnt clear up. the AB's are working, it's loosening and coming to the top (when she shakes her ears) and I am able to clean it out. Now, for the question. I have been airing her ears out with HF's pantyhose method. In the week or so I have been doing this, her fear factor has reduced. She is less skittish, more friendly, less likely to run off. Could this infectin be impairing her hearing, and if so, could that make her more skittish? and less so if she can hear better now? I personally think yes, but I'm no MD and would like other peoples opinions please... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MajiesMom Posted September 23, 2004 Share Posted September 23, 2004 At school when we bathe dogs we put cotton in their ears we usually have lunch after and put our dogs in crates for a break. Our intructor said to remeber to take out the cotton from the ears because the dog may attack you when you go to take them out. I haven't asked yet exactly why but if that's true then I guess yes your dog would be less fearful or skittish if her ears aren't plugged. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kendalyn Posted September 23, 2004 Share Posted September 23, 2004 Ear infections can effect more than just a dog's hearing. Bad ones will wreak havoc with a dog's equilibrium. Laurel could have had problems sensing where she was in space when her ear infection was bad. I can see this making her kind of wacky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
courtnek Posted September 23, 2004 Author Share Posted September 23, 2004 can someone please repost the thread on natural ways to suck out infections? I cant find it, and now that I have a somewhat handle on this I would like to try it. the "gunk" is much less than it was, but I know the infection isnt gone completely. and the AB's are running out. I would like to try the "sucking out" part. poor girl. her silly floppy ears are doing her in... I would like to get it out completely, and then air out her ears to prevent it from coming back... thanks 8) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lokipups Posted September 23, 2004 Share Posted September 23, 2004 Court, Laurel's a Lab? They seem to be more prone to ear infections for some reason, has your vet ever done a smear from a swab of the canal? That would help pinpoint whether it's a yeast or wax problem. Or it could be from seasonal allergies too, does she seem to get the infection around the spring and fall more? My vet has given some of our dogs Tavist D or Benedril to help ease the pressure in the ears. And Labs can suffer from hypothyriodism, which in turn can make seasonal allergies worse. Peroxide and warm water is a gentle cleaner, just use a bulb syringe to remove the excess, and see if that helps any. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted September 23, 2004 Share Posted September 23, 2004 Laurel is a Fox hound i belive.. a Trail Fox Hound. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lokipups Posted September 23, 2004 Share Posted September 23, 2004 Thanks Dal :oops: , I keep forgetting which one's a Foxhound, early senility setting in :P . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imported_Cassie Posted September 23, 2004 Share Posted September 23, 2004 Most breeds with floppy ears can be prone to ear infections. I found a change in diet to be beneficial to helping to combate a yeast over growth. A few of my Newf's suffered from ear infections before I changed their diet. For a gentle cleanser we use green tea, brew it and cool it :wink: [quote]At school when we bathe dogs we put cotton in their ears we usually have lunch after and put our dogs in crates for a break.[/quote] MajiesMom, my boss has been grooming for over 20 years (she is also a national certified master groomer and used to compete in all breed grooming). She will not use cotton balls in the dogs ears when bathing. There have been many cases where groomers forget to take the cotton balls out which leads to a major ear infection for the dog. There are also times when tiny pieces of the cotton ball can stay in the dogs ears without the groomer being aware of it. When we bath a dog we protect the ear canal by placing our finger or a couple of fingers over it while bathing the face and ear area. I am not trying to over ride what your instructor is teaching you...this is just some thing I thought I would share this information. [quote]Our intructor said to remeber to take out the cotton from the ears because the dog may attack you when you go to take them out.[/quote] The only time a dog would react this way is if it were experiencing an ear infection and the ears were sensitive, or if it has aggression issues prior to this. Years ago we used to put cotton balls in the dogs ears when bathing (until we learned better) and we never had a problem with a dog being aggressive or attacking when taking the cotton balls out...if the dog showed sensitivity when working around the ears we informed the owner and asked they have the ears looked at by a vet. :wink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imported_Cassie Posted September 23, 2004 Share Posted September 23, 2004 [quote]can someone please repost the thread on natural ways to suck out infections? I cant find it, and now that I have a somewhat handle on this I would like to try it.[/quote] Courtnek, is the following the natural treatment you were asking about? this was the treatment I had suggested in your topic ear infections. Good luck with your babe. I also wanted to share with you a horror story I experienced years ago with my Standard Poodle. The vet and I had battled ear infections with this poor little girl for years, we tried hypo allerginic diets, benedryl, antibiotics, ear flushes...you name it we did it. :lol: Any way, one day my vet said their was nothing more in the medical feild she could do for this poor Poodle to get rid of the infection. She hesitated and then suggested I try a home remedy...It involved pouring sugar in the dogs ears and some thing else. Any way, it worked!!! the poodle never had an ear infection again. The sugar had absorbed what ever infection or bacteria was in her ear. Since I cant remember exactly what I used with the sugar the following recipe is supposed to be just as good, if not better. [quote]A combination of boric acid and a thick old fashioned ointment called pellitol is great for treating ear infections. You put the boric acid in the ear and work deep into the ear canal, next attach the pellitol applicator to the tube and squeeze the pasty ointment into the ear canal. Massage the ear. The pellitol dries up within a day or two, but if you leave it undisturbed for a week it removes whatever exudates are in the ear, whether they're sticky, tarry, yeasty, or slimy pus it just attaches to whatevers there, dries it up and every thing falls out together. After a week the ear should be much improved. Then use cotton balls or Q-tips to remove whatever's left. The treatment works well, it doesnt tramatize the ear. Word of warning the pellitol is very sticky, protect your furniture for a day or two as the ointment will stick to any thing it touches, and when you fill the ear it can stick to the outside of the ear of the dogs face. The excess will fall off and the rest you can remove with vegetable oil, but, leave the inside of the ear flap alone.[/quote] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MajiesMom Posted September 23, 2004 Share Posted September 23, 2004 Nevermind what I said about the cotton making the dog aggressive it was the fact that reaching into the crate to take them out might make them aggressive, I knew that tho becuase I work at at kennel. For some reason I though she ment it was because of the cotton. Cassie we don't use cotton balls we use natural cotton and we don't forget to take it out. It's like a process like clipping nails, we don't forget to clip the dogs nails. I will ask about what your saying, we don't put cotton in the ears at work but this is the way we are taught at school. I know everyone does everything differently. I haven't had a dog with an ear infection yet but maybe the instructor tells us not to use cotton if they have one??? I don't know I'm new, I'm just learning. My instructor is Nancy Bryson, your groomer probably knows her because she is a past President of the Ontario Dog Grooming Association and is an industry and public demonstrator and speaker. Nancy has been grooming for 28 years. She is a 12-time grooming competition winner and was voted ODGA's "Groomer of the Year" in 2000 and 2002. I think she's a good groomer she keeps up on her education and is always learning new techniques and ways of doing things that are healthier for the dog and the groomer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
courtnek Posted September 23, 2004 Author Share Posted September 23, 2004 It was the sugar one I was thinking of, but I cant remember the other ingredient either...peroxide? was that it? I could try the other one too. thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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