buddy23 Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 Hey guys, My dog (shitzu) has sore and itchy ears. She scratches at them, rolls her head on the ground/along side of mattress to scratch them, and when i inspect them or try to go near them she pulls away and tries to run off so obviously their very sore. Theres brown gunk inside her ears and her ears seem to be really wet because when u rub them on the outside you can here a squidgy sound if that makes sense. I have taken her to the vet who couldnt see any ear mites, but gave me niralone tablets, paw gentle ear cleaner and dermotic ear drops. I have been giving the niralone tablets to her and occasionally manage to hold her down to get the dermotic drops in but the paw ear cleaner just makes her yelp so i have stopped with that. The niralone tablets have run out now and it still hasnt cleared up. I have gone and bought organic apple cider vinegar and some phenergan to see if that might help and will start to give her a strict fish and rice diet to see if its her diet which is causing problems (she is on raw chicken necks, wings, lamb necks etc) and optimum. She used to be on supercoat sensitive and i thought this might be giving her troubles so i switched to optimum. I gave her some phenergan half an hour ago and she seems to have stopped scratching but they are still sore. So does anyone have some ideas on how i might be able to fix this problem- some suggest malaseb shampoo but will this be any different to the paw ear cleaner? Or if anyone knows a good vet in perth that will fix the problem (i wasnt at all pleased with the last one i went to and after doing some googling some people on this forum share the same view.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 I would find a different vet ..don't fiddle around at home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W Sibs Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 (edited) You have to clean her ears out, even if she yelps. You can use warm salty water to clean it out, if you don't want to use the paw ear cleaner thingy. That brown gunk can build up and destroy the inside of the dogs ear and ear drums. You have to give her the meds and drop too, not whenever she lets you. Especially the drops and cleaning the ears out. Very important. Ignore the yelps. Don't let her be boss of you. My boy has this issue too. I clean out his ears once a fortnight either with dog ear cleaning solution or warm salty water. I found that also help is that we trim around his ear too. We think that the the fur tickles his ear, so he scratches and makes things worst. Edited November 23, 2010 by CW EW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karly101 Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 How often were you applying the drops? You really do need to clean the ears out as well and often and then apply the dermotic after an hour, yes it will hurt her (poor darling nothing worse than sore ears!) but there will be improvements. If you are really having trouble the vet can help you do a cleaning by putting some local anesthetic on the ear and give them a good flush out to make it easier for you at home. You could also ask your vet for some cortavance spray - it really really help with the itchyness and bring her some relief. It is a bit on the expensive side but one bottle will last you a long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 If you are hesitant,and the dog is not co operating, you definitely need to get her to a vet, and as said, perhaps have her sedated and have her ears thoroughly checked and cleaned . The vet tor nurse should also be able to show you what else to do at home..and what to keep an eye out for Hopefully someone will give you the name of a vet near you ..and you can get this sorted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buddy23 Posted November 23, 2010 Author Share Posted November 23, 2010 How often were you applying the drops? You really do need to clean the ears out as well and often and then apply the dermotic after an hour, yes it will hurt her (poor darling nothing worse than sore ears!) but there will be improvements. If you are really having trouble the vet can help you do a cleaning by putting some local anesthetic on the ear and give them a good flush out to make it easier for you at home. Ok, I just stopped because I thought i might have been doing more damage to the ears if it was hurting that much. You could also ask your vet for some cortavance spray - it really really help with the itchyness and bring her some relief. It is a bit on the expensive side but one bottle will last you a long time. Thanks ill look into it. So just spray it into her ear or onto the body? Would Dakartin spray from the chemist be similar? Also another question, my other dog licks her ears i assume to clean them, should i let him do this or will this just make her ears more wet and infected? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W Sibs Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 If you are hesitant,and the dog is not co operating, you definitely need to get her to a vet, and as said, perhaps have her sedated and have her ears thoroughly checked and cleaned .The vet tor nurse should also be able to show you what else to do at home..and what to keep an eye out for Hopefully someone will give you the name of a vet near you ..and you can get this sorted. Yes, I forgot to add this part If you feel uncomfortable doing it... ask the vet to clean it out for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buddy23 Posted November 23, 2010 Author Share Posted November 23, 2010 If you are hesitant,and the dog is not co operating, you definitely need to get her to a vet, and as said, perhaps have her sedated and have her ears thoroughly checked and cleaned .The vet tor nurse should also be able to show you what else to do at home..and what to keep an eye out for Hopefully someone will give you the name of a vet near you ..and you can get this sorted. I already took her to the vet thats where i got all these products from, who checked her ears and thoroughly cleaned them out. I think I will take her to a different one to get a second opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sllebasi Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 i would get a second opinion and maybe look at what is happening in the environment to make this problem continue. are her ears getting wet when having a drink from the bucket, and does it normally have problems with water getting stuck in ears. not sure if its an issue with dogs, but if its really hot, and sweat is building up in the ears could lead to an ear infection -so maybe thats something else to look at Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 and sweat is building up in the ears could lead to an ear infection dogs only have sweat glands on their paw pads ... The ears being licked by another dog is probably not a good idea ..another dog's tongue will be introducing a wonderful variety of bacteria and moisture .