Ear Infection

[Hawthorn]

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

[Guest laceyj]

It does seem excessive. Shelby (non-grey lab mix) has had numerous ear infections, the drops usually make the ear feel better fairly quickly in my experience. Although there is some head shaking immediately after I have put them in she stops after a few minutes. Sorry that I don't have more to offer you. Hope he is feeling better soon.

[Guest wmlcml6]

Whenever we have any of our racers experience ear problems, the first thing we try is a 50/50 solution of APPLE CIDER VINEGAR and isopropyl alcohol. Not white distilled vinegar.. but APPLE CIDER VINEGAR. Squirt some down into the ear and massage the ear as much as your dog will let you. Do this 3-4 days and whatever's in there should clear right up. Always does for us

 

Good luck.

[Burpdog]

Personally, I'd stop the drops until you can speak with the vet.

 

Sending prayers!

[Guest Tenderhearts]

Personally, I'd stop the drops until you can speak with the vet.

 

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.

 

[turbotaina]

Personally, I'd stop the drops until you can speak with the vet.

 

Sending prayers!

 

Yup. My dog is the king of ear funk (and currently has a condition I STRONGLY think came about due to ear drops my former vet prescribed).

 

There are many choices for ear meds - hopefully you'll find one that works. And watch out with the head shaking. It can cause ear bruising/hematomas/swelling. Yup, been there.

[Guest Cris_M]

Your gut instinct to stop the drops seems right on target to me. Even if your dog isn't allergic to the drops (although that sounds very possible), excessive head shaking can cause much worse problems. Had a dog who completely tore up an ear from it. Took 2 surgeries and hundreds of dollars to fix that problem........ And, no, the ear was never completely right after that.

 

Personally, I think the apple cider vinegar and alcohol sound good.

[Guest KateWantsaGrey]

hm... tricky situation... keep us posted

[Hawthorn]

Thank you everyone for your replies.

 

I've decided to stop the drops until I've spoken to the vet tomorrow.

 

Whenever we have any of our racers experience ear problems, the first thing we try is a 50/50 solution of APPLE CIDER VINEGAR and isopropyl alcohol. Not white distilled vinegar.. but APPLE CIDER VINEGAR. Squirt some down into the ear and massage the ear as much as your dog will let you. Do this 3-4 days and whatever's in there should clear right up. Always does for us

 

Good luck.

 

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?

 

Personally, I'd stop the drops until you can speak with the vet.

 

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.

 

[dmswartzfager]

Whenever we have any of our racers experience ear problems, the first thing we try is a 50/50 solution of APPLE CIDER VINEGAR and isopropyl alcohol. Not white distilled vinegar.. but APPLE CIDER VINEGAR. Squirt some down into the ear and massage the ear as much as your dog will let you. Do this 3-4 days and whatever's in there should clear right up. Always does for us

 

Good luck.

 

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?

 

Yes, you can get isopropyl alcohol (AKA rubbing alcohol) at a pharmacy, and most supermarkets carry it as well. The vinegar component is to get the right pH/acidity in the ear, and the alcohol will evaporate and keep the ear from getting even more moist and therefore conducive to bacterial/fungal growth. It shouldn't sting an inflamed ear as long as the skin is unbroken.

[Hawthorn]

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.

[sweetdogs]

Since my boy had chronic ear problems, I've tried almost everything there is. (His problem turned out to be environmental allergies for which he gets desensitization shots.) So many things hurt his ears that to this day he'll run if he sees me with a little bottle (sorry sweetie! ). Rubbing alcohol is high on the list - I wouldn't want it in my ears. Topical Baytril (an antibiotic) inflamed his ears terribly. Glad to hear your vet gave you something else that agrees with him. (Tell your vet that if a dog is going to have a problem with something, it's probably a greyhound. Voice of experience here! )

 

Here is a link to some info on ear problems.

 

Faolin says, "hope your ears feel better soon, Sunny".

[Guest bona60]

About once a month I make a 50% peroxide to water solution and clean Monty's ears with sterile cotton balls. In the 3 1/2 yrs. we've had Monty we've avoided infections. In your case I would stop the drops and see the vet as soon as possible.

[Guest KateWantsaGrey]

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.

 

yeah that is the worst. So maybe he hasn't seen other dogs that didn't tolerate the drops, but why does he have to say it like you're making it up or something?

[Hawthorn]

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.

 

 

 

 

[Guest goodtimekid]

Since my boy had chronic ear problems, I've tried almost everything there is. (His problem turned out to be environmental allergies for which he gets desensitization shots.) So many things hurt his ears that to this day he'll run if he sees me with a little bottle (sorry sweetie! ). Rubbing alcohol is high on the list - I wouldn't want it in my ears. Topical Baytril (an antibiotic) inflamed his ears terribly. Glad to hear your vet gave you something else that agrees with him. (Tell your vet that if a dog is going to have a problem with something, it's probably a greyhound. Voice of experience here! )

 

Here is a link to some info on ear problems.

 

Faolin says, "hope your ears feel better soon, Sunny".

 

 

Kid has the same issues with the ear med, they figured it was allergies, we tried the drops from the vet and he shook and yelped. They gave us anti fungal drops without added ingredients and we put him on venison and potato food. (Nothing else). I have to say after 1 mo or so his ears are clearer than when we got him in July. Glad to hear that the new med is working.