Among the things I dread most with Cooper is this: an ear infection.
And, here we are.
We haven’t been to the vet yet, but I’m nearly 100% certain he has an ear infection. He started shaking his head and pawing at his ears a couple days ago. I looked, and his left ear was pretty gunky. It’s a Whole Big Thing to clean Cooper’s ears. He flips out.
Over the past couple days, we’ve been doing treats + headlock + cotton ball soaked in solution. He tucks his tail and shakes and attempts to run and hide from us. He yelps. He flails. It’s torture. For him and for us. In fact, last night took it to a whole new level and actually snapped his teeth, which broke my heart.
But, we battled him to clean his ears with the wild hope that it was just dirt, that it would clear up. But, two days of fighting, and it almost instantly refills. It’s an infection. I know it must be insanely painful for him to have these infections. I know it must be scary for a him, high-strung nervous dog, to deal with this ear situation. He doesn’t understand what’s happening. He just knows it hurts. But there is literally no way around it.
If history is any indication, we’re on the cusp of his serious seasonal allergy attack. Along with the ears, yesterday I noted he’s started licking his feet, a sure sign of impending allergic doom, and his eyes have been little faucets. I want to get him on this supposed miracle allergy drug called Apoquel, but they under-produced the pill and have put clinics on a waitlist. As of last fall, we were first in line for it if our clinic got any in, so when he sees the vet, we’re going to make sure we’re still queued up for that. I have a lot of hope for that drug, to be honest, because it’s pretty much the only/last option for him, even though I don’t think it would affect his ear situation.
Incidentally, this is the first time our new vet here will have to deal with Cooper and his ears… the last two times were in Louisiana, and before that, we had a different vet in Indiana. I’m going to give him his anti-anxiety supplement before we go in the hopes that it’ll take some of the edge off. No joke, last time he had to have his ear swabbed, it took four people. Four. To swab his ear.
So, I have that to look forward to.
Depending on how his vet visit goes, I may or may not have fingers to type any longer so this may be my last post-HA!
Anyway, super, super sorry for the gripe fest! I know many of you deal with similar issues–allergies, fears, health stress, etc.–so here’s hoping your summer season is off to a better start than Cooper’s!
Sorry to hear of Cooper’s ear infection and the struggle it implies for you! I hope he heals quickly. Ear infections are terrible!
Thanks, Eliza! We got an appointment for first thing in the morning. Then we start the ear medicine war! 🙂
I got your website from your mom who I know from the Knit Stop. How did the vet visit go? Our vet has Apoquel in if yours didn’t have any: Allisonville Animal Hospital in Indy. We use it on our dog who licks his paws constantly. It works! 🙂
Hi, Miriam! It went well – he’s been on Apoquel for a few days now, and I do think it’s making a difference. Thank you so much for the recommendation because our vet said they might not have it in for too long!! So glad it’s helped your pup!
I found Joy Of The Mountains Wild Oil Of Oregano to work on clearing ear infections in my dogs: http://www.joyofthemountains.com/. (They have a pet version, but it is too weak to work properly.)
Good luck!
Thank you so much for the recommendation! I will definitely check this out!
Gussie has one ear, that is always gunky and bugs him. Our problem is that Maggie his sister is always cleaning his ears, to the point of making them red, and dry….I had to clean them last night though and use his medicine. He is okay with me doing that….its the nails that are a BIG deal at our house.
stella rose’s momma
They can’t make it easy on us, can they? 🙂
Poor Cooper. My boy, Wishbone, is this bad, or worse, about getting his nails trimmed. Or, even having his feet TOUCHED! I dread the day he steps on a piece of glass!
Have you tried a THUNDERSHIRT? This actually works well for predictible problems, like nails or even thunderstorms or fireworks. Obviously, with reactive dogs, they can’t just wear it everyday, all the time, even though I’m convinced that it would help Wishbone with seeing children running and yelling on a playground or seeing other dogs out the car window, I just can’t imagine making him wear this day in, day out. But, it certainly could help calm Cooper for the actual ear treatments. It’s not cheap, but it is well made and looks like it would last forever if washed by hand and kept out of chewing range. 🙂
Just another possibility.Wishbone also gets 1 AMITRIPTALINE tablet (doseage appropriate to weight) twice a day, for OCD licking of his inner thighs. He’s down to 1 a day with good redults. Didn’t know if you’ve considered this either.