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buddy23 Posted November 23, 2010 Author Share Posted November 23, 2010 i would get a second opinion and maybe look at what is happening in the environment to make this problem continue. are her ears getting wet when having a drink from the bucket, and does it normally have problems with water getting stuck in ears.not sure if its an issue with dogs, but if its really hot, and sweat is building up in the ears could lead to an ear infection -so maybe thats something else to look at Actually i didnt even think of that! Her ears do flop in the water bucket. I have kept her away from all other water sources, so i will get a smaller one. I will try a few other things that i have found on this forum then head to the vet again if it doesnt clear up or just as a check up if it does end up clearing up. Thanks guys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stormie Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 There's no point getting a second opinion until you can finish a course of medication. You may find that using the Dermotic twice a day for the time it was prescribed, fixes the problem. If the medication your vet gave you doesn't work, then you need to go back to have the problem investigated further. If your current vet isn't helpful, then get a second opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 If the ears are as bad as I understand from your description...I will suggest again to get to a vet first ... a different vet. IMO,it is absolutely no use using drops etc if an ear canal is full of waxy infected muck!! I have seen this happen a lot..... , and it is amazing how quickly they can improve after a thorough clean at the vets. To get a good start at treating the problem..ear canals need to be clean for the medication to find the surface ..and if it hurts..then it is a lot less stress all round if the ears are cleaned under sedation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 (edited) To get a good start at treating the problem..ear canals need to be clean for the medication to find the surface ..and if it hurts..then it is a lot less stress all round if the ears are cleaned under sedation Does sedation stop the dog feeling pain? Or just prevent the dog from reacting to it? I agree with Perse. If the ears are as bad as you described (and we have no cause to doubt you) then back to a DIFFERENT vet, rather than mucking around with a variety of drops. I'm sorry I can't help with a Vet recommendation in your State or area, but I'm sure there are others here who will be able to assist . Edited November 23, 2010 by Erny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 We used a light anaesthesia for ear cleans (it wasn't routine, but was great for long term/very painful conditions) ... no wriggling, screaming dog..and a wonderful opportunity to have a thorough look/clean /pluck/medicate -whatever was needed ,before sending them home ,after making sure owners were capable of applying medications Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karly101 Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 How often were you applying the drops? You really do need to clean the ears out as well and often and then apply the dermotic after an hour, yes it will hurt her (poor darling nothing worse than sore ears!) but there will be improvements. If you are really having trouble the vet can help you do a cleaning by putting some local anesthetic on the ear and give them a good flush out to make it easier for you at home. Ok, I just stopped because I thought i might have been doing more damage to the ears if it was hurting that much. You could also ask your vet for some cortavance spray - it really really help with the itchyness and bring her some relief. It is a bit on the expensive side but one bottle will last you a long time. Thanks ill look into it. So just spray it into her ear or onto the body? Would Dakartin spray from the chemist be similar? Also another question, my other dog licks her ears i assume to clean them, should i let him do this or will this just make her ears more wet and infected? Cortavance is a steroid spray, I don't believe there is a similar human product available, you would have to ask your vet for alternatives that are safe, I'm not even sure if the spray is right for her but may be something to help with the itchyness. So sounds like you really need a second opinion and to get on to cleaning the ears once a day and applying the dermotic twice a day. Yes probably best to not let your other dog lick her ears as that will keep them warm and moist ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stormie Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 I would not be trying to spray Cortivance into a sore, inflamed ear. It's alcohol based so stings. Besides that, it wouldn't treat the infection. Dermotic has some cortisone in it, as well as antibiotic and antifungal agents, so will reduce inflammation. How did she react when the vet cleaned her ears and applied the Dermotic? Could it be that she's being a bit more difficult with you because she knows she can? We have had a few clients whose dogs wouldn't allow them to medicate their ears, but were fine with us. They'd just pop in twice a day for a week or so and we'd do the treatments. Unfortunately, any treatment is going to involve repeated medicating into the ear. So even if you went to another vet and they flushed them out under GA/sedation, you're still going to have to apply something at home and without this, they won't get better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavNrott Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 Are you dealing with a yeast or bacterial infection...or a combination of both? Either way I would have the vet anaesthetise the dog and flush out the ears, then you're starting with a clean slate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nekhbet Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 squishy sounding ears dont need more water in there they need to be properly cleaned under anaesthetic, check for ear drum/canal damage and the wax put under a microscope to see what exactly is causing the problem before just charging you an arm and a leg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corvus Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 My mother's dog had chronic ear problems for years until she finally changed vets and the new vet diagnosed a yeast infection. Until then she'd been cleaning his ears with ear cleaner, which he hated. To treat the yeast she was instructed to clean his ears with a Malaseb shampoo solution. Just like that, problem managed. He still gets yeasty ears, but the Malased actually treats it and he no longer hates having his ears cleaned. Not saying this is your problem, just that it's important to know what's causing the trouble in order to fix it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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