Ear = Fire Engine Red

[Lindsey, Lee, Whopper and Simba]

On Saturday morning, Mr. Snuggly Simba was lying on our bed trying to get as much affection as he possibly could.  As I was giving him lots of love, one ear flipped over and it was literally fire engine red.  I had never seen anything like it so I flipped over the other and it was completely normal in coloring.  I immediately thought ear infection...but while there was clearly something going on, Simba never was rubbing or scratching his ear, he was eating and drinking normally, and still had his usual disposition. 

I called our vet to get an appointment and they were all booked until 4PM on Monday.  I was really frustrated and continue to question whether this new vet is the right vet for us.  While he wasn't acting differently, this ear was just too red to ignore or wait until Monday.  Our only available option was Banfield at that point.  We took him in and they immediately said he definitely has an infection.  They took a swab and came back to report that it was definitely yeast and the growth count was in the thousands.  They showed us how to clean his ear every other day and how to apply the drops twice a day.  They said to come back in two weeks for them to check it out again.

So two questions:

 

Is it normal for an ear infection to be so visibly obvious but have no other signs or signals from the dog before it gets so bad? 

Secondly, should we go back to Banfield for the follow up or return to the vet that we plan to use (although their availability is becoming an issue)?  Only the vet at Banfield will know how it looked but I've heard horror stories about Banfield and really want to just make sure we are getting him the best care at this point.

 

Thanks in advance!

[Mustard Seed Ranch]

I am not a fan of Banfield but its not because of the vets. As my vet explains it they heavily court the vet schools and they pay VERY WELL with excellent benefits so they usually get very good vets. The issue is it is run by a corporation and the corporation makes the decisions as to protocols and what products to use, sell, push etc. I certainly dont recommend them though I have many people that use them and really like them so if your experience was good with that particular vet there then by all means you can go back for your follow up I say.

[Lindsey, Lee, Whopper and Simba]

Thanks for your insight.  After doing research on our local Banfield and evaluating our needs, we have decided to bring Simba back to our original vet for his follow up.