Doberman Forum : Doberman Breed Dog Forums banner

New Puppy Ear Crop - Funky Smell and Aftercare

14K views 6 replies 5 participants last post by  Plantagenet 
#1 ·
Hi all,

After three years I have added to my family. Of course another dobe. I've gone a male this time. Boomer :)

I've gone the crop again with Boomer. I felt I would be better equipped after having gone through it all with Meekah.

Here is a thread I started on Meekah.

http://www.dobermantalk.com/puppy-corner/35535-meekah-ear-tips-winged-jet-fighter.html

Thanks for all the pro advice. Her ears came out perfect and I am over the moon. I have attached some recent pics at 3 years old.

I am up to posting stage with Boomer. He is 10 weeks old and have gone a short medium crop possibly bordering on military. Of course, with his ear posting compared to Meekah, he has thrown me a curve ball.

After one week of posting, I noticed a funky smell coming from his ears. Both in fact. All my alarms pointed to an infection. Posts did come out a little damp. He has not gotten them wet (we've had no rain).

The smell is only noticeable when you sniff his ears. I have read infection smells can clear out a room. This is not the case here but it is a strong odour when getting close.

There is no gunk build up. His incisions have healed but there are open wounds (slight blood showing) in the fold of his ears which has reopened due to posting. These are small though. Nothing different to what I experienced with Meekah.

His ears do look a little swollen on the inside.

His behaviour? He sits calmly enough when I post. Touching his ears doesnt faze him. He seems happy enough running around and playing with Meekah. He eats like a horse. He does shake his head, though I am assuming this is because of the discomfort with the posts.

I am off to buy some peroxide and rubbing alcohol and give them a good clean out tonight. Because he is relatively young still, I could possible do a couple of days without posts to air them out properly and make sure no wounds are weeping.

My concerns are with a possible infection. I've read so many home remedies (garlic oil, vinegar/alcohol mix....). Any advice on these?

Meekah pays a lot of attention to Boomer's ears, sniffing and licking them. Is this good for him? I would think the licking is no good.

I think a trip to the vet/breeder is a little premature at this stage. He really does seem to be in high spirits and I am hoping that the smell is a result of the tape or heat wave we are experiencing??

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
 

Attachments

See less See more
3
#2 · (Edited)
Don't use peroxide OR alcohol for cleaning your puppies ears. Peroxide is useful mostly for flushing out a NEW dirty wound--after that peroxide can delay healing by irritating new tissue just starting to heal. Alcohol--alcohol stings like bloody hell on any open sore--try rubbing it onto a sore on yourself.

If you are cleaning ears on the inside you are far better off asking the vet for a recomendation. There are ear cleaners intended for a variety of things and should only be used for those things. What you need is a mild cleaner and your vet is the best to advise. I'd clean an ear with plain water or water with a little detergent added and rinse well and dry and allow to air dry after cleaning if I thought the ear really needed cleaning and didn't have an appopriate cleaner to use.

Do not let your bitch clean his ears--it's a great way to get infections going--some dogs will not leave ears alone during the posting period and licking posted ears is a real drag--it gets the tape and posts damp. Not a good idea at all. One of my dogs is an inveterate ear cleaner and I have to remind him often to leave ears on other dogs and cats alone.

If he's shaking his head he may have the beginning of an infection--it's infinitely easier to get a jump start on an infection by getting him in to see his vet--if his ears look swollen on the inside something is going wrong.

Just my opinion but I can't tell you how often we see pets at the clinic where I work with horrid infections and all too often the owner tells us that they didnt think it was serious (until it turned into an abscess on the cheek and opened up and left a hole the size of a walnut where the abscess drained.)
 
#3 ·
If there are scabs/wounds, you shouldn't post until they heal fully. Posting them will not let them get air, and they can get infected (if they aren't already :(.)

I didn't think posting was terribly complicated once I got used to it, and didn't do anything out of the ordinary for mine. I simply posted for 3-5 days, removed, cleaned with alcohol (don't use peroxide, it will bleach their hair!) and let air out for at least thirty minutes.

Good luck!
 
#4 ·
Thanks guys,

There are no scabs, rather a near paper cut where the ear folds (both ears).

I was hoping to use Peroxide and or rubbing alcohol to wipe clean the inside of the ear and hopefully kill any germs or bacteria.

I am hoping the smell is nothing more than a damp post due to licking and sweat.

So the consensus around here is not to use peroxide?
 
#5 ·
Personally I wouldn't use the Peroxide. If this was my dog, I would be making a trip to the vet. If this is the beginning of an infection, now is the time to stop it. Once it gets worse, it's a lot harder to get rid of and a lot longer before you can post again. You definitely don't want to post over open wounds and infections. I prefer to be safe rather than sorry, and if my vet tells me it's no big deal, it's worth my peace of mind.
 
#6 ·
As a vet tech I will 2nd the advice that says NO to peroxide or rubbing alcohol to clean the ears. You need to get a proper ear cleaning solution from your vet, if there is an infection starting (or already present) peroxide or alcohol will not "kill" the germs or bacteria, you need proper ear cleaner (and ear meds if an infection is present). If you have no ear cleaner then dry wipe the ears out for now, if you get goopy, smelly discharge then you need to go to the vet for proper ear solution.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top