Hawthorn

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you unnecessarily. I'm not sure what a vet would do as I've never had a dog with a broken toe. With my own broken toes, the hospital just taped the broken one to the toe next door and told me to take painkillers. As Kip's walking on it OK today, it's probably not broken I should think.

He looks so well - he has such lovely bright shiny eyes

Hopefully it is something relatively minor like an insect bite, but I'm wondering if he might have broken or cracked the toe? I've broken three toes myself and they all swelled up dramatically and went bright red and were very painful. If not that, then I'd be wondering about an infection and I know from experience that infections in toes can move very quickly. I think if it was me, I'd be taking him to a vet sooner rather than later, but then I am a bit of a worrier. Hope Kip's feeling better soon.

I've just been reading Dear's story in your previous posts and I wanted to add my sincere condolences on the passing of your precious boy.

Oh, what a sad story

So THIS is the famous "olive" thread that I've read so much about . I haven't laughed so much for ages - thank you

What a beautiful tribute to your special boy and what a great legacy he's left behind him. You will always have wonderful memories of him.

The same thing happened with Sunny a couple of months ago and like you I was worried sick. I rang my vets who said to look out for vomiting and possibly diarrhoea. I gave him some bread and watched him like a hawk but he was fine. Hope Pharoah is OK too.

We went through this exactly a year ago, also in the right shoulder. I well know that feeling of "knowing" what it is even when others are telling you it's probably something else. We decided not to amputate and treated with pain meds but we were shocked at how quickly our boy went downhill. We thought we'd have maybe a couple of months, but we only had 2 weeks. We've been second-guessing ourselves ever since about whether we made the right decision about not amputating. I hope you find all the information you need to help you make your decision and wish you strength in the time ahead.

Hi everyone I just wanted to round this topic off for the sake of anyone who might read it in the future. The new ear drops we were given for Sunny were called Aurizon and he has tolerated them very well (with no head-shaking) so I now feel sure that he had an adverse reaction to the original drops (Canaural). His ears are now fine. I also used a commercial earwash called Cleanaural to clean out his ears a couple of times. I was very careful the first time I used this as I was anxious not to use anything which might irritate his ears, but he was absolutely fine. I was amazed (and very impressed!) with the big lumps of gunk that came of his ears using this product. I think what I have learned from this episode is to trust my instincts where my dog is concerned: I "knew" there was a problem with the original eardrops even though a vet nurse tried to tell me otherwise and should have trusted my instincts more. I will in future. Thanks to everyone who responded, and to Sweetdogs for the link; your advice really did help.

Hi everyone Just to update you. We stopped giving Sunny the original eardrops yesterday and the head-shaking calmed right down. Today I spoke to the vet who said that he had never known a dog have an adverse reaction to those eardrops before. I hate it when people say that as it always makes me feel it's somehow my fault. Anyway, he's given us different eardrops which, so far, haven't produced any head-shaking to speak of and Sunny is now slumbering peacefully on our bed. I'm interested in trying the vinegar/alcohol solution if we have further problems in the future but on this occasion we felt uncomfortable about self-medicating after we had already consulted the vet. Thanks again everyone for your input.

Thank you everyone for your replies. I've decided to stop the drops until I've spoken to the vet tomorrow. Thank you for this tip. Where would I get the Isopropyl alcohol from - a human pharmacy? And can I just ask, if the ear is inflamed, does the vinegar/alcohol sting a bit? I agree. Did the vet thoroughly clean the ears when the infection was diagnosed? My vet has always thoroughly cleaned the ears first, and usually put in the first application of ear meds before I ever left the office. I had already cleaned Sunny's ears the day before in the hope that this would cure his then minor head-shaking, as it always has in the past, and the vet didn't carry out any further cleaning. The vet did put in the first application of the drops, which didn't cause any head-shaking, nor did the second application which I did. This only started from the third application. I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to do after stopping the drops and talking to the vet, but I'll keep you posted.

Hi everyone I could do with your thoughts on this please. Sunny had been shaking his head a little and yelped twice yesterday when he scratched his left ear so I took him to the vet. He said Sunny has a very mild ear infection and prescribed some Canaural drops (which he said are anti-fungal, anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory). Great, I thought, that'll make his ears feel better. The problem is that we are now 24 hours down the line with the drops and they seem to be making things worse, in that Sunny is shaking his head a lot more since I've been putting in the drops. The first two times the drops went in, he didn't react much. but the third time he shook his head for 30mins afterwards and has been shaking his head continually all day about once a minute (except when he's been asleep). I've checked his ears several times and removed any bits of gunk that I can see, in case these are irritating him, but I'm worried that he's maybe having an adverse reaction to the drops. I rang the vets surgery but our vet isn't in until tomorrow morning so I spoke to a nurse who said if Sunny was having an allergic reaction he'd be much worse and to carry on using the drops and speak to the vet in the morning. My husband is adamant that we shouldn't give Sunny any more drops this evening in case they make him worse and he then has to suffer all night until the vet opens again in the morning. I'm not sure what to do for the best. I just wondered if any of you, especially any of you who've got any veterinary or nursing experience or anyone who's had experience of ear infections in their dogs, could comment on whether all this head-shaking after administering the drops sounds like a normal reaction to you? I know a certain amount is to be expected, but continual like this for hours afterwards? It doesn't seem right to me but I don't want to overreact. Would be grateful for your thoughts

I am so sorry for your loss. I lost a beautiful 6.5 year old boy to osteo last year in very similar circumstances and it is truly awful.

What a lovely tribute and beautiful photos. My heartfelt condolences.

So sorry for your loss.

Just beautiful ... and so true

Heartfelt condolences to all those who love Summer

I seem to have something in my eye .... what a lovely story

EXACTLY the same thing happened very recently to my Sunny with what I am thinking were probably the same wipes. I cleared it up by putting on a Comfrey and Calendula balm (which is in a sunflower oil and beeswax base) liberally several times a day. I also washed the area every day with a baby shampoo to remove some of the scaley bits of skin followed by a gentle rub with a towel and another application of the balm. This regime made a difference very quickly but it took about a week to ten days to clear up completely. Needless to say, we won't be using the wipes again. Good luck.

Sending more prayers for you all

Bless him, and you for loving him so much.

Oh, that's wonderful news Sending prayers for continued good progress

Sending many prayers for you and Craiger - he has the most beautiful eyes. Life seems very cruel sometimes ...