Lindainfa

Basically Lola has had ear infections twice this year and although antibiotic drops helped and cleaning them regularly I still took her to a Dermitoligist just for her overall itchy face, chewing and licking paws etc. The derm said that her Ear Canals were so narrow that she could not see to the eardrum so could not tell if there was infection further. She said even if she has stopped scratching and shaking her head there could be alot of gunk down further that could rupture the ear drum if left like that. She put Lola on Predisinole (spelling) the anti inflammatory cortisone. 5mg once a day and this was supposed to open her canals if there was an infection and they were thick from that. So this went on for a week and today we went back, the cortisone didn't do anything and they are still narrow. She explained that they could be naturally narrow but wants to flush out the ear with her under a general to clean out all the gunk and she has to have an MRI to determine if any gunk has ruptured into her ear drum. Does this sound excessive at all? I was a bit hesitant but I don't want to risk her ear drum bursting and then major surgery in which case she will be deaf. Has anyone else been through this? Also the price for the flush, anasthetic and MRI I am looking at between $800 - $1500 depending on what the diagnosis is and if she needs meds and whatever else!! ARgghh, she is booked in tomorrow and I am so worried. (Also in Health/Nutrition/Grooming, but get more views here.)

Sorry for the terrible spelling, in a rush!

Basically Lola has had ear infections twice this year and although antibiotic drops helped and cleaning them regularly I still took her to a Dermitoligist just for her overall itchy face, chewing and licking paws etc. The derm said that her Ear Canals were so narrow that she could not see to the eardrum so could not tell if there was infection further. She said even if she has stopped scratching and shaking her head there could be alot of gunk down further that could rupture the ear drum if left like that. She put Lola on Predisinole (spelling) the anti inflammatory cortisone. 5mg once a day and this was supposed to open her canals if there was an infection and they were thick from that. So this went on for a week and today we went back, the cortisone didn't do anything and they are still narrow. She explained that they could be naturally narrow but wants to flush out the ear with her under a general to clean out all the gunk and she has to have an MRI to determine if any gunk has ruptured into her ear drum. Does this sound excessive at all? I was a bit hesitant but I don't want to risk her ear drum bursting and then major surgery in which case she will be deaf. Has anyone else been through this? Also the price for the flush, anasthetic and MRI I am looking at between $800 - $1500 depending on what the diagnosis is and if she needs meds and whatever else!! ARgghh, she is booked in tomorrow and I am so worried.

Love this story also! I joined to research breeds that were for me, I researched each breed for about 6 months and then purchased my puppies from breeders on here. Now I am researching my next breed, the Newfoundland! Love learning more and more about dogs. :D

What Poodlefan said! Just recently she gave me some advice regarding HGE, if you search, my thread will come up. They should have kept her on a drip. I went through a mild case with Arnie. Glad to hear your lovely girl is better now, hope all goes well with the pups.

My Frenchie has a natural stump tail and she still wags her little bum when she is happy! Don't discriminate please. My two have front dew claws and no problems, they also don't really get overgrown, well not yet anyway.

Oh no, this just makes me so angry and upset. Poor, poor little guy. All these stories are just horrible.

Thanks for your as always well informed responses. I really do learn a lot from this forum!

I am a bit shocked The Lost Dogs home has a paid position for an OH&S Coordinator. They must be so cashed up. Can they honestly not find anything better to spend the money on? Perhaps something for the animals, which is what people donating their money think it is going towards??!! I work for the Government and in my organisation we don't even have specific OH&S workers! What a waste. http://www.seek.com.au/Job/oh-s-coordinator/in/melbourne-cbd-inner-suburbs/19860268

What a great result, I love how the dog lovers on here pull together to help other like minded people. Feel the LOVE!

Moose is the biggest cutie pie!! :D

He is beautiful!

Newfsie - I really, really hate you. I'm so jealous and your making the wait till I am able to get a Newf that much more harder with your beautiful pics of Lukey and the gang. haha. Please post more pics and stories.

omg that picture almost makes me dry reach!!! yukkk. I am vego but still give my dogs a barf diet, but those tongues - ewwwww no way!! :vomit:

Beautiful pup and cute story too!

Loved all the pics everyone. :D I was planning on going but was too hungover from the night before. lol

Wow, that is really sweet, I love hearing good stories. Can you please post some pics of your lovely litter?!

Oh my gosh, I can't believe it. Poor little Tip. RIP :(

I looked up HGE, out of interest. I'd not heard of it before. Whether it's what King Tip's got or not, handy to know about it. http://vetmedicine.about.com/cs/dogdiseasesh/a/HGEindogs.htm I started a thread on HGE not long ago. My Cavalier, Arnie got it. Scary stuff! It does sound similiar, although he was also vomiting and not eating.

King Tip is adorable!! I'm sure he will pull through and be up to mischief in no time at all.

Thanks Erny, your just a wealth of knowledge. I will do some reading now.

Would this be done at a normal vet? She does have some of the other conditions listed, being hair loss, dull coat, cold intolerance, skin odour and dry skin, decrease in tolerance for exercise - yes that is her latest thing of when I take her for a walk after 15 mins she just wants to lay down... hmmmm. Worth looking into, thanks Erny.

Oh you could not miss this smell. Its not a normal doggy smell and its not a smell that goes away no matter how often you bathe her. It radiates from her ears and in summer when she was particularly yeasty, it also comes from the folds in her face. Poor stinky girl! LOL I'm also gonna try the calendula on her folds.

I found this video really informative and interesting. However I would suggest going Apple Cider Vinegar instead of White Vinegar. I was also really surprised to hear about potatoes turning into carbs/sugar and turning into yeast. I previously had Lola on all raw and she was doing great since I had got her off Royal Canin biscuits, but wanted to get her onto grain/wheat free biscuits as well. So I tried Canidae Salmon Grain free. Well her yeast came back and I was stumped as to what was bothering her. I'm pretty sure its the Potato, as its I think the second ingredient for this food. So that was good to hear, off the biscuits completely now and I realise she has to be a raw eater for life! I would skip the peroxide for the moment, its a really harsh chemical for the dogs and ourselves. Why don't you try just dipping their feet in the Apple Cider Vinegar first and see how that goes. I wouldn't even water it down, providing they don't have open wounds. It is natural and its not going to do any harm. Apparently the best apple cider is one thats organic and dark in colour. I have problems with Lola with yeast infections. I gave her ears a cleaning with Apple Cider vinegar, diluted with some water as she has scratched them so much she has cuts in there. This was yesterday, and she was shaking her head so much and scratching, not much improvement. Today however, the smell is gone (phew terrible yeasty,stinky smell) and she is not shaking or scratching anywhere near as much as she had been for the past few days. Will give them another rinse out tomorrow and also dip her feet.