Sharly

Hey all,

Just had a question regarding ear drainage I think.

I've had to retape Toorc's ears every night since Monday because one post just keeps popping out (Infuriating) but everytime I do, I have to clean his ears out because they get this really smelly (SUPER SMELLY) liquid that seems to settle at the base. I know that when the vet techs posted his ears for the first time, they sprinkled antibiotic powder in them. We get lots of humidity here on Oahu and saw on Doberman-Chat a pictured guide that had baby powder and was curious as to whether that is safe to sprinkle in his ears to keep them dry? Or if someone can suggest something to keep them dry that doesn't require removing his posts every night.... I am probably going to take him to Jennie's this weekend so she can post them for me since I'm having so much trouble.

Thanks a bunch!

Thor_Red

My breeder has me use Lotrimin Foot Powder. I put quite a bit in each ear and let him shake it out as she showed me and voila instant Dalmatian
I think I would get the ears checked first since they already seem to have something going on with them. But knock on wood, so far the Lotrimin is doing real well in Khaos ears. I think it works well to help prevent yeast infections.

__________________

Sharly

I'm really hoping that his ears are just wet because of the humidity :/

I've also heard of using Caldesene Powder.

Thor_Red

This is my first time posting ears as well and I really only been at it for a few weeks. I have to give HUGE credit to Michelle from A'Carrig for here patience with me. I think I must have sent her at least a dozen pictures or text with questions about the ears for the first week or two, being paranoid I'm going to ruin his beautiful crop. She always answered with advice and encouragement. (BTW Michelle I'm still paranoid about it, maybe when he is 5 years old I stop worrying about them )

__________________

millerdobes

When an ear smells, most of the time it's infected. You need to see a vet.

CedarGrove

I agree. There is something other than humidity at work here. Make an appt to see the vet without posts A.S.A.P.!
And yes, medicated powder should be used in the ear but it won't fix an infection. Also, if you are in the rainy season, put a shower cap or wrap with bag before going outside. It is imperative that you keep the head and ears DRY!
P.S. If your posts are popping, you aren't getting them in properly or it's because your dog is shaking its head or scratching because there is infection causing them to itch.

millerdobes

What we do and some do it for all the posting is glue a posts to the ear at the nub which is inside the ear. The post don't go inside the ear at the base of the ear. We use Torbot to glue the ear......we wrap it the same way. On the center post we put the cross piece like all of you do and then, we take mole foam and cut it to fit the cross post. The mole foam holds the ears in place. It works and all our ears have stood beautifully. We usually alternate inside the ear post with outside but either way works.

What is good about the post that are not inside the ear method is that you don't have infections inside the ear and they never stink from that. Usually, the stink means the ears are infected and something is wrong. If they stink, we immediately take the ears down.

We've never used the power but it may work fine. I saw a dog once that used it and it clumped up. I sure wouldn't want that. We do posts for our vet sometimes and saw this. Not saying it's not good but only that we don't use it. We clean the ears very good inside and go that direction and always keep them dry.

sky14

stop posting and get the ear taken care of first.

Sharly

Thanks everyone. I actually took Toorc's posts out this evening and looked at them closely because they smelled awful even though he wasn't shaking them. It appears only one is actually stinky and there definitely isn't something right about it the inside is actually bleeding (sores maybe?) which is weird because its where there never were any sutures. there's all sorts of nasty gunk in it that I cleaned out. My issue is my vet is closed on Sunday... I am looking up vets right now that might be open. My poor little guy

Shell81

Oops, meant to hit Quote, not thanks.

He has an ear infection, but you can wait until tomorrow to get him in. Clean it out well, and leave it open to the air to dry and breathe. Ear infections may just be my specialty as a vet tech lol, not only did I deal with tons of client dogs with them, but my old lab got them ALL the time. I know that smell anywhere (although that's not really a good thing, it stinks lol).

Just get all the guck out as best you can, and leave it unposted and breathing until tomorrow when you can get him in. You will have to clean and treat it likely twice a day for a while anyway so it won't be posted until it's healed. I have seen ears get irritated and bleed from ear infections, and having the posts in likely irritated it even more.

Sharly

Thanks Shell,

It's 6am here and I'm watching my clock like a hawk to call at 7 so I can take him into a vet that my breeder goes to when our main one isn't open. I was tempted to take him to the E-vet but figured he could just sleep post free lol

Shell81

Lol, good luck! Ear infections suck and can be a pain, but as long as they are treated they aren't the end of the world There were a few times I had to wait a day or two to take Quin to work with me for new meds when his ears flared up (his always seemed to be the worst when it was a weekend, and mom was out of ear meds lol). I always just made sure to get all the crud out, and let them breathe in the meantime.

PS. My family is from hawaii. Also Oahu (Kaneohe), and I named my daughter Malia (partly after me, it's my middle name, and partly in honor of our family being from there). I love it there, my grandparents still live there, but they are in Kailua now. I'm really (over) due to come back for a visit.

Sharly

You should visit puppy playtime? Haha $180 later I have drops and meds for the little turkey. His right ear is Rudolph red right now it seems the infection stemmed from the sticks they initially placed in his ears after surgery. Must have rubbed them raw and then they just posted them immediately after the sutures were removed so I didn't know there was anything wrong. My poor boy.


Sent from my iPhone using Petguide.com Free App

Sharly

I am treating for the next 14 days. Does that mean his ears have to be down for the whole time?


Sent from my iPhone using Petguide.com Free App

Shell81

I wouldn't post until you're finished treating. You want that ear open to the air, if you start posting you're going to trap that moisture and gunk and it could stay infected/get worse. Wait and see what the veterans who have far more posting experience than me, have to say though.

Glad you have meds and he is on the mend.

Sharly

Ok ;( I hope his ears being down for that long won't impact anything. But I would rather have a floppy cropped boy that can hear than a standing eared deaf puppy.


Sent from my iPhone using Petguide.com Free App

Shell81

From my experience he is young enough that it shouldn't stop his ears from standing once you can start posting again. Just be vigilant with the posting once you can start again. I could be wrong. My posting experience, prior to Bruce of course, is not really recent so my memory could be fuzzy, but I would say he is young enough that it will be ok.

vivienne00

It won't hurt - it will be ok - you can post the other ear if you want... I've done that - posted just one ear for a while.

__________________

Cato and Emerald's Black Onyx (r.i.p.)
Owned by Enid, Yoda, Jill (kelpie) and Lana.

Sharly

I am going to keep his ears down for the next three days and see how they look. Jennie wants to see him every few days too, just in case. They have been down since 7am and 4 hours later he's still got them standing perky an moving.


Sent from my iPhone using Petguide.com Free App