My Senior Boy Split His Ear

[phall]

I came home from a trip to New Hampshire today and found that my 14 year old, Tally, has a torn ear! I'm not sure how it happened but it's a ragged tear about an inch to an inch and a half. It had bled but had stopped by the time I had gotten home (we were gone about 3 hours). It looks like it didn't bleed profusely - there was some blood on his bed and on his collar, but thats' all.

 

Due to his age and how anxious he gets at the vets, I've decided not to bring him to the emergency vet. It doesn't seem to be bothering him too much. He let me clean it up and I put bacitracin on it. It's not bleeding at all now and he gets Tramadol three times a day for his athritis, so I think that will take care of any pain he has from it.

 

My plan is to call my regular vet tomorrow to see if they want to put him on any antibiotics to make sure it doesn't get infected.

 

In the meantime - any other advice on how to care for this with him?

 

Thanks.

 

Pat

[mychip1]

Good luck with him!!! It's always so hard not to worry when we leave the house.

[Guest scfilby]

You can try super glue on one side and butterfly strips on the other if you can get him to stay still.

[Guest Energy11]

Here is the "ear" part of my first aid presentation from Mt. Hounds. Hope it helps.

 

Yes, ears do bleed A LOT! Good Luck! 14 years old, how sweet! Send him our love!

 

Ears:

 

Bites and cuts on the ears:

 

**Remember, ears, like any other extremities, WILL BLEED A LOT! DO NOT be alarmed, this is normal.( There are a lot of capillaries in ears, feet, face and tails). These little tiny blood vessels bleed a lot! Just hold pressure with your hands or a tissue, and the bleeding should stop.

 

**Always have the following on hand: Kwik-Stop, large 3X4 band aids, smaller band aids, Trypzyme-V spray or ointment, or triple-antiboitic ointment, and some conforming gauze, aka, Kling., or Tubular stretch Surgical bandage (*comes in different sizes and looks like a fish-net stocking). You can order different sizes on this website:

 

http://www.medplususa.com/list-index-p-Bandage_Retainers-cp-207.html. (Copy and paste for site).

 

* You can also stop minor bleeding with Kwik Stop, cover with antibacterial ointment of your choice, use a non-stick bandage or band aid, and affix the ear to the dog’s head with either, Kling (conforming gauze,) or the tubular stretch bandage. This will keep the dog from shaking off the bandage. Re-dress daily, and see your vet for an oral antibiotic and follow-up care.

 

 

 

 

[macoduck]

Look in this thread for my post (#4) showing pictures of Gracie's ear injury.

You want to keep an eye out for a hematoma forming. Vet tried to drain Gracie's once but it filled back up and then needed surgery.

Note in the pictures how her ear was folded over her head and secured. This was to prevent any blood from draining toward the tip of the ear and pooling and to protect it if she tried to shake her head.

[phall]

This is all great information - thanks so much. The good thing is Tally isn't shaking his head at all. Not once. The ear isn't bleeding at all now. I just looked at it and it's a clean tear with no oozing or bleeding. I keep checking it every hour or so and will continue to do so, especially looking for any developing hematoma.

 

It seems to be doing well and I have bacitracin on it - do I really need to cover it with a bandage if it's not bleeding and he's not shaking his head at all?

 

Pat

[Guest Energy11]

When Goldie bit part of Oakly's ear off, I treated and bandaged it to his head, but if everything looks fine and it isn't bleeding, you could probably get away without bandaging it. BUT, if he starts shaking it, yes, you'd need to bandage to the head, to prevent the hematoma.

 

Good luck!