Pet Lovers

[Julie928]

Hi, everyone!  I know there are lots of pet owners here and I am hoping someone may be able to help.  Our redbone coonhound was shaking her head, flopping her ears and her ears had a slight bad smell to them.  We took her to the vet yesterday for what I thought was a shot to cure the irritation (we brought her in once before and this is what they did and it worked wonders).  Well yesterday the vet takes her in back (which I don't like ~ I like to see what they are doing) and comes back in to tell me the techs are working on her!  Really?  A tech?  I'm paying over a hundred bucks to have a vet work on my dog, not some 18-year-old.  I kept asking for my dog and he kept telling me they are "working" on her.  They finally bring her back and she is still shaking her head more than before, liquid flying everywhere.  Turns out they never gave her a shot but put some medicine called claro in each ear.  All night and all today she is still shaking her head, only now she occasionally tilts her head to one side.  We called the vet and he told us this is normal and if she keeps doing it tomorrow to bring her back and lo and behold he'll sell us more medicine.  I keep dwelling on the cost because this place has become very money-grubbing.  The only reason I brought her there was the awesome vet I wanted to bring her to was booked into next week.  I wanted to get her some relief.  Now I am worried they hurt her.  Is this in fact normal after an ear cleaning?  The vet said her ears were in pretty bad shape and the gunk went pretty far down (although I didn't notice any gunk upon inspecting her ears, only a slight odor).  She seems quiet today and I am so upset.  I feel horrible, like I put her in harm's way.  I even called an emergency vet and they told me to monitor it and bring her in if she starts vomiting or her breathing is labored (which it is not).  I look forward to your responses.  Thank you.

[MalteseMomma]

Get  Zymox Otic  Enzymatic Solution  (Amazon) or anywhere I guess .It is the very best you can buy. I have used it with wonderful results on all the dogs in my life. . Also get the Zymox Ear Cleanser.

The ears will clear up immediately and not return most of the time.

Good luck with your furbabies ears    

I am sure many others will recomend this great ear product

[Pook]

@Julie928Vet techs are well trained to do many things and cleaning of ears is often one of them and the ones that my vet has are very experienced and do many advanced things to help the vet.  That is what they are trained and hired for.  I have had dogs with ear infections and those can range from just a simple infection to a yeast infection to something worse as well as ear mites.  Usually if the owner regularly cleans the ears properly this usually doesn't happen except for ear mites which a dog can get from another animals.  I never had a dog given a shot for any of those things.  I would suspect the shot you are talking about is a steroid of some kind and not the best thing for a dog unless absolutely necessary.  Some vets - especially older ones - rely on shots but most vets now only use them if the infection keeps returning or is severe.  Claro is a fairly new treatment and is used in the vet's office and eliminates having the owner treat the ears and not do or do it right or for as long as they should.  It is normal for most dogs to shake their heads after having their ears cleaned or treated and all my dogs have done this after I have cleaned their ears.

I would trust the diagnosis and treatment since you say she is quiet now.  I don't know if you have been cleaning her ears regularly but if not I would start.  When I bring my dogs in for their yearly checkup, an ear exam is a regular part of it and I am told when I have not done a good job of cleaning the ears.  

Like all of us dog moms we worry and often needlessly.

[missy1]

The vet techs are well trained. The vets overlook their work.  My dog shook it's head, had a red ear, and smelled a bit. They put rx in the ear that lasts for 2 weeks.You come back in 2 weeks for a recheck by the vet.Your dog will still shake it's head for a bit. Give it time.The vet techs here clip the dogs claws and give shots etc.. They are competent. Do not judge them by their age.

@Julie928

[Julie928]

Thanks for the responses.  I feel better now ~ I'm just one of those people who likes to see what is going on with my pet.  And I worry.  A lot.  :-)

[NickNack]

My dog had a couple of ear infections last year.  The Vet cleaned her ears out well and gave me drops to put in three times a week.  I now use TrizUltra Keto Flush for dogs once a week.  She hasn't had an ear infection since.  My Vet sells it, but I have ordered it from Amazon, and it's much less than it was at the Vet's.

It sounds like your Vet did the right thing since others on here know what this treatment is.  I've never heard of giving a shot for an ear infection.

[candys mine]

Not at all suprized that the Vet had a tech clean the ears.  It's what they are trained for. In many places Veterinary Techs need Certification.  It was a Technican, not the Vet, who taught me to give my Trinket fluids under the skin.  It was a Tech who showed me how to syringe feed her when she had stopped eating.  I would trust the Techs at my Vets to clean my pets ears.  I WOULD however ask the Vet just what was in my pets ears that they are treating for and get a demo on how you can clean your pups ears yourself.  He has floppy ears so the ear canal is a dark moist environment just dandy for yeast and bacteria to set up shop.  He's had two infections allready, maintainance ear cleaning would help keep it from coming back.

Look at it this way, even Chefs have someone else doing the prep work.

[ECBG]

Poor baby.  Gone further, she may have lost her hearing.  Just hold her and comfort her.

[missy1]

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@Nicknack wrote:

My dog had a couple of ear infections last year.  The Vet cleaned her ears out well and gave me drops to put in three times a week.  I now use TrizUltra Keto Flush for dogs once a week.  She hasn't had an ear infection since.  My Vet sells it, but I have ordered it from Amazon, and it's much less than it was at the Vet's.

It sounds like your Vet did the right thing since others on here know what this treatment is.  I've never heard of giving a shot for an ear infection.

How do you put in in their ears? Is it easy? My dogs doesn't like it when you get near the ears.

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[Jk9]

We have an excellent vet and also go to the upstate specialty vet for advanced treatments and emergency care. It is common for the vet techs to do a lot of treatments. It seems the new trend is to take your pet to the back for a lot of things like ear cleaning, nail clipping etc. I have not had any of my dogs get a shot for an ear infection.....just cleaning and drops in the home after the vet staff did the initial treatment. I have hounds and they are at risk for ear infections due to their floppy ears. They need routine cleaning and monitoring. I currently have a bassett and a coon hound, so I know ears. I also suspect the shot was a steroid for swelling and inflammation of the ears causing a lot of discomfort. Give it some time.