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Problem With Ear.


moggy
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Lately our Chihuahua, Sophie, has been shaking her head then scratching her right ear with her back leg then licking the foot. Sometimes she spends about 1/2 hour repeatedly doing this. She shows no sign of pain and otherwise is normal.

Does anyone else know of this behaviour? Is it habit or should we get her checked out.

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Have a good sniff of her ear. A "normal" ear shouldn't have an unpleasant odour of any kind. A "strong" smell could indicate a fungal issue or mites.

Also look at the colour of the ear and/or any wax coming from it. Excess wax could also mean infection or mites.

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Yep, mine does that as well. No mites and have had her ears checked. Its a nervous habit. She alternates between this and licking. The vet says its anxiety driven and its a soothing mechanism.

I would definitely be getting her ears checked to rule this out though.

Edited by honeychild
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Thanks for your replies. There is a slight smell in her right ear, the one she keeps scratching. We have started treating it with earmite drops. If it doesn't improve after a week or so or treatment will take her to the vet.

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Thanks for your replies. There is a slight smell in her right ear, the one she keeps scratching. We have started treating it with earmite drops. If it doesn't improve after a week or so or treatment will take her to the vet.

I'd be taking her to the vet sooner rather than later if there is an odour coming from her ear. Treating it for ear mites, if it ISN'T ear mites, isn't going to make a lot of difference other than to possibly delay the treatment and recovery of other issues.

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I would get her looked at by a vet as it could be a yeast infection and treating it with ear mite drops is only going to make it worse as the yeast will feed on the damp, wet environment.

Is there any chance it could be a grass seed? It is the season for them and they are often painful and need to be removed by a vet.

I have found Advocate spot-on the best way to treat earmites and means you dont have to put ear drops in.

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Update on Sophie's ear. Well after researching a lot on the net we decided the problem is probably earmites so decided to try the treatment drops. After using it for 3 days the change is remarkable. She is not scratching her ear and her restless behaviour has settled down. She is our little Sophie again. We are keeping up the treatment for the rest of the week.

If it recurs it is off to the vet.

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