Quote:
Originally Posted by Parka  All great questions.
He has been getting ear infections yearly for about 8 years straight now. He typically gets one in the spring, and sometimes one in the fall too. But almost always one in the spring. It usually takes a month to clear up and then it either reoccurs in the fall or not until the following spring. He usually gets them in both ears at the same time, but one ear is always way worse. In the past he'd start shaking his head and yawning a lot when he had an ear infection, but this time he didn't tell me. He was just at the vet two weeks ago and his ears were fine at that time. I wonder if it's stress related, or maybe being handled by so many strangers during exams for the eye issue.
He doesn't itch his ears or lick his paws. He does a lot of air licking and has been doing that since I got him, and sometimes he rubs his face on things. Mostly after eating or pooping. I was told he's just neurotic.
He had a dental back in January. They removed some teeth that were bothering him. He has been getting them yearly since I got him, with the exception of one year when something happened with his heart and they had to wake him up. In the years since his dentals have been problem free.
I feed him ID gastrointestinal low fat kibble. We have been through a lot of different foods and this seems to be the one that keeps him from getting sick. He's had many bouts with pancreatitis and some liver issues. All is well now.
As far as his current condition goes... I've never had a problem giving him ear drops before, but this time he's super surly. His ears must really hurt. I'm doing the best I can to get the drops in his ears but I think I'm going to have to be creative. The bottle has a long thin tip that he does not like, and I'm not stealthy enough to get it in his ear without him noticing. He definitely doesn't feel well, he's extremely grumpy and has been sleeping in weird places all day. |
Anytime there are repeated recurrent infections in a dog, I always recommend at least looking at the other random symptoms of Cushings:
https://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/di...s-disease.html
Have they actually swabbed the ears and grown it out in culture for 14 days to see *which* bug or fungus is truly causing these infections...?
The seasonal nature of these infections could be allergen related. I'd be talking to my Vet about especially the spring time and perhaps trying to ramp up on either Atopica or Apoquel the month before he usually gets the infection - and see if that helps prevent it.
Is that ID grain free kibble btw? If not -- and if this ear issue is fungal (ie, yeast), I'd be wanting my kiddo on grain free something for sure (but low fat in your case) -- bc yeast loooooves carbs!
With air licking, could be GERD - which Pepcid can help with in a snap:
https://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/di...wallowing.html