Red Ear?

[sunkissedpr1ncs]

Barkley seems to be scratching at his ears a lot lately and I've noticed that one of them is pretty red inside. I've been cleaning them with just a damp cotton round....Should I be using some type of solution instead? I was also rubbing his ears last night and he started making a weird noise, not sure if it was hurting him or if they were itchy and it felt good that I was rubbing?

Hopefully it's not an infection...any suggestions?

Thanks!

 

[Lauren31287]

It could be an ear infection! That happened to Winston when he was a puppy, his ear got bright red and he was crying alot. A round of ear drops from the vet cleared him right up! Now we have a wash we use every two weeks to prevent it from happening again. So far so good! If it smells funny it could be yeast too which is usually caused by an allergy. You can try to clean it out with some Witch Hazel on a cotton ball because it has an natural drying agent. I wouldn't use water to clean it because if it doesn't get dried out completely it could make it worse. Good luck, I hope your baby is feeling better soon!

 

[Davidh]

Might be an ear infection and a trip to the vet is in order. Does it have a smell to it? If so it is definitely an infection.

 

[sunkissedpr1ncs]

It could be an ear infection! That happened to Winston when he was a puppy, his ear got bright red and he was crying alot. A round of ear drops from the vet cleared him right up! Now we have a wash we use every two weeks to prevent it from happening again. So far so good! If it smells funny it could be yeast too which is usually caused by an allergy. You can try to clean it out with some Witch Hazel on a cotton ball because it has an natural drying agent. I wouldn't use water to clean it because if it doesn't get dried out completely it could make it worse. Good luck, I hope your baby is feeling better soon!

Thanks for the advice, I was thinking at first he might have just irritated it since he had been scratching at it but it seems like we might need to make a trip to the vet if it doesn't get any better in the next few days

I haven't noticed that they smell at all and have just been using a slightly damp cotton round to clean them or wipes, I definitely wanted to make sure to not get any water or anything in them!

 

[wvlady1965]

If it's red and scratching at it then most likely it's an ear infection. Ears should not be cleaned out with water, avoid it. At your vets office they have most likely will have cleaning solutions for ears that has a drying agent in it. I have a bassett hound along with my bully, the bassett gets ear infections all the time due to the long ears and no air getting to them.

 

[Lauren31287]

Thanks for the advice, I was thinking at first he might have just irritated it since he had been scratching at it but it seems like we might need to make a trip to the vet if it doesn't get any better in the next few days

I haven't noticed that they smell at all and have just been using a slightly damp cotton round to clean them or wipes, I definitely wanted to make sure to not get any water or anything in them!

Yeah I would think a trip to the vet would be the best move at this point. Especially if it's not looking any better. He is probably in pain. Poor thing, I hope he can get better soon!

 

[2BullyMama]

Thanks for the advice, I was thinking at first he might have just irritated it since he had been scratching at it but it seems like we might need to make a trip to the vet if it doesn't get any better in the next few days

I haven't noticed that they smell at all and have just been using a slightly damp cotton round to clean them or wipes, I definitely wanted to make sure to not get any water or anything in them!

You can use witch hazel on the cotton pad to clean the ar, but if the ear is red and hot.... ear infection is likely - do not wait too long as they can get bad very fast

 

[Casper]

I use the Duoxo pads on Rocky, When i first got Rocky, he had liquid medicine i had to put into the folds of his face, and the fight was on, then I ordered the Duoxo pads from Amazon, and I wash his face and ears with the pads everyday, at first it was a struggle, and now its just a process he endures, So I get his face wrinkles, then wipe all the insides of his ears with another pad, and his tail pocket, and toss him a treat when i'm done…… When I bathe Rocky, I put the coating balls in his ears, to keep the water from getting in their, but use the pads too !!

 

[sunkissedpr1ncs]

Thanks for all the replies everyone! I made him an appt. at the vet tomorrow to see what's going on and get this cleared up!!

 

[Lauren31287]

Thanks for all the replies everyone! I made him an appt. at the vet tomorrow to see what's going on and get this cleared up!!

Glad to hear it!

 

[sunkissedpr1ncs]

So I took barkley to the vet yesterday and they said he had an ear infection, but it was mainly just on his ear flap and not much in the canal. They gave him a steroid shot and some ointment for me to put on it.

Then last night right before we were going to take him to the bathroom before bed, he was sitting on the couch with us and then all of a sudden we saw a huge pee spot on the couch!! He acted like he didn't even know it had happened. He's completely potty trained and hasn't had an accident in months so I know it wasn't just him deciding to go. I looked it up online and saw other people saying the steroid shot had caused their dogs to lose control over their bladder.

