Poor Cocoa

[Lindsey & Cocoa]

3 weeks ago she had a round of puppy shots and I said something to the vet that her ears have been smelling to me.  She looked at them and laughed and said it might be my higtned smell from being pregnant and that all her ears need is the hair pulled out bad.  The next day she had her first groomer appointment and the groomer did her ears and commented when I picked her up about how hairy they were.

I could still smell them but figured maybe that's just how dogs with big floppy ears smell since my other dogs were yorkies and they had the small ears that stood up.

Last week I have noticed an increase in her itches and she would make noises while doing so at her ears. Saturday we started to notice her shaking her head, Sunday the head shaking was all day long. Today its bad and she keeps coming to me to rub around her ears... POOR COCOA   Her momma knew something was wrong but no one would listen to me.

So off to the vet we go tonight. I feel bad I can't take her this morning but I am too pregnant to pick her up, and she wont step out to the garage or into the car with out someone picking her up, so I have to wait until DH gets home to take her.

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

Awe poor cocoa. I'm sure with a little antibiotic ointment she'll be just fine. Isn't it frustrating when the vet doesn't listen to you? Don't they know that doodle momma's know best! Let us know how it goes.

[Jennifer,Chloe & Myla]

So sorry she has to go back and is suffering. I would teach her to try to get near the car at least on her own, positive coaxing and treats would probably work. I hope she gets the problem cleared up and feels better fast.

[Lindsey & Cocoa]

I am trying to work on getting her out the door on her own and then into the car.  until a couple weeks ago we thought we had a dog with Giardia and I did not take her any place in fear of infecting someone else's dog. So now instead of trying to train a 8 pound puppy to go bye bye nice I have to start with a 20 pound puppy that's crazy..lol

She does great on the leash in the back yard but that has been all she knows.  I have been trying to walk down to the mail box every couple days and she does ok once we are out of the garage but for some reason she doesnt want to come out the door alone.... part of me is happy because I am so scare if the big door is not down she might sneak past us and run away.

But when my husband came home he said its a good thing he was home to take her because she was just to hyper and out of control at the vets office I would have had a hard time with her.  he said the ladies were all playing with her and making a fuss over her and it was getting her very wound up.

[Leslie J]

My Cocoa says to tell your Cocoa to Get Well Soon!!! I'm sorry that after you were so careful it still came to this.  Hopefully your vet will be less dismissive next time.

[Lindsey & Cocoa]

Cocoa has yeast infection in her ears.  She got sent home with cleaner for her ears (need to do once a day for the rest of her life) I figured that other vet was wrong in telling me to not do it.  We also have to do drops.

After talking with the vet Dh thinks he might be the cause of it because for baths he was spraying the water on her head and cocoa loves the hose outside and he was spraying her head and body with it. The vet said this will probably be something she is prone to the rest of her life.  So for the cleaner, meds, office visit, rabies shot & next month of flea & tick $170.00 vet bill  GEEZE

[F, Calla & Luca]

Once a day! Maybe just now but you have gone from one extreme to another. Once every week or two eventually should be fine. Right now I'm doing every 3 weeks but if the dogs ears smelled yeasty I'd increase the frequency. All doodles are "prone" to this but for many it is easily prevented.

I buy my ear cleaner Malacetic Otic online. Not really expensive and it lasts a long time. If you think Cocoa has gotten water in her ears, cleaning and drying them should do the trick.

[Lindsey & Cocoa]

Opps sorry clean once a week and drops twice a day.

I think I am going to clean then every night for a couple days because they were very dirty.

[F, Calla & Luca]

That's more like it. Don't overdo or you can irritate the ear canals. The drops should take care of things.

[Kaytlin and Cooper]

Well, at least she will be getting some relief soon. vets sure arent cheap!. you can probably get a cleaner for cheaper at the pet store.

[Lindsey & Cocoa]

Yep I just googled and found the same cleaner online for half the price!

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

No they aren't cheap but that would be an average visit for me every time Murphy had an ear infection plus follow up visits cost too,even when it was to just check up to see how the Meds were working in 2 weeks. I finally wised up and said if he's no better then I will call you, otherwise, I can tell if he's improving or not. But that was after a LOT of experiecnce with ear infections.
He swims a lot and the year he swam several times a day in the ocean and a pool was his worst year, but the vet and I both felt we could clear infections as the occurred, but he should still enjoy swimming and he just loves it.
So yes Cocoa may be prone to ear infections for the rest of her life but you will learn what sets them off easily. Baths and water in the ear is usually the culprit if she's not swimming. Cotton balls in the ears for bath time then a good drying solution afterward, every time in our case! I use EpiOtic for this and keep the hair plucked routinely. I don't over pluck as I do believe that can cause a problem as well, but have found the happy medium and just pluck to keep them clean so they can dry quickly when wet.
We probably have 2x's the cost of a doodle invested in Murphy's ears, so I made sure I researched and asked loads of questions on here and at the vets. Also make sure your groomer knows to keep her ears dry when bathing. Good luck, but know that this is controllable even if she is prone to them.