Wax Buildup |

It’s important to know how to clean your dog’s ears the right way.

If you observe your dog repeatedly shaking its head or rubbing its ears along the nearest available surface, or if you smell a foul odor coming from its ears, check the ears for a waxy build-up. In addition, the ears may be red and painfully inflamed.

All of these signs are symptoms of otitis externa, or more commonly referred to as ‘ear infections’. As I write this my own dog has decided to demonstrate it for me. He sat up abruptly, starting shaking his head furiously, then lay back down on the rug and began rubbing the side of his head back and forth on the rug.

Canine ear infections result from an overgrowth of yeast or bacteria in the ear canal, causing redness, irritation and a heavy accumulation of wax. These conditions are usually skin reactions to inhaled allergens – like pollen, mold or dust mites. They can also be caused by food allergies and sensitivity to other external sources. If your dog has large ears like mine, it will be predisposed to ear infections.

We humans usually develop ear infections as a result of viral infections, usually when we’re babies or very young. The Eustachian tubes in our ears are very small and respiratory congestion can lead to blockage of these canals, resulting in a middle ear infection. Because the infection is internal, oral antibiotics are usually required to clear up the infection.

In contrast, dogs usually develop ear infections after they become adults, and the infection is almost always confined to the external portion of the ear. In most cases, the application of an effective ear wash made especially for dogs will clear up a mild infection and leave your dog’s ears clean again. I have used Ear Wash for Dogs from DogsHealth. This is an all-natural, proprietary blend of citrus oils with deionized water. It helps clear my dog’s ear canals of any accumulated debris and reduces wax buildup without alcohol, harsh chemicals or irritants that are common in other leading brands.

If you suspect your dog may be suffering from a serious ear infection that doesn’t respond to cleaning, you should check with your veterinarian for diagnosis and treatment. If necessary, your vet may prescribe a topical medicine and advise routine cleaning with a product like Ear Wash for Dogs.

Knowing when and how to clean your dog’s ears is an important part of the care and maintenance required of all dog owners.

The Trouble with May Amelia by Jennifer L. Holm (4/5/11)

My brother Wilbert tells me that I’m like the grain of sand in an oyster. Someday I’ll be a Pearl, but I will nag and irritate the poor oyster and everyone else up until then (p 1).

This is a review of an advance reader copy provided by the publisher, Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division.

It is 1900 and May Amelia lives with her five brothers (the sixth and oldest, Matti, eloped with an Irish girl to San Francisco), cousin Kaarlo, and Mamma and Pappa on a farm in Nasel, Washington.

Her hard life on the farm – cooking, mending clothing, going to school to learn English, and tending the animals and land – is tempered by hijinks and humor. Amelia is surrounded by boys, often mistaken for a boy and prefers to treated like a boy rather than a No Good Girl.

Several new characters arrive in Nasel: Jaakko and his younger sister, Helmi - May Amelia’s cousins - arrive from Finnland, traumatized by the murder of their mother. Matti and his Irish bride make an appearance. And Mr. F. B. Yerrington, who claims to “represent the interests of a group of gentleman who are looking to develop” Nasel, swindles several farm owners, including Pappa (p 50). May Amelia once again takes the blame and must go about setting things right.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The Trouble with May Amelia picks up just after Our Only May Amelia left off, though even more humorous and heartwarming than its predecessor. It is amazing what Holm accomplishes with terse dialog and expertly placed capital letters.

This three-time Newbery Honor author does it again with a poignant follow-up to a contemporary classic. A definite addition to my 2012 Mock Newbery list… which had included only Okay for Now until now.

admin | heritageveterinary.com

Veterinarians see a lot of patients with ear infections. In fact, it’s the second most common reason for a client visit, according to pet health insurer, VPI Pet Insurance. With ear problems prompting so many trips to the vet, should ear cleaning be a necessary part of grooming your pet?

