Ear Infection (Pictures added)

Ptnglab

Ptnglab

New member
Has anyone had to deal with an ear infection with their dog? One of my Labs just got one from swimming in a lake and not getting all the water out. It bothered her, so of course she shakes her head and now has damaged the cartilage in her right ear and it has filled with blood. The vet gave me some meds for her to deal with the infection, he said to give it to her for 2 days, than nick her ear to drain it. I have her ears wrapped up to the top of her head and put a cone on her. That is suppose to keep her ears from flapping all over and damaging them more when she shakes her head. Should be a full recovery. Any other thoughts??
 
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never had one get that bad, Did you check them regularly? I used momentamax. You have to be careful with it. Ear infections can cause deafness and even structure collapse if let go to long. I seen a dog this happened to, so keep up on regular cleaning. Any sign of infection get it taken care of right away. Ear wash won't kill yeast bacteria, so you need meds. good luck, I would stick with what the doctor ordered.
 
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Yes, stick with the meds. Sounds like your dog has a hematoma. They are a bitch to clear up as the keep filling with blood. Don't know what they do now but they used to sew buttons on to keep them from refilling. (really)

good luck-
 
My springers usually get 1 or 2 ear infections per year each. I use momentamax as well. 7-10 days and it clears up pretty good. Once a week or so I do a quick Q-tip swipe and dump some ear cleaner in their ears, that seems to keep them clear.

Usually they will only get infections after swimming in very dirty swamp water, it seems.
 
I've tried a couple different home remedy medications (both were found off hunting dog web sites). The best I have found uses Ventian Purple for the yeasty bacteria infection stuff (not the technical name but that's what I use). It works great on both my labs for their type of issues. If anyone needs the recipe let me know or do a google search for it. The other recipe didn't do anything for the infection/issues that my dogs had. Only took a couple times to clear them up.

The other thing that helped was the technique used (not my idea either, found from research) fill the ear canal and massage for a bit then allow the dog to shake it out (watch where you do it, the purple stuff can stain). Don't dry the ear, allow remainder of solution to stay in the ear for 15-20 minutes. After the above 15-20 minutes put in more solution and massage again and allow the dog to shake this out as well, after this dry the dogs ear out. Leaving it wet allows the build up inside the ear to soften and the dog is then able to get more out.

All the above works best when caught early or used as prevetative action. Do not use if the ear drum is ruptured or any bleeding is seen. I do this about 2 times a month if all looks good.
 
I've been told that keeping the ears trimmed on my Springers will keep them from getting bad ears... I generally don't do this because it seems counter intuitive. The hair is there to keep the debris out. Just wondering what all you other long hair dog owners do.
 
Keeping the ears trimmed provides good airflow so the ears dry better and its the hair that catches the foxtails and burrs to begin with. I've had dogs that really love the attention and dogs who hate the razor sound or feel. Start 'em young so its normal to them after awhile.
 
Oh Ear Infections

I have a 12 year old lab that has been plagued with ear infections. Daily cleaning with medicated solutions and a strict otimax regime really had no affect what so ever. Last year he formed a large hematoma on his left ear. It swelled so much that it looked like a baseball coming out of the side of his head. We elected to have surgery, what the surgery consisted of was pretty much filleting the ear and cauterizing the broken blood vessels. After wards the ear was stitched throughout. The healing process and the amount of pain seemed overwhelming. Of course after the left ear healed he formed a hemtoma at the base of his right ear. We managed to keep that one on the small side about the size of a ping pong ball. This consisted of minimal activity and vet wrapping the ear to his head to keep him from shaking and creating more blood from entering the ear. It eventually healed but took a pretty long time. When the ear without surgery did heal the bottom of the ear looks crinkled.

Even after all of the surgeries and vet visits we still could not stop the ear infections from occurring. This year I went to a new vet for his ear troubles. (one who owns two labs) . She said that her older lab was to plagued with ear infections and no amount of medication could cure him, so she started on homemade dog food consisting of yams, brown rice and a protein. We started our dog on it in June and have not had an ear infection since. What we make is brown rice, ground turkey or ground venison, yams, and frozen mixed vegetables that consist of beans, carrots, and corn. This really has been our only solution.

As for hematoma surgery, in my eyes if you can get away without having it I would say try not to. It seems very invasive, it is unfortunate that the natural healing process does seem to leave a rather noticeable wrinkling of the ear but I would rather have my dog as pain free as possible.

Good Luck.
 
Modog1 thanks for an excellent post (and welcome to UPH).

I've also had dogs with chronic ear issues and yes they do become resistant to treatment. Sound like you found a great course of action. After hearing your experiences with hematoma surgery I would insist on the button therapy. Its simple, mechanical and it works.
 
Please explain the button therapy for me, I have not heard of that before or direct me to a site that explains it. Thanks for all the info.
 
I have been unable to control the bleeding by nicking her, so I am having the button therepy done this morning. Thanks for all the info.
 
Good Luck Ptnglab.

Keep us posted and post a pic so the guys can see what we are talking about. Not sure how long the buttons stay on for but I bet about 3 to 4 weeks.
 
Had the button therepy done this morning. Everything went well, just need to leave bandage on for ten days and the cone for 14 days. The stitches will come out in 2 weeks. I cannot get a good picture with the bandages on. When they come off, I will get the pictures taken and posted. The vet used a new approach, he did not put the plastic on both sides of the ear, just 1 side and then he did not have to stitch all the way through. She actually has 8 buttons sewed on to her ear. If I have to change the bandage before the 10 days, I will get pics earlier.
 
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Wishing you all the best for your dogs recovery. The season is coming I hope you can get healthy for it........Bob
 
Pics added of button therepy

Here are some pictures, The buttons will come off tomorrow, she is doing well and should be ready to go.
 
That looks like it's healing up fine. Glad you were able to use that treatment. Sometimes the simplest solution is the best one. :thumbsup:
 
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