Reactive boys sure keep us on our toes…and keep the vets in business!
lol
Hope Cooper feels better.
That is SUCH a great suggestion! Thank you! I absolutely will try anything to diminish the torture we ALL experience when he gets an ear infection! I *suspect* we may have to turn to something stronger than his herbal anti-anxiety, so I made a note of your recommendation. Thank you so much, and you’re SO right – they sure do keep us jumping!!!
Hershey’s eyes have been pretty runny too! Graham has been scratching so much he’s scabbed up his poor neck! Maybe it’s the trees, they’re about the only thing that’s alive in my backyard! I hope Cooper feels better asap!
I actually think the tree pollen is the worst offender!! Hope your pups are itch-fee soon!
It sounds like Haley has the same allergy related issues as Cooper and she suffered on and off for years with yeast ear infections. When we switched vets a few years ago, our new vet used some type of thick, waxy medicine to “infuse” her ears. It completely fills up the ear canal and keeps the medicine in place inside the ear for about two weeks.
Her ears still get a little itchy from time to time when the allergies kick up, but she hasn’t had an infection since then. I wasn’t sure if Cooper’s infections are yeast type or if your vet has already tried that type of medicine, but I thought I would share our experience. I hope Cooper’s feeling better soon, don’t you just hate allergies? Ugh!
YES!!! That is exactly what she gave us today, so here’s hoping it works. I’m so glad to hear your experience with Haley because this was totally new to me! Thank you for sharing!
Unfortunately ear infections and allergies are linked. I had serious problems with my dogs ear infections until I seem to have found a workable solution. Occasionally I have to use Otomax when things are not controllable but for normal maintenance I have found “vet’s best ear wash and dry” http://www.amazon.com/Vets-Best-Relief-4-Ounce-2-Pack/dp/B0002AQMB4
The first bottle is for cleaning out the ear and the second bottle produces a white gel that dries and turns into a white powder that keeps the ear dry. This has saved me tons in vet bills and antibiotics.
Good Luck
Oooh, yes! We’ve used that two-part system, too. I feel like the drying step is key because this hot, humid weather and their dark ear canals… it’s the perfect breeding ground for infection. Thanks for sharing your experience!!
Aw, poor Cooper!! My heart goes out to him. And to you and John. Callie has seasonal allergies at times, but her ears don’t get too bad. I can usually clean them with warm water and a cotton swab. If they get red, or she starts shaking her head, I’ll take her to the vet. Poor Ducky has been getting ant bites this spring/early summer. I had to give her Benadryl for a while but she isn’t scratching as much any more.
Oooh, poor Ducky!! Those ant bites are so uncomfortable!!
I’ll be thinking of you! I dread the day Luke has any issues like this. I tried cleaning his ears and he wants nothing to do with it. We’ve been battling just trying to pick ticks off him. He does not like to be touched when he knows you’re doing anything to him. Other than that, he loves hugs and rubs, but he knows the difference.
We handled him all the time when he was a puppy, but all of the sudden one day he decided he didn’t want to be handled anymore.
It was a battle getting his one year vaccinations, and I don’t even know how they will do anything else to him, like blood tests. He is afraid of strangers and would not let the vet near him. This all started later, when he was a puppy he was fine with all of that.
I may need to consult you for lots of advice down the road! Anyway, didn’t mean to make this about ME, I hope things go as well as possible for Cooper with this.
It sounds like Cooper and Luke have SO much in common because same thing: we handled Coop all the time as a puppy. He was fine with everything, even down to brushing his teeth. Then, poof! No more teeth brushing, nail trimming, ear cleaning, no strangers, etc. and he totally knows the difference between when I’m snuggling him to snuggle and when I’m trying to sneakily clean his ears. These boys…
I’m just glad to know that Luke is not alone in his neuroses……though we use less kind terms around here like “nuts” and “crazy”….LOL…all said lovingly of course!
So how did Cooper do at the vet?