Generally, cleaning a dog’s ears on a routine basis is not necessary, according to Leonard Jonas, DVM, MS, DACVIM, a veterinarian with Wheat Ridge Animal Hospital in Wheat Ridge, Colo. That’s because animals have a naturally occurring self-cleansing process.

“I’ve had pets my whole life,” Jonas said. “I don’t remember ever routinely cleaning out their ears.”

However, that doesn’t mean pet owners should never take notice of their dog’s ears. Certain breeds, lifestyles and physical characteristics will make a dog more prone to what Jonas calls “abnormal situations,” in which the pet’s normal homeostasis is disrupted. This is when something, either systemically or locally in the ear, interferes with the normal surface barrier defense system and the normal cleaning process that keeps bacteria and yeast under control.

There are signs to watch for if your pet is having an issue with its ears. These, according to Jonas, include:

• Shaking its head


• Flapping its ears


• Rubbing at its ears, either with a paw or by rubbing against furniture or carpet


• Self-massaging the ear to ease itch, pain or irritation


• Debris and/or redness inside the ear


• Sores inside the ear


• Odor in the ear due to abnormal oils and bacteria

“If you [the pet owner] look in the ear, you can see sometimes a lot of debris,” said Jonas, explaining what an ear with an infection or problem may look like. “Then [you] see redness on the ear flaps (inside) or sores developing. And then there’s also odor that occurs when you have an abnormal ear.”

Breeds to watch
There are certain breeds of dogs—such as Shar Peis, bulldogs and poodles—that have narrow ear canals and have a higher chance of incurring ear issues. Poodles, especially, have more hair in the canals, Jonas explained. “The hair itself is not a problem, but if they’ve got something abnormal with their whole defense system, all that extra hair in there makes it difficult.”

Cocker spaniels are notorious for ear problems, Jonas added.

When to clean your pet’s ears
According to Jonas, it’s best to consult your veterinarian before going forward with an ear-cleaning regimen. Unlike cleaning the teeth, cleaning the ears does not need be done regularly. If a pet owner suspects that something may be wrong with the ear, it’s advised to visit the veterinarian and establish whether the dog’s ear needs to be cleaned by the owner either routinely or for an instructed period of time.

Cleaning the dog’s ears without first seeing a veterinarian is not a good idea, Jonas said, “because you don’t know what’s going on inside. You don’t know if there has been a ruptured ear drum; you don’t know if there’s a stick or a stone or something stuck down inside the ear that needs to be fished out by a veterinarian.”

A veterinarian can diagnose the problem and make the proper recommendations, which may be cleaning and/or medication.

Typically, there are two situations for which a dog’s ears would need to be cleaned regularly. The first is when a veterinarian instructs for it to be done, and the second is when the dog is frequently in water. “Water in their ears disrupts the normal defense barrier system in that ear, and can make them prone to getting infections and irritation and inflammation,” Jonas said.

If there needs to be ear cleaning
A veterinarian should show the owner how to properly clean the dog’s ears because “there are a lot of different techniques, and it depends on what the problem is,” Jonas advised.

There are a couple of precautions to always remember, according to Jonas. First, never use a Q-tip, because it tends to push the wax and debris further into the ear. Second, be sure a groomer does not pluck the hair out of the dog’s ears, unless that hair is contributing to an ear problem; Jonas believes that doing so may cause irritation.

One thing pet owners should also consider is that if the dog has an ear infection, it could be very painful for them. Forcing the dog to get its ears cleaned or putting medication in them can be a dangerous situation for the owner and the dog.

“If your pet doesn’t want you to do it, don’t, because it hurts,” Jonas said. “You’re just going to create a problem, and you need to look to alternatives.”

Originally published by Healthy Pet.

Does your dog have a dog house? It’s Dog House Repairs Month! Make sure their house is not made of pressure treated wood if they are a puppy or a chewer! Pressure treated wood is treated with arsenic and is poisonous to pets if consumed!

