Ear cleaning advice please!

MissSarah151

You probably have tried - but is there any way of *really* tiring him out - long walk, new exciting place maybe? Then trying when you get home but disguise it as playing with his ears?

Could you try a different thing to clean the ears - he maybe smells it and associates it with something horrible?

Wellyboots6

Take a look at my other thread about struggling to tire him out MissSarah151

It is a good point about the smell, I hadn't thought of that. I will try some plain toilet roll in a bit I think, before I try anything else damp

MissSarah151

katy721 wrote: »

Take a look at my other thread about struggling to tire him out MissSarah151

Haha - ahh - didn't see your other thread!

con1888

possibly try under sedation, when Logan ripped his dew claw really badly ( blood everywhere) he had to be muzzled and sedated before vet could get near it, he's usually good at vet but was acting out of pain, the vet sedated then once done gave him another jab which brought him back round before we left.

Would he let you use wipes in his ears perhaps? A friend of mine uses tea tree for her dogs ears.

moggymutt

krlyr wrote: »

I would probably be tempted to have them looked at under sedation to rule out the aversion being caused by pain. Once they've looked and given them a clean, you'll have an idea of whether it's just something he dislikes or if there was a genuine pain issue. I don't think he's particularly old or at risk of reacting badly to sedation, is he?

I'd agree with this approach, just to know what state his ears are actually in. Mites, fungal infection, polyps are just some of the possibilities. Correct diagnosis will mean that you can choose the most suitable cleaner, plus if his ears really do need a good cleanout, then the vet is the best one to do it whilst he is sedated.

Wellyboots6

I think you are all right to be honest.

Oh gosh, he is going to HATE me!

Wellyboots6

Well... The vets didn't go too well!

She didn't want to sedate him until she had a look at his ears to see what the problem was.

Took five of us to hold him so she could look! I have never known a dog as strong as he is. The vet said she had never needed to call for back-up from so many nurses at once!

Apparently his ears aren't actually that bad inside, so she has just said to try and clean what I can with a soft cloth. She didn't want to do anything to make him even more phobic of having his ears done unless it was absolutely necessary.

So good news, I guess!

MissSarah151

katy721 wrote: »

Well... The vets didn't go too well!

She didn't want to sedate him until she had a look at his ears to see what the problem was.

Took five of us to hold him so she could look! I have never known a dog as strong as he is. The vet said she had never needed to call for back-up from so many nurses at once!

Apparently his ears aren't actually that bad inside, so she has just said to try and clean what I can with a soft cloth. She didn't want to do anything to make him even more phobic of having his ears done unless it was absolutely necessary.

So good news, I guess!

That is good news - you wont have to worry about your furry man having to be sedated.

Did you try without the ear cleaning product yet?

orlao

My rottie had foul ears for a while and yes, they were sore but we still needed to get past the aversion to having them looked at. He did have them cleaned under GA but needed to stay on top of them to avoid the infection/mites coming back.

When I was still at the stage of having to force him to have the drops I used to back him into a corner - he was expert at backing out of a collar - and use my legs and holding the collar to stop him going forward and aim the drops, hoping for the best! We moved onto making a huge fuss about doing the massaging (he liked that ) and cleaning with a piece of kitchen towel rather than cotton wool. For some reason he hated cotton wool.

Another vote for thornit - I used to apply it with the disposable eyeshadow applicators (£shop for a pack of 20) because I could I hide them in my hand. A friend of mine used a fine paintbrush with great success too. The Thornit took about a month to clear up his ears after nearly 2 years of unsuccessful vet treatment and for the rest of his life I only used it if he had a 'droopy' ear which was the first sign of sore ears with him.

krlyr

katy721 wrote: »

She didn't want to do anything to make him even more phobic of having his ears done unless it was absolutely necessary.

Like having 5 people hold him down when he is obviously distressed? :undecided You know your vet best, but I would not be letting my vet put my dog in that kind of situation