[Snugglebugs]

I was at the vet today because our dog Donner has had an ear infection. I went there about 4 weeks ago to get some meds for Donners ear. I had to go back 2 weeks ago for a "recheck" and the vet was still not happy with the inside of his ear..said he still had a bunch of **** in it. Okay, fast forward to today..went for the 3rd recheck and she decided that because he fusses so much to clean his ears, and there is still so much hair in his ears she needs to sedate him to get the ears cleaned,plucked and flushed really good. I also know that plucking the hair out of the dogs ear is a little controversial as well.. Anyway, I go to the front desk to arrange for this to be done and find out that by sedating the dog, she meant putting him under general anesthesia and showed me the estimate bill which came to $330. :? I told her that I thought that this was a little excessive and I left with my dog!! I guess I won't be going back there anymore! If my dog was in pain or fussing with his ears anymore I would absolutely try to do something here..but he's not fussing anymore, hardly anything comes out of his ears when I clean them and he seems absolutely fine otherwise..My gut tells me she's trying to get my money!! :evil: Any thoughts on this??

 

[lmtoth2]

That sounds excessive to me too. Dexter had many problems with his ears and at one point the vet pulled out hair/gunk and Dex fought him a lot! However, he and I just fought through it and got it done w/o sedation. I would go to another vet. Another option is to give him some benadryl to calm him down which may help a bit.

Just wondering if you have tried a food change to help the ears? We were told that was the cause of Dexter's ear problems. We went to a grain free food w/a single source of protein.

 

[Snugglebugs]

I thought that's what she meant by sedation..like using benadryl or something to just chill him out a little. He really whines and fights at the vets when they clean his ears..but I told her that he doesn't do that at home with me. I think he's just really scared to go there and he gets very vocal about it.
We did switch foods about 2 months ago from a chicken based (Eagle pack Holistic Chicken) to the Lamb based Eagle Pack Holistic. Our other dog, Linus had some issues with his ears last year, and so far so good since our food switch. I don't know if Donners ear infection was brewing prior to the food switch or not.

 

[Tink]

This might be a silly question, but if there's excess hair in the ears have you considered a good groomer? Mine does a really good job of lucking the hair from inside my poodles ears. and even though he's a big baby she doesn't have to sedate him to do it. Because I know he has the potential for ear problems, I occasionally tie Moses ears up on top of his head to let some air in... those thick long ears tend to hold moisture in and this gives them a change to dry out a bit.

 

[Jac]

I personally feel that ear hair plucking can lead to infection....especially if a lot of hair is removed at once. Obviously, it breaks the skin, even if slightly...but it doesn't take much for bacteria to start.
My vet told me the same thing, about sedation for ear cleaning. But before she tried it, she gave us the meds, I fed live culture yogurt and she gave her a shot of cortisone. Now, I don't like cortisone, but I will tell you that all it took was one shot! She has NEVER had ear infections since. In fact, Rosie got yeast infection in her ears and I asked for the shot. It was so successful that the vet said that she intends to make that her first line of defense.
Neither girls have had ear trouble since that shot.

 

[annieG]

Putting a dog under anesthesia sounds like a bit much..I'd check with other vets too :!: :!:

 

[tykesmom]

ditto on the general anesthesia - that seems pretty excessive to me too. My groomer (who also works part time for my vet) was able to do Tyke's with no problem (she fought me like a wildcat when I tried to do it myself). There is always a risk when you put a dog - or a person for that matter- under general anesthesia. Doesn't seem that the chance of an ear infection outweighs that risk! I think I'd check with another vet.

 

[Snugglebugs]

Thank you to everyone for your advice and information. This is a great forum here when you need advice!! I'm going to go get a second opinion if he starts fussing with his ears again.

 

[movistar]

I do not pluck my doodles ear but I do my poodles from time to time. I have heard it can lead to infection so I am careful and use an antiseptic powder after. As far as sedation for ear cleaning I had to have it done to my doodle one time as we just couldnt get it the regular way so it was cleaned and irrigated under sedation. Cost about $65. I think your vet is overpriced. A lot of them are. Call around and get quotes if you decide to go forward with it. In the meantime Jac gave fabulous advice!

