Ear infections

[HAH]

Poor little Stilton had an ear infection recently which was really painful for him. It led to lots of disturbed nights, noise sensitivity and more chewing, but was solved (fingers crossed) with a leave-in antibiotic gel. With all the pain and ear handling he’s become very sensitive to any contact with his ears, so we’ve got work to do with making him more comfortable again.
Unfortunately his other ear is now painful so we need to go to the vets again. Poor mite is not going enjoy it… but hopefully the gel will work again.

 

[Cath]

Poor lamb

 

[Selina27]

Oh poor Stilton that's nasty all round .

 

[Emily]

Poor Stilton.

When Ella had a couple of ear infections, I ended up opting for the vet to do the clean and put the longer lasting ABs in, rather than the daily drops from us. On balance, it was the slightly less traumatic option.

Hope poor Stilton feels better soon and isn't to upset with the treatment.

 

[HAH]

Poor Stilton.

When Ella had a couple of ear infections, I ended up opting for the vet to do the clean and put the longer lasting ABs in, rather than the daily drops from us. On balance, it was the slightly less traumatic option.

Hope poor Stilton feels better soon and isn't to upset with the treatment.

Absolutely this - we wouldn’t manage daily drops at the moment and it would be really distressing for Stilton (and us!) to try, so I’m hoping we’ll get a longer-lasting AB option. We’re seeing the vet this afternoon

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

Poor Stilton, that can be so painful. Brogan had serious ear infections when he was younger and it was so tough to manage.

 

[Emily]

Absolutely this - we wouldn’t manage daily drops at the moment and it would be really distressing for Stilton (and us!) to try, so I’m hoping we’ll get a longer-lasting AB option. We’re seeing the vet this afternoon

Good luck at the vet. From memory I believe that the vet said, assuming properly administered, the daily drops were possible more effective which is why they're usually prescribed. We ended up with two courses of the longer lasting ABs but was totally worth it.

Let us know how you go x

 

[M.F.]

So sorry. Ear infections are awful. Snowie has recently had many. Eventually the vet did a thorough cleansing while he was sedated for an op (wart removal from eyelid) and she said his ear canal in the one ear was severely narrowed and would therefore always cause problems because the narrowing made it difficult for the gunk to come out. It’s because we never kept on top of his ear infections over his life, which I’m sorry about.

We have noticed that Snowie hates having the ear cleaner and drops applied when his ears are sore. But once the cortisone+antibiotic drops have taken effect and the inflammation has gone down, he’s more accommodating.

The thing is to get to the underlying issue. In Snowie’s case, it’s endless allergies. If Stilton is showing signs of allergies, it might be worthwhile investigating immunotherapy.

Also keeping the ears dry. I recently saw a Lab swimming with a tube around his neck! It’s to keep his head above water so that the water doesn’t go in his ears!

 

[MellowYellow]

Ugh, hate ear infections. I hope the anti biotic gel does the job.

 

[Parodius]

Poor Stilton, hope it clears up quickly for him, must be pretty miserable for it to come back so soon in the other ear

 

[HAH]

Thanks everyone. My husband took Stilton to the vet, and it was better than we’d hoped. They have a lovely rapport, and Stilton trusts him. Stilton let my husband show the vet his (Stilton’s!) ears, and the vet was very gentle and took it slow. We last saw this vet about 5 years ago when he’d just joined the practice, and he was quite full on and wanted to endoscopy everything so we’ve avoided him since and rather unkindly called him ‘Endoscopy Pete*’ between ourselves. I’m glad he’s improved his bedside manner and lost some of his invasive zeal.
Stilton had a dose of AB gel in his right ear, and we’ll follow up in a week if it’s not improved. For now, he’s roaring around the kitchen and clearly feeling an awful lot better!

(*Pete is not his real name)

 

[Jacqui-S]

(*Pete is not his real name)

 

[Emily]

we’ve avoided him since and rather unkindly called him ‘Endoscopy Pete*’ between ourselves

This made me laugh much more than it should have

 

[Selina27]

This made me laugh much more than it should have

Same here

 

[MellowYellow]

Great news for Stilton (and also for EP!)

 

[Naya]

So glad that *Pete was better this time around and that Stilton let your OH show him his ear. Hope the AB gel works.

 

[Beanwood]

Casper used to get loads of ear infections back in the day.. it was hugely frustrating and we knew it was painful to clean them out although he was always such a stoic and gentle dog. The long-acting gel was like a miracle! Cleared up so quickly, and such a relief not to clean his ears twice a day, but they are not sore anymore, so no anticiption of discomfort.

 

[Candy]

Years and years ago ( in the 1990s) I had mother and daughter Black Labs who were both prone to ear infections. Our lovely vet, sadly now retired, said that Labradors and other dogs with ears that flop over are more prone to ear infections because they don't get as much air to their ears as dogs with the pricky-up sort of ears. She recommended gently cleaning our dogs' ears on a weekly basis with a cleaning solution (available from the vet) and damp cotton wool. I don't know if she was right, but I have done this routinely ever since with all my Labs, getting them used to it as pups, and have never had a problem with dog ear infections since. It could be purely coincidental, but it has seemed to work for my dogs and me.

 

[HAH]

It is interesting isn’t it? I’ve heard the opposite from a vet friend - similar to anal glands, she said if you don’t have persistent ear issues, don't fiddle with them! I guess the theory is that the moment you start introducing anything in the way of cleaning solutions or ‘proactive’ remedies, you’re increasing the risk of introducing bacteria or interference into a balanced system that is readily disrupted. The challenge is (of course) when there’s one or two episodes, it’s easy to worry you’re seeing a problem for life.

 

[Candy]

Yes, that is interesting, and I have to admit that over the years I have wondered whether this might now be outdated advice, after all thinking does change....but all my dogs have seemed to quite enjoy the ear cleaning, and as I said, no infections, so I think at least it isn't doing any harm.