MamaKat Posted January 31, 2005 Share Posted January 31, 2005 My 2 year old Lab seems to have itchy or sore ears. He keeps shaking his head. They are a bit brown and damp looking inside, don't smell at all. The pup keeps licking inside them. I got some "Leo" (?) squirt stuff this afternoon...won't be able to take him to the vet till later in the week if required. Any suggestions (tried a search)??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toohey Posted January 31, 2005 Share Posted January 31, 2005 Did you use the Leo on him? That should dry them out a bit. Suggest you get some cotton wool, those round face make up pads are good, and dampen it with some warm salty water and wipe as far into the ear as you can and see if any muck comes out on them. Dogs have long narrow ear canals, but if you lift the top of the ear up then pull it backwards, it should straighten out the canal enough for you to shine a torch in and see if there is anything in there. After you clean his ear, squirt a few drops of Leo in and give it gentle massage. Please get to your vet tomorrow if he is still uncomfortable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaKat Posted January 31, 2005 Author Share Posted January 31, 2005 Poor bugger...the Leo sent him nuts...I had to massage his ears for about 10 minutes. Obviously it tickles a bit! He seems a little better this morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninaandted Posted January 31, 2005 Share Posted January 31, 2005 He doesn't have ear mites does he? They are supposed to leave a brown grunge I think but I'm not sure how visible the mites themselves are. Will make the ears really itchy! either frontline or sentinel or revolution does ear mites as well - sorry i'm not much help but it's one of those! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted January 31, 2005 Share Posted January 31, 2005 The other possiblity is a grass seed. If the head shaking continues more than a day or so, I'd be off to the vet. A vet visit can also tell you if there are mites etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlmckay Posted January 31, 2005 Share Posted January 31, 2005 My Tui suffers from itchy ears constantly. She is now on an antihistamine permanently as the scarring inside her ear canal is starting to build up and block the ear. If the ear has brown gunge in it, clean it out. Use cotton buds and get into every crack and crevice. It probably won't smell, but it may seem a little musty? If you have this smell, it could be a yeast infection. The bacteria in the ears is very delicate and easily upset, so the pup licking at them won't have helped. The inside of the ear should always be dry. Tip the dog on it's side, soak the ear with warm water and leave the water in there for a few minutes to soften the gunge. Let the dog shake it out (standing well back!) and then attack with cotton buds - you'll need lots, you'll be surprised how much gunge can be in there. That should help until you get to the vet. Diana Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tilly Posted February 1, 2005 Share Posted February 1, 2005 Our GSD gets ear infections from time to time from our rotties licking his ears. We just take him to the vet on the first sign of trouble (shaking head and scratching) and they give him ear drops. Usually clears things up in a day or two. I don't like to leave it any length of time to fix itself as I know it can be uncomfortable and they can damage their ears by the constant scratching. We clean their ear regularly with and ear cleaner drops but the GSD doesn't like the drops so we use ear wipes on him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bundyburger Posted February 1, 2005 Share Posted February 1, 2005 Agree Dianna. If it does turn out to be a yeast infection, there are now glucose free dog food in the Supercoat range. Change of diet as well as medication is the way to control that. Finding the right diet is the hard part.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaKat Posted February 1, 2005 Author Share Posted February 1, 2005 (edited) It doesn't smell, but I had a look and a clean and one is a bit red. Could be mites...I can't tell He's booked in to the vet tomorrow. (btw...he's on Advocate) Edited February 1, 2005 by K&C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BubbleGirl Posted February 1, 2005 Share Posted February 1, 2005 Vet will take a swap and put under microscope, it's revolution that you put in their ears to treat. Love Riles PS: Hanging out with Jack, I'm learning shit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SLS Posted February 1, 2005 Share Posted February 1, 2005 Regarding Frontline. Does it work just spray on the body or perhaps also spray on a cotton bud and then wipe inside the ear? Our 10mth golden retriever has become itchy and scratchy in the last few days and her ears a bit red. Looks like mites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninaandted Posted February 1, 2005 Share Posted February 1, 2005 I'm not that sure that frontline does ear mites - you'll need to check on the packaging. in any case the normal method of application is supposed to provide the protection body wide! but if you are using the spray it probably wouldn't hurt to spray some on a tissue and rub on the inside of the ears. i think either sentinel (a monthly tablet) or revolution (a top drop) does the mites. not all of them take care of mites. you can actually check with on of the online pet supply sites and they usually have those really useful charts that do a comparison between all the products. there's a link to one on this site that I found it on the other day. (but of course can't remember the entire content now can I???) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaKat Posted February 2, 2005 Author Share Posted February 2, 2005 $120 later it's a serious infection I will have to be very vigilant in watching his ears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BubbleGirl Posted February 2, 2005 Share Posted February 2, 2005 Aweeee poor pup He'll be tip top in no time. Love Riles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaKat Posted February 2, 2005 Author Share Posted February 2, 2005 Two weeks the vet thinks Also said he's probably having trouble hearing because of it, but will be ok. Please give your dogs regulary ear checks everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shelly Posted February 2, 2005 Share Posted February 2, 2005 (edited) Oh, it's the curse of the floppy-eared dog! Jedda had chronic yeast infections in both ears when I got her from the pound. We went through a course of oral antibiotics and two bottle of Surolan drops before we got it under control! Now I clean her ears once a fortnight with Leo and that keeps it in check. I always keep a bottle of Surolan drops handy just in case it flares up. On average Jedda gets an ear infection once every two years. Good luck! Shelly Edited to add: I check Jedda's ears every day for signs of redness/brown discharge. Also keep an eye out for head shaking and ear scratching! Edited February 2, 2005 by shelly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bladek9 Posted February 3, 2005 Share Posted February 3, 2005 Make sure if when you bath your dog that you dont get any water in his ears. This seems to start it off I think. Dogs with flopping ears that dont stand upright are prone to this. If the dog goes swimming or you bath him, make sure that you dry right down into that canal with dry cloth and air the ears. I have a dobe that gets this if I'm not careful washing him so after I fold his ears over so the air can get down and dry them out. Fungus loves to grow in moist warm dark places so it makes a perfect environment. From a fungus growth something similiar to candida you can get bacterial infections because the dogs then are at their ears scratching and rubbing and can break the skin. This summer has been more humid so it flares up in dogs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaKat Posted February 4, 2005 Author Share Posted February 4, 2005 Yes, we are going to have to be very vigilant. I don't think he has ever had water in his ears while bathing though, very careful with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fido666 Posted February 5, 2005 Share Posted February 5, 2005 Can someone tell me what this "Leo Squirt Stuff" is? thanks, Corine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zayda_asher Posted February 6, 2005 Share Posted February 6, 2005 The Leo is just a particular brand of ear cleaner, with alcohol to dry the canal..... Asher has problems with his ears but, unfortunately a lot of it comes from the ear cleaner... He's alergic to the propolyne glycol they use as a carrier - it burns his skin...... This was added to by a grass seed and later on an infection!! We are now having to desensitise him to having things near his ears..... He's scared of bottles as they contain "scary burny stuff" for him..... We're working on it and he's getting better slowly! We clean them with tissues and are looking into the wipes (have to find ones with no propolyne glycol - which they don't list in the ingredients as its not and "active" ingredient, only a "carrier"). We have to put the cleaner in a bowl, as long as its not in the bottle he's a lot happier with it! poor little man, its hard work for all of us!! Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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