Do you clean ears?

[kjc]

Sick dogs should never be vaccinated. If her ear infection was bad enough to be put on antibiotics, then the vet should have waited to vaccinate her until she's done the medication. The medication and the antibodies her own body produces against infection can stop the vaccines just given from working. Safest thing to do now would be to have her finish her meds and wait about a month, then have some of the vaccines repeated.
If your pup is on the small side, she may handle being vaccinated slowly better... by that I mean get her the DHPP on month, the next month get her the Rabies (if she's old enough).

Pulling ear hair can hurt, but they get used to it. Once it's done, you can easily maintain the ears as it doesn't all grow back in at the same time. Two or three plucks each bath time and she should be good to go.

Sorry, i see 4.4 pounds. Small.

[kjc]

PS: I think I'd be looking for a new vet... one with experience with small dogs.

[Britster]

Are ear infections and things of the like something that some dogs are more prone to?

I've never cleaned Jackson's ears and *knock on wood* no problems. He swims all summer too. He does get professionally groomed every 10 weeks or so where they do pluck the ear hair, etc.

[Maximo]

Originally Posted by Britster

Are ear infections and things of the like something that some dogs are more prone to?

I've never cleaned Jackson's ears and *knock on wood* no problems. He swims all summer too. He does get professionally groomed every 10 weeks or so where they do pluck the ear hair, etc.

I have read that dogs with floppy ears are more prone to infections because air doesn't circulate as easily in the ear. Ear hair can also trap dirt and moisture which can lead to infections.

I use Vet Solutions with a drying agent after baths when I remember, but I am not very consistent with it. We haven't had any problems either.

[Ellie May]

Did the vet put the swab under a microscope to determine the type of infection? A little bit of wax/dirt is not necessarily abnormal. Even if there is an infection present, I really would not worry about the fact that vaccines were given. I'd have my dogs vaccinated with a mild ear infection. Everybody has their own comfort level. Being sleepy after vaccines is normal and wouldn't have anything to do with a concurrent ear issue in most cases. As long as her gums are pink and wet and it has been less than a day, it doesn't sound like something to be concerned about. Call the vet if you're concerned. If she is having a reaction, Benadryl can be given and if she is in pain, the vet can prescribe something.

Yes, all of you that don't deal with ear issues are very lucky. We go two or three months without a yeast issue here and that is "good" for us. Allergy dogs are more prone to issues...

[Donnainohio63]

I clean all 5 of mines ears after every bath. The groomer gave me some of the stuff that she uses to clean their ears when they go there. She also plucks all the hair out when they go but I am thinking if I had the tool I could do it. Gonna ask her about it tomorrow and see what she thinks.

[uabutterfly]

hi all, thank you for the help and concern. She is feeling fine now. She is almost 5 years old and 4.4 lbs. Since she was feeling completely fine before the vaccines, I actually stopped giving her the meds (she only had 2 doses and yes I know it wasnt the smartest thing), just to rule that out as the reason that she was not feeling well. The ears look COMPLETELTY fine, not red at all and no she did not look under the microscope so I doubt it is much of an ear infection and really just a small amount of wax. She had blood drawn too, which was fine. Im going to restart the meds now because we are getting our yearly dental next week. The vet that we saw was not our regular vet. I guess he is expanding his practice and it was a new girl.....I should have trusted my gut ;(

[Lovetodream88]

Originally Posted by uabutterfly

Yes, she received all the vaccines also. She seemed completely fine before our trip to the vet and is now acting very tried and sick like. I really dont think it is from the ears because it was SO minor and she was fine before. I think it is probably a little reaction from the vaccines as her body is working to make the antibodies or maybe because they took blood too for yearly labs and she is so little (4.4). Im sure that she will be fine in a couple days but it is just breaking my heart. I even gave her turkey lunch meat (which I NEVER do). I read that some of you pluck the ear hair and one of the vet techs mentioned this also. Doesnt that hurt? thanks!

Everything thing I read says that ear plucking doesn't hurt. Callie never seems to mind it but it is important to do because the ear hair will hold moisture causing ear infections and such. Hope your baby is feeling better soon.

[apple718]

Same here I use a good ear cleaner a day before a bath to sort of break up or loosen the dirt or wax. Then after the bath I use 2 cotton swabs and stick them half way in the ears and swirl around and you be surprised how much dirt and wax Im able to extract which tells me his ears are clean. They say you're not suppose to stick anything in dog or human ears but I do it to my ears so I think if you're careful and not jam it all the way into the ear drums it should be fine.

Without the Q tips there's just no way to really get all the gunk out of there.

[_Chrissy_]

Originally Posted by Maximo

I have read that dogs with floppy ears are more prone to infections because air doesn't circulate as easily in the ear. Ear hair can also trap dirt and moisture which can lead to infections.

