TangerineDream Posted March 22, 2008 Share Posted March 22, 2008 last year, at about this time, Tango had some sort of allergy that gave him whitehads on the scrotum. This year, it's something that seems to be making the inside of his ear leather irritated...tiny little lumps. but not bites of anything. No mites, no fleas, clean ears.....he's scratched and shaken his head so much that 1 ear has a nick at the edge and he's scratched the other ear enough to scrape the outside of the leather......toenails haven't been cut recently & they are pretty blunt. He's aiming for the ear leather, not the inside deep down of the ear. In desperation tonight I hypothesised that if PhisoHex worked on his scrotum, maybe it would work on the ear leather if I was very careful and it seems to have helped somewhat... - no change in diet - no change in habits - intermittent..can go for a couple of days with no shaking or scratching and then you get a stretch of it. - no change in bedding (except to be washed) - not grass seeds any ideas to stop him continuing the cycle by scratching and shaking? trying hard not to have to put a bucket on it atm..want to try everything else first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golden Rules Posted March 22, 2008 Share Posted March 22, 2008 Hey TD I'm not sure about what might be causing the itching so no help there but I would be inclined to be applying a soothing lotion to his ears at least daily - this may stop him from feeling the urge to itch which may help while you work out what is going on...... What sort of lotion? Well, I have a beaut one called Pet Soothe from Malcom Harker in NZ, but you could probably use anything mild eg Calamine Lotion, Aloe Vera gel, anything really that will soothe any itching - it's his ears so he can't exactly lick anything off hey! Good luck, hope you find out what it is soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff'n'Toller Posted March 22, 2008 Share Posted March 22, 2008 This could be totally off track but what does he eat? Sometimes in dry food changes in batch quality will cause intermittent allergies. You could be catching an ear infection starting very early, I would consider using a cleaner twice weekly anyway. Resi-soothe is a good lotion to use every other day or so....sort of creates a protective barrier as well. If you feed him any beef I would stop for at least 2 months and see if that makes any difference. Oh and I'm sure you'd see them- but no stickfast fleast on the ears? Mel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TangerineDream Posted March 22, 2008 Author Share Posted March 22, 2008 Head shaking and scratching been going on and off for the last couple of months but hasn't been continuous - still isn't overly frequent, but now because there's a nick in one it, it won't heal. His diet is chicken, rice, oatmeal, veges and a dry food (haven't got the bag & have a memory like a sieve) that he's been on for the last 18 months. Am giving him a Polaramine every day (for the last 3 days) and doing the ear flaps with PhisoHex, some of the timy lumps seem to be disappearing and the ears feel cooler. Will also clean his ears out too. It was having to was sprayed blood off the walls last night that made me realise it had 'crossed the line' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lucknow Posted March 22, 2008 Share Posted March 22, 2008 Sounds like a seasonal allergy, I am assuming from your post that a vet has checked him over and doesn't have much help to offer. I would try keeping him inside as much as possible and wiping off the ears when he comes in from toilet etc and see if it helps Keep a close eye on those ears, if he is scratching that much he is going to be a high risk for an Aural Haemotoma. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zhara Posted March 23, 2008 Share Posted March 23, 2008 Had a bitch 15 or so years ago that seemed to have similar symptoms as you discribe, I found she had a flea allergy (we don't have flea problems as such, but do have a cat and possums comming throuh the yard), her immune system was all over the place, . We put her Omega 3 which over the course of three weeks improved heaps. This also helped the coat as she would look like and emaciated dog when she lost her coat every season, and that was every five months. I believe a lot of dog foods have alot to answer for, just as with humans, the fresher the ingredients, the better. Over processed foods usually come with additives of some decription. Also what I found was that the ears smell, and I've been told that ears and coat usually go hand in hand. If the coat is affected by something, smell the ears, they should NOT smell sour ever! When cleaning ears, massage the tunnel below on the neck. If putting drops in make sure the dog doesn't shake it's head straight away or it will shake the stuff out before it can do anygood. Its more than likely that that is where the problem is. The visual symptoms may be just that. Visual. There is definately an underlying problem that needs to be addressed. Goodluck, hope you sort it out soon! Zhara Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puggy_puggy Posted March 23, 2008 Share Posted March 23, 2008 Yeast allergy? Have you actually had the ear tested for infection or mites? I would be getting the vet to do a slide and making sure nothing bad is going on. Chronic ear infections are not good and can make dogs deaf, effect their sense of balance and as 'lucknow' suggested cause hematomas. Do you use Revolution or some other product that stops mites and fleas? Sounds like he might need medicated ear drops. I would be using some sort of ear cleaning drops untill you are able to get to the vets on Tuesday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TangerineDream Posted March 23, 2008 Author Share Posted March 23, 2008 Had the ears checked about 3 weeks ago - no mites, no nasties on the slide or in a culture. It's not actually the inside ear that's the problem - it's the outside leather. The Polaramine and Phisohex has settled one ear down within 24 hours and I've had him with me in the car all day and there's been less head shaking and very little scratching, so I think we might be getting somewhere...just have to give the other ear time to hold a scab for long enough on the point to be able to heal properly...... Vote 1 for PhisoHex Thanks for the advice...ear cleaning happening tomorrow as well. Coat is in lovely condition - except where he's been sunbaking where it's not quite the right colour any more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TangerineDream Posted March 31, 2008 Author Share Posted March 31, 2008 Finally had to admit that it had beaten me after I taped up the tip of one ear last night so I wouldn't have to clean splatters off the wall.... Definitely an allergy - exactly the same time he had the allergy last year that affected his scrotum & between the toes, but this year the ears have decided to play the starring role...(the scrotum was much easier!) So we are now on antibiotics, ear stuff, more tablets and everything has already started to work because he's asleep and hasn't shaken his head for hours........at least he clots fast! Vet said he's seen a lot more allergies than usual and attributes it to the dry weather. Hopefully that's the end of it. Mind you, he loved having to come to work with me today Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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