 

[Maureen]

hey Snugglebugs, how about asking your vet (OR a groomer) about maintaining Donner's ears so you don't have to go thru that? Ear wash is about $6 and it NEVER hurts to just consider it about once a month......or even pulling a bit of hair out at that time, and just making it part of your regular home grooming? And yeah, it makes a lot of sense to me to use something with a disinfecting property right after pulling hair out anyway, because of what Jac has said.

We have poodles and Doodles and we're kinda lazy, kinda 'as-necessary' about their grooming, but our vet pulled ear hair once, and was kind enough to let my hubby watch, and he's done it ever since. And yeah, he pulls a very few hairs out at a time, with a steady long pull and keeps at it until it's all gone. But I bet there are groomers who would do it for you.

Hey, I wonder what would happen if you mixed an earwash with a mild cortisone cream and shot some of that stuff in there? Just a thought.

Hope you get the info and plan you need here!

 

[gene]

I remember reading on the forum here that there is a powder to use that actually numbs the ear for the hair pulling, or am I just imagining things??

 

[blueteal]

I remember reading on the forum here that there is a powder to use that actually numbs the ear for the hair pulling, or am I just imagining things??

Well of course you imagine things.................You are Gene
Actuall have no idea Gene, just could not resist................

 

[River Rat]

Vanessa told me that Petsmart has the powder they use for grooming for sale in the store as well. It's called R-7 Ear Powder for dogs and cats and the bottle is marked Step 1. It contains rosin grip, which helps to make the hair easier to grasp. I haven't looked for it yet because Chouette goes to the groomers on Monday, and we'll see how the new person works out. Maybe I won't have to try this myself. I do need to use Veterinarian's Best Ear Wash and Dry, which was recommended to me, occasionally; she still has issues with the left ear sometimes even though she's not getting any corn in her food. But it's manageable.

Leslie

 

[tykesmom]

Tyke's groomer uses the powder whenever she does ears. She said it makes it much easier on the dog and her!

 

[movistar]

its the powder that I use that has the good stuff in it.
and its helpful to use hemastats to pull the hair.
I also use a wash as needed as maureen mentioned. especially after swimming or bath

 

[Snugglebugs]

hey Snugglebugs, how about asking your vet (OR a groomer) about maintaining Donner's ears so you don't have to go thru that? Ear wash is about $6 and it NEVER hurts to just consider it about once a month......or even pulling a bit of hair out at that time, and just making it part of your regular home grooming? And yeah, it makes a lot of sense to me to use something with a disinfecting property right after pulling hair out anyway, because of what Jac has said.

We've been regularly using ChlorhexiDerm Flush solution on both our Goldendoodle and Donner, our Labradoodle. The bottle says that it's a topical Antimicrobial cleansing and drying solution which we purchased from our vet. We try to clean their ears about once a week. Our Goldendoodles ears are not as hairy and it's easier to maintain with him. The problem with Donner is that his ear canal is soo filled with hair down deep that the vet thinks that the medication and cleaning doesn't do much good unless she goes in and removes all the hair. She said that the **** inside his ear is like a big plug attached to all the hair in his ear...the only way she thinks we can totally clear it up is to put him under anesthesia and she will go in and take all of that out. Donner is a dog we adopted as a rehome back in July and he came to us with a bad ear infection which we treated and thought was gone..but maybe it wasn't totally gone. I take them to get groomed about every 6-8 weeks and do some touch ups in between, but I have not told the groomer to pluck his ears. I've heard so much back and forth on that issue, but I think with Donner, we are going to have to remove some of that hair. I think I'll start doing what I can to take a little hair out each day to not stress the dog out too much. He has not fussed with his ears at all the last few days..so that's a much better sign that he's improving..I'll just keep up this maintenance..He's also on otomax and I think that's helping. Thanks again everyone for your help and advice!!