? ear infection

[Jackie]

I'm trying to figure out if Beckett has an ear infection. He has been shaking his head, just alittle. But right now he isn't. His ears don't smell either. He was scratching them but just seems like a "dog thing". He had a cone on for a few days after his neutering. I don't know if that could have anything to do with it....? not enough air getting to ears, etc. I've been searching here and saw a post about Zymox. I was wondering if it really works. Should I take him to the vets on Monday or just watch and see what happens. Or if Zymox works, should I just go and order some instead of going to the vet.?

[Eva (Lilo and Rocky)]

Hi,

if his ear is bright red and smells bad, he probably has an ear infection. If his ear is pink and there is no foul smell, he probably does not have an ear infection... an ear infection can be bacterial or yeast, and you need to know which kind it is to treat it properly; ie, the vet will have to culture it. Or, he could potentially have ear mites - look for dark discharge from the ear.

Hope this helps!

[Ali]

It could still be the beginning of an ear infection, I would take the dog to the vet just in case. Ear infections along with sinus infections should be taken very seriously for both dogs and humans. These infections, if left untreated, can go straight to the brain. My mom was an ER nurse for several years, and I asked her all sorts of questions and one questions I asked was what was the saddest thing you was in the ER, and it was a child died from a sinus infection because her parents neglected to take her to the doctor (sorry to make it depressing), but I just wanted everyone to warn people of the seriousness of these infections in all animals. On a happier not, modern medicine is AMAZING!

Also, I use some dog ear cleaning solution that you can get from any pet store as a prevention for ear infections. Since doodles have floppy ears, they are very prone to ear infections. Sometimes if I notice she is shaking her head a little more than normal, I will give her more solution in her ears. It always seems to work, but this is only without the signs of an ear infection (smell, redness). So maybe there is something just in there that needs to get out. Good luck with everything.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Eva is correct in what she says; there is a big difference between yeast and bacterial ear infections, and the way they are treated. You need to consult a vet before using any kind of treatment other than plain ear-cleaning solutions (such as Epi-Otic).
Another very likely possibility is that Beckett has excess hair in his ears which is bothering him. One of our other members had this same issue recently...dog's ears didn't smell, weren't inflamed, but he was shaking his head & scratching. She took him to the vet, and it was just too much hair in the ears. Dogs with wooly, poodle-y coats need to have the hair plucked from their ears regularly; if you use a professional groomer, they should be doing this at his groomings. If you are grooming him yourself, you will need to learn how to do it without hurting him; I had a groomer once hurt my poodle's ear so badly from plucking her ear-hair too roughly that she developed an infection from the subsequent scratching of the raw area.
You can look down into the ear & see if there is any wooly hair in there- there should not be. You can also try cleaning them with Epi-otic solution and cotton. I believe in taking an animal to the vet if they seem to be in some pain or discomfort, so I would take him. Good luck!

[Teresa]

My experience has been that when we are questioning something, our gut is usually telling us a story. If he is doing something out of the norm, get it checked. Ear infections can also be caused by getting too much moisture in them that gets trapped, resulting in yeast infections. They don't smell and are not obvious, but you don't want to leave it. They are easy to cure but you want to get at it quickly. For the cost of a quick trip to the vet, it is always worth it.

[Jackie]

OK, thanks for the help and info. He isn't doing anything now, it figures...lol but I think I'll check with the vet anyway. And also check what they recommend for normal cleaning. It should be ok to wait till Monday, right? They aren't red and no smell.

[Ali]

Yeah, it should be okay to wait until Monday.

[Eva (Lilo and Rocky)]

I would personally feel 100% fine about waiting until Monday... I would not delay if there are sure signs of an infection, but that doesn't seem to be the case with Beckett, at least from what you're saying. As with "real" kids, some problems tend to fix themselves in a day or two. Maybe he just got some dirt into his ear, or some ear wax got stuck! Let us know how it goes...

Btw, search DK forums for ear + infection and you'll find some older discussions on this topic.

[Belinda Stevens]

I had the same problem with Stella a while back. She loves to go swimming so she does get a lot of water in her ears. I didn't know if that had anything to do with it. But, I ended up taking her to the vet. She checked her for mites and all was clear but there was some "goop" in the one ear. She said she may have a slight infection (probably from swimming) and gave me some meds to put in her ear. I also started pulling the hair out of her ears to help keep them dry or rather not hold the moisture and this has seemed to work. I just did it again this morning and amazingly she loves having it done.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Thanks, Belinda, you pointed out what I had forgotten to mention...it IS the hair that holds the moisture in! My poodle loved to have her ears cleaned! She used to make little grunting sounds when I massaged around the base, it must feel so good!

[Jackie]

I took Beckett in today. He does have an infection. They gave him antibiotic cream and a bottle of ear cleaner. They said to use the cream until gone but that I should use the liquid cleanser once a week, all the time!! They say floppy ear dogs are prone to infections and better safe than sorry. Does anyone else have cleanser to clean out ears once a week? They said to use what they have and just come back in to get new bottles of it. Is there a cleanser I can get at a pet store or should I keep using theirs?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I like Epi-Otic best, and have used it for years. I get it at the vet, but I know there are cheaper sources out there. My poodle loved to have me clean her ears with it...she would lie there and make little grunting noises when I massaged around her ear, lol!

[Gina]

I use epi-otic, my dog was having repeated, or one long infection, which was very hard to treat. We use epi-otic all the time, and you can get a great deal on huge bottles through 1800 pet meds. May be cheaper than buying at the vet.