This morning he woke us up about an hour early to go out and usually we have to push him out the door and down the stairs but this time he sprinted down because he had to go so bad. Poor guy

I called the vet and they said that shouldn't be a side effect, that it can make them more thirsty so they drink more water and have to go more, but it shouldn't cause any loss of control of their bladder. I haven't noticed him drinking any more water than usual, so I don't think that is causing it.

Has anyone else experienced this? I'm just wondering how long this is going to last?!? My husband and I work all day and he is usually in his crate from 8-5ish and never has an accident (we still have to force him to go outside when we get home - so lazy!!) and I'm just worried he won't be able to hold it now. Luckily my boss is letting me go home during lunch and just work from home the rest of the day so I can keep an eye on him. I'm hoping he will be ok and this won't last for a long time!!

 

[Lauren31287]

Glad to hear the vet was able to treat it! As far as the steriods, Winston never had a shot however when he had his really bad tail infection the vet put him on steriod pills for 1 week and she warned us that he could have accidents because of the excessive drinking. I can tell you that the first night Winston was on them the SAME thing happened and I didn't notice any extra drinking the first day either. He went to the bathroom before bed like normal but I woke up in the morning earlier then normal because I wanted to try to avoid the accident but it had already happened. Winston is 2 years old so his accidents are welllll over by now. After that I made sure I got up in the middle of the night to let him out. It was like back to puppy stages. Luckily my husband already goes home at lunch everyday and was able to work from home a few days but he was only able to hold his bladder for about 4 hours while on them and even up to a week after. He usually holds it for at least 8 sometimes more depending on his laziness that day.

Anyways the whole point of the story was for you to know your not alone, it did happen to Winston. Poor Barkley is fine I am sure and give it a few days and his bladder will be back to normal. For now maybe just use towels for bedding so if he does have an accident it can be easily washed and keep a close eye on him. Good luck, I hope the little guy is feeling better soon!

 

[2BullyMama]

So I took barkley to the vet yesterday and they said he had an ear infection, but it was mainly just on his ear flap and not much in the canal. They gave him a steroid shot and some ointment for me to put on it.

Then last night right before we were going to take him to the bathroom before bed, he was sitting on the couch with us and then all of a sudden we saw a huge pee spot on the couch!! He acted like he didn't even know it had happened. He's completely potty trained and hasn't had an accident in months so I know it wasn't just him deciding to go. I looked it up online and saw other people saying the steroid shot had caused their dogs to lose control over their bladder.

This morning he woke us up about an hour early to go out and usually we have to push him out the door and down the stairs but this time he sprinted down because he had to go so bad. Poor guy

I called the vet and they said that shouldn't be a side effect, that it can make them more thirsty so they drink more water and have to go more, but it shouldn't cause any loss of control of their bladder. I haven't noticed him drinking any more water than usual, so I don't think that is causing it.

Has anyone else experienced this? I'm just wondering how long this is going to last?!? My husband and I work all day and he is usually in his crate from 8-5ish and never has an accident (we still have to force him to go outside when we get home - so lazy!!) and I'm just worried he won't be able to hold it now. Luckily my boss is letting me go home during lunch and just work from home the rest of the day so I can keep an eye on him. I'm hoping he will be ok and this won't last for a long time!!

My girl was the same way when on steriods... she constantly had to go regardless of how much she drank

 

[sunkissedpr1ncs]

Glad to hear the vet was able to treat it! As far as the steriods, Winston never had a shot however when he had his really bad tail infection the vet put him on steriod pills for 1 week and she warned us that he could have accidents because of the excessive drinking. I can tell you that the first night Winston was on them the SAME thing happened and I didn't notice any extra drinking the first day either. He went to the bathroom before bed like normal but I woke up in the morning earlier then normal because I wanted to try to avoid the accident but it had already happened. Winston is 2 years old so his accidents are welllll over by now. After that I made sure I got up in the middle of the night to let him out. It was like back to puppy stages. Luckily my husband already goes home at lunch everyday and was able to work from home a few days but he was only able to hold his bladder for about 4 hours while on them and even up to a week after. He usually holds it for at least 8 sometimes more depending on his laziness that day.

Anyways the whole point of the story was for you to know your not alone, it did happen to Winston. Poor Barkley is fine I am sure and give it a few days and his bladder will be back to normal. For now maybe just use towels for bedding so if he does have an accident it can be easily washed and keep a close eye on him. Good luck, I hope the little guy is feeling better soon!

Thanks so much for letting me know about Winston, that makes me feel better that it seems to be a common thing! Hopefully it won't last too long...At least it's the weekend and we can keep more of an eye on him!

Thanks again!

 

[Lauren31287]

Thanks so much for letting me know about Winston, that makes me feel better that it seems to be a common thing! Hopefully it won't last too long...At least it's the weekend and we can keep more of an eye on him!

Thanks again!

No problem!! I hope he's feeling better today!!