Urgent Ear issues

[daddytech]

I have a Solid Black Shepherd with Brown socks who was a rescue dog. He was 5 when we got him. He's 9 now. He has always had issues with his ears since we got him. I do my best to always keep them cleaned out but sometimes he gets into things and I am not sure what he rolls in or runs through but he gets some pretty nasty stuff in his ears. My issue with him right now is that his ear developed a swollen spot on it down near his head on the front edge of his ear. At first the spot was about the size of one of those Toni's pizza rolls for lack of a better description. well now the swelling has increased all the way to the tip of his ear and it's sore to the touch for him now. I called my vet when it first happened and he said it sounded like a "hematoma" and that it would go away on it's own, he went on to say that it was either from him scratching too intently or shaking his head too violently.

Since it got worse I took him into the vet to have them look at it and he said that all it would do is make a really big mess if he drained it and his ear would never stand back up again. In fact he went on to tell me that it would eventually crumple up like a boxers ears do. He's always been such a handsome well toned dog, I just can't accept that something like this would potentially take away from those looks.

I spoke to a friend last night who has always had huskies and he said that his dog had the same issue and when he took it in to get her ear checked out the vet drained it and said that if he hadn't have brought her in when he did, the injury could have eventually killed her because of the blood in there getting contaminated and causing her a lot of problems.

This is my second Shepherd, but I have had dogs all my life and I have never heard of this before. I was just wondering if anyone else had experienced this and what if anything could or should be done. I am just not happy with the "just let it be" philosophy that my vet has and I also am not really excited about the idea that his ear will never stand back up again.

Any help or pointers would be greatly appreciated as I am now in alarm mode with this issue based on what my friend was told about his husky mostly.
HELP!!!!!

[gagsd]

Our clinic always treated hematomas. Drain them and then sew in a stitch here and there (there are actually plastic molds that can be attached by the vet) to keep the ear from filling again.

You MUST treat the cause.... whether it is a bacterial infection or a yeast infection and then you need to find out what causes that.... could very well be allergies.

If I had a dog with an ear hematoma and I called the vet and the vet didn't feel a need to see my dog, I would find a new vet.

[BowWowMeow]

Hi there. I think you need to get a new vet. Hearing a vet say that something will "make a mess" so shouldn't be done would have me running for the door.
A competent vet can drain and tack the ear. It may not stand completely but it won't "crumple."

Once you have this problem under control you need to get to the root of the ear infections. The stuff that looks like dirt in there has nothing to do with rolling or getting into things. It is either a yeast or bacterial infection. Chronic ear infections are usually the result of allergies or some other immune system issue like a systemic yeast infection.

So step number one is to find a new vet!

[dd]

I would second the "get a new vet" opinion.

[daddytech]

that's kind of what i was thinking too.

this fella also has isssues with gnawing his fur off his butt and the vet says it's just dry skin and told me to use Gold bond on it.

that does absolutely nothing for it and he gets little bumps all over like dried up zits that just form over night some times and the vet had no answer for those either.
The dog had none of these issues when we got him and I know he's miserable but I gotta do something for him. I think i am going to find another vet. That seems like the smartest thing I can do for him right now just for starters

[BowWowMeow]

Your dog has allergies. Those are all symptoms of allergies. What are you feeding him?

[dd]

Not sure how helpful this is to you, but one of our rescues had severe ear issues when he was found - he is susceptible to yeast infections and there is a special cleaner that has to be used to keep his ears clear (he is my parents' dog - do not have the name of the product handy). This was obviously a recurring problem for him because his ears have so much scar tissue from old hematomas they are almost 3/4 of an inch thick. Please get another vet to look at him - he must be so uncomfortable.

[gagsd]

Treat the ear infection first. (as well as the hematoma). If the dog is shaking and scratching that much, he is MISERABLE.
Then start looking into 1.)allergies and 2.)the possibility of parasites (fleas, mites, etc.)

Good recipe for ear treatment (but you need to have a vet look at the ear BEFORE applying it)....
http://www.woodhavenlabs.com/ears.html

[angelaw]

Yep to all the above. fighting this with Duchess now. She's 12.5 never had allergies before, now suddenly she does (not food, switched proteins -no grains at all, still problems) anyway she had a hematoma, put cortisone in it after draining. month later ear filled back up, this time pus. she's now on antibiotics 3x/day for 2 wks. since benadryl/claritin/zyrtec haven't done anything to relieve her symptoms, we're going to have to put her on prednisone and keep her on it.

Vishnu was allergic since the day we got him at 2 yrs old. Zymox cleaner, and ear ointment (google the name zymox cleanser) my vet got me hooked, don't need a script, helps keep ears cleaned out, but you will need to find out what the allergy is. Food is the easiest thing to try. I would go to a grain free formula and start there.

[dd]

here's a previous thread:
http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum...e=6#Post900388