Hi all! TIA for all of your time and input here. I’ve been lurking on this forum for a while and I’m grateful to have it as a resource.
My partner and I cropped our 9wk4 day old pup Beatrix (Bea) last Friday (August 28th). At the time I’m posting this she is 4 days post op. We decided to go with a medium crop and, from what I can see, it’s going to look really nice on her. Her ears are taped to a cup on her head and edges are exposed, stitches are still in at this point. She has also been wearing an e collar per vet orders, so as not to scratch her stitches.
Our vet recommended we clean her edges 2x per day with either a 50/50 mix of alcohol and water or peroxide and water and to remove all scabs while cleaning the ear (at this point I should note that I’m a first time dobie mom and dog owner, while my partner grew up with boxers). We attempted to do this on her first night back home with disastrous results- Bea cried and cried and cried and backed away from us whining despite the barrage of pets and treats that were given to her during the attempt. Also- we didn’t barrel into this full force. We did (I think) a reasonable job of easing into it as well without trying to surprise her, and pre surgery and otherwise she has always been agreeable to things like inner ear touches and us clipping her nails.
In the wake of the disaster that was the first and only cleaning attempt, I did some more research and found that more and more people are foregoing cleanings with peroxide, alcohol, and neosporin in favor of warm water, sterile saline/wound wash, a little bit of petroleum jelly or nothing at all and just letting the scabs heal and fall off by themselves. I don’t understand why my vet (a very well known, reputable vet with a long standing reputation doing Doberman and boxer ear drops) would recommend such invasive cleaning and sanitizing if less is more, and she is on a 10 day course of antibiotics and pain meds. Especially given the histrionics, my partner and I have opted for the less is more route and have been touching her ear gently with wound wash and then putting a tiny bit of aquaphor/petroleum jelly to her scabs which she barely tolerates, and then rewarding.
To break down my questions and concerns more succinctly:
- what are the best ways you all have found for cleaning ears post crop? We’ve tried and have been trying distractions and rewards but she seems hip to our game, and seems to be very guarded when it comes to her ears.
-are we being good dobie parents and doing right by our baby? While I understand the rationale behind keeping the area free of bacteria and the need to avoid infection, I do not want to cause her any undue harm with stinging cleansers and picking at her scabs. But I’m afraid I’m doing the wrong thing by not following the vets orders despite multiple accounts saying leaving the scabs to heal on their own, and that less is more here.
-additionally, she’s being rather lethargic/scratching incessantly at her e collar/cup. I imagine the lethargy is due at least in part to the meds and maybe also to her headgear (she seems to have trouble falling asleep and getting comfy the way she used to). Her appetite is good and she seems fine otherwise (no weird smells/other pain/odd behavior) but she seems so subdued, especially after 4 days post op. Is this common?
Again, thank you all SO much for reading my novel and for helping me, my partner, and my baby Bea.
My partner and I cropped our 9wk4 day old pup Beatrix (Bea) last Friday (August 28th). At the time I’m posting this she is 4 days post op. We decided to go with a medium crop and, from what I can see, it’s going to look really nice on her. Her ears are taped to a cup on her head and edges are exposed, stitches are still in at this point. She has also been wearing an e collar per vet orders, so as not to scratch her stitches.
Our vet recommended we clean her edges 2x per day with either a 50/50 mix of alcohol and water or peroxide and water and to remove all scabs while cleaning the ear (at this point I should note that I’m a first time dobie mom and dog owner, while my partner grew up with boxers). We attempted to do this on her first night back home with disastrous results- Bea cried and cried and cried and backed away from us whining despite the barrage of pets and treats that were given to her during the attempt. Also- we didn’t barrel into this full force. We did (I think) a reasonable job of easing into it as well without trying to surprise her, and pre surgery and otherwise she has always been agreeable to things like inner ear touches and us clipping her nails.
In the wake of the disaster that was the first and only cleaning attempt, I did some more research and found that more and more people are foregoing cleanings with peroxide, alcohol, and neosporin in favor of warm water, sterile saline/wound wash, a little bit of petroleum jelly or nothing at all and just letting the scabs heal and fall off by themselves. I don’t understand why my vet (a very well known, reputable vet with a long standing reputation doing Doberman and boxer ear drops) would recommend such invasive cleaning and sanitizing if less is more, and she is on a 10 day course of antibiotics and pain meds. Especially given the histrionics, my partner and I have opted for the less is more route and have been touching her ear gently with wound wash and then putting a tiny bit of aquaphor/petroleum jelly to her scabs which she barely tolerates, and then rewarding.
To break down my questions and concerns more succinctly:
- what are the best ways you all have found for cleaning ears post crop? We’ve tried and have been trying distractions and rewards but she seems hip to our game, and seems to be very guarded when it comes to her ears.
-are we being good dobie parents and doing right by our baby? While I understand the rationale behind keeping the area free of bacteria and the need to avoid infection, I do not want to cause her any undue harm with stinging cleansers and picking at her scabs. But I’m afraid I’m doing the wrong thing by not following the vets orders despite multiple accounts saying leaving the scabs to heal on their own, and that less is more here.
-additionally, she’s being rather lethargic/scratching incessantly at her e collar/cup. I imagine the lethargy is due at least in part to the meds and maybe also to her headgear (she seems to have trouble falling asleep and getting comfy the way she used to). Her appetite is good and she seems fine otherwise (no weird smells/other pain/odd behavior) but she seems so subdued, especially after 4 days post op. Is this common?
Again, thank you all SO much for reading my novel and for helping me, my partner, and my baby Bea.