People Who Dog-Ear Library Book Pages

Please write me a limerick about those assholes who dog-ear the pages of library books. As much as I’d prefer it if you could just make these people suffocate in their sleep, I think a limerick would ease my pain. Tell them to get a book mark or to learn how to remember numbers or to finish a chapter, so a book mark is non-essential. I don’t know. You’re the artist. -CA

Courtesy has just disappeared
Another page I find dog-eared
You don’t own this page
You belong in a cage
They make bookmarks. Go buy one. You’re weird.

dog ear infection | Modern Hound

Tag Archive | dog ear infection

December 24, 2011  

• in Dog Health, Uncategorized
  


• 3 Comments

Ear infection

Yesterday Ginny and I took a trip to see the vet at Pets Unlimited. In addition to identifying her skin problems as a chronic allergy that has probably plagued her all her life, she diagnosed an ear infection. Ear infections are commonly associated with allergies. Ginny’s scabby, speckled skin chronic allergies have probably given her ear infections since she was a puppy.

Ear infections look different. My cat Phoebe also has chronic ear infections which look like she has extra dark brown wax in her kitty ears. The visible part of a normal cat’s ear should be clean; no wax, just healthy and pink. Yesterday I noticed that a client of mine, Moma* (who also has severe chronic allergies), also has an ear infection; his ear was crusty and scabby with a pool of mucus-like wax at the entrance to his ear canal. Ginny’s infection appeared somewhat less severe than Moma’s with dark crusty wax and what looked like severely dry skin around the edges.

Ear infections are frustrating in and of themselves – they can be painful and itchy for your pet. But chronic ear infections also have a sinister secondary effect: they can lead to a ruptured ear drum, deafness or facial nerve paralysis. My theory is that Ginny’s deafness is the result of failure to treat her chronic ear infections because, at the age of 8, she seems too young to have lost her hearing due to old age.

Long-eared dogs and those with hair in the visible area inside their ears are more susceptible to ear infections than those with pointy ears that don’t fold over. Other than allergies, drug reactions, the build up of hair or dead skin, the development of bacteria or fungus or excessive moisture caused by swimming. Common symptoms include pain, head shaking, scratching at the ears and a bad smell. In more serious ear infections, the inflammation spreads to the inner ear and can cause your dog to tilt his head, become uncoordinated, vomit or even develop anorexia.

If you suspect your dog has an ear infection, it is important to have it diagnosed by a vet. For less severe infections that have not entered the middle ear, she will probably prescribe drops to be massaged in to the ear canal a couple of times a day; this is the treatment Ginny is now on. These infections typically clear up in three to four weeks. For more difficult infections, oral antibiotics and/or antifungals may be prescribed.

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DogEar Reading Challenge Wrapup

This is the last post for my DogEar Reading challenge. I finished it yesterday. The five books I read were:

The Snowflake
The Voyages of Dr. Dolittle
Growing Your Own Vegetables
Search for the Golden Moon Bear
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell

If you’ve completed the challenge, use the Mr. Linky below to link to your wrap-up post (you have to click through to view the mister linky- it doesn’t show up in the reader I don’t know why). At the end of the month I’ll draw a name and one lucky participant will win the prize (your choice of any three books from my swap shelf- 228 titles- some of my handmade bookmarks, or BookMooch points). I know several of you have already completed the challenge and written up your final posts; please leave your link here again so your name is sure to be included in the drawing.

I’m trying to decide if I want to host a reading challenge again next year. I liked doing it, but didn’t get many participants. I feel like a different (more focused) theme would be more interesting, and perhaps I had poor timing in when it started- everyone was already involved in so many other reading challenges! Any feedback on this is appreciated- what can I do better next time? is it advisable to host the challenge on its own site? should I let it run all year instead of six months? or are there just so many other reading challenges already out there that it’s kind of pointless adding mine to the mix…?