Ear infections

[Sue and Cash]

Cash woke today with what has turned out to be his first yeast/bacterial infection in his ear.  He was scratching it and rubbing it on the rug.  Luckily our vet has short Sunday hours and I took him right over.  The culture confirmed what I already knew.  They gave me medication to put in there.  Since putting it in he is suffering worse now.  Walking around with his head sideways and whining/crying.  I feel horrible.  I have been through many a yeast infection in the ear but never had a dog crying.  Before she closed I called back in and they had me come and pick up some pain medication for him.  I gave him one and he is slightly calmed down but not much.  We clean his ears weekly but my breeder just emailed me that she does it twice weekly and if it is yeasty will do it several times a day till clear.  What has been your experience and is Cash reacting normally to what is his first bout of pain.  I know puppies do react worse to it than adults might.  Should I use the pain meds, Rimadyl?  Is that safe to use?

[Ilona & Gina]

Oh dear, I so feel with Cash (and you).

Gina has a lot of that stuff, due to her atopic dermatitis. But she has never had pain after putting in the drops. What are these eardrops that cause this pain anyway?

We live in Australia, so our meds are bit different, but for Gina's yeast infection we have Otomax (don't know what's in it), and for the weely washs it's Derma Pet, ingredients Acetic Acid and boris acid solution - don't ask what this is though.

I don't know about pain killers, just look at this site. At least the stuff doesn't seem to contain steroids. https://www.rimadyl.com

It is so sad when your dog suffers and you feel helpless.

Hope he gets well soon.

[Laura Kolbach]

Rimadyl is primary made for pain cause by join problems, arthritis, after surgeries, or to easy HD caused pain, so i would use that one on this kind of pain.

[Ossian]

Oh dear. What a miserable time everyone is having.

Lesson...... most of us have come through some rotten weather, wet, snowy, lots of puddles and muck, maybe dogs in the bath more often.
The heating has been on and maybe a bit warmer. Damp dog, sweaty dog, long ear flaps and not enough "airiation" around the ears. Ladies you will know that "dampness" in other warm areas will lead to a possible yeasty or fungal infection.

Dogs ears are prone to this and you need to be vigilant all the time. Dry out ears carefully and try to ensure that they get a period of time where the air flows around the ears. I always tell my training class that you should check your dog every day and a quick sniff in the ears will tell you very quickly if you are heading for trouble. A clean ear is one thing but a dirty ear has its own recognisable smell.

Do NOT poke in ears. There is quite a deep channel and if you dont know what you are doing rely on your ear med to losen up the gunk and then wipe away with cotton pad or paper towel as it comes to the surface. Use one piece for each wipe and never do both ears with the same cloth.

Rymadil is NOT a good pain med for this. This is an inflammation! Better with half a junior aspirin and offer six drops of Rescue Remedy which might help them sleep.
This is like dealing with children who have earache or are cutting teeth. Apply the same sensibilities.

Best of all get back to the vet.

A really good basic maintenance is Thornit (most shows or go online)

[Sue and Cash]

My breeder was very unhappy that I used one dose of the pain meds. She said that medication killed Cash's grandmother. So that was stopped! I felt horrible, but he is fine. He is playing and running around this morning which is a great sign he is on the mend. I am ordering the ear cleaner dermapet per my breeders instructions what the vet gave us for weekly cleaning as stated above isn't working and making it worse. Thanks all so much. At least he got his first dog bed yesterday and has settled into it like it was made for him and him only. Spoiled little boy.