I use Vet Solutions with a drying agent after baths when I remember, but I am not very consistent with it. We haven't had any problems either.

We use Vet Solutions too

[Ellie May]

I don't get how people are standing the smells of some of these cleaners!!

I bough Epi-Otic awhile back. Ended up giving it away because the smell is just..gross. Then I just bought Vet Solutions (bought it for somebody else and remembered liking the smell). Now I hate the smell. There goes more money. Looks like it's back to Nolva-Clens for us.

[Bitsy]

Originally Posted by Ellie May

I don't get how people are standing the smells of some of these cleaners!!

I bough Epi-Otic awhile back. Ended up giving it away because the smell is just..gross. Then I just bought Vet Solutions (bought it for somebody else and remembered liking the smell). Now I hate the smell. There goes more money. Looks like it's back to Nolva-Clens for us.

I don't like the smell either. I do have some from Cain & Abel that as an eucalyptus smell, which is better. I also have some Virbac that I got from my vet. I rotate these out. What I do is this: I put the ear solution in their ears right before the bath and massage the base of the ear. Then I give the bath being very careful to not get water in the ear, but washing around the ear. The smell of the shampoo and conditioner take away the smell of the ear solution.

I never pluck ear hair. At the last visit the vet said Sophia's ears looked great. Peyton had a little wax. They have different textured hair from each other and different amounts of ear hair, etc. Which is what makes it different. She just
said to use the ear cleaner and gently wipe with a cotton ball.

[Bitsy]

Btw, OP, antibiotics should never be started and then stopped for a time and then restarted. They need the full dose for the set amount of time to get rid of an infection.

You probably need to contact your vet to get a full run of the antibiotics. When you don't take the full course you can actually make the infection immune to the antibodies. I would call your vet and tell them what happened and see what they recommend.

Ear infections are nothing to play around with. You really can't "see" an infection with your eyes...so just because her ears "look" fine does NOT mean they are. Do you trust your vet? If you do then you shouldn't question if the vet was right about the infection or not. If you don't trust your vet then why go there? Get a new vet!

Good luck!

(okay, just reread that you had a new girl instead of your vet. I used to go to a place that had a different person each time. I have since switched and make sure I always see my vet that I love and trust! )

[Marlee12107]

My vet told me to mix vinegar &b alcohol 1/2 & 1/2 and use that in her ears. Also good for long eared dogs like Labs that don't get much air in their ears.

[kjc]

Originally Posted by Ellie May

Did the vet put the swab under a microscope to determine the type of infection? A little bit of wax/dirt is not necessarily abnormal. Even if there is an infection present, I really would not worry about the fact that vaccines were given. I'd have my dogs vaccinated with a mild ear infection. Everybody has their own comfort level. Being sleepy after vaccines is normal and wouldn't have anything to do with a concurrent ear issue in most cases. As long as her gums are pink and wet and it has been less than a day, it doesn't sound like something to be concerned about. Call the vet if you're concerned. If she is having a reaction, Benadryl can be given and if she is in pain, the vet can prescribe something.

Yes, all of you that don't deal with ear issues are very lucky. We go two or three months without a yeast issue here and that is "good" for us. Allergy dogs are more prone to issues...

Your response surprises me, but here I will agree to disagree with you on this issue. By comfort level do you mean the amount of risk that one is willing to take with their pup's life?


To the OP: Here are some facts:

1. Vaccines are made strong enough to immunize dogs that weigh 100 pounds. Your dog weighs 4.4 pounds. This is why multiple vaccines, and many times single vaccines can make little dogs sick for a few days after getting them.

2. Vaccines challenge a dog's immune system, and causes the dog's system to produce antibodies against specific diseases, depending on the vaccine(s) given.

Infection, injury, and surgery also cause a dog's immune system to work, and when a sick dog is vaccinated, the sick dog's immune system will attack the vaccine, rendering it unable to produce the desired response from the dog's immune system. As the dog's body is already fighting off illness, it may not be capable of making enough antibodies to make it 'protected' from the disease the vaccines are intended for.

3. The vaccines given to dogs cause the dogs' immune system to work for 3-4 weeks. All dogs are different, some have stronger immune systems than others, there's no easy way to tell. This is why some dogs don't have a problem with vaccines, or other 'challenges' to their immune systems, and some do end up having problems.

4. It is the safer option to get vaccines 4 weeks apart from each other, and to schedule elective surgeries and procedures a month apart from getting vaccines, recovering from surgery or other injury, and any illness. This ensures that the dog's immune system is fully available and ready to function for the challenge you present to it.

5. Disease (from mild to severe states and even death) can result from over-challenging a dog's immune system.


My opinion:

All dog owners (especially small dog owners) need to be aware of the above mentioned facts. Informed owners make better decisions regarding their pet's health, and their own 'comfort levels'.

I highly encourage you to print this out and take it to your vet for discussion.