hi there,
wondered if any one has come across this problem,we took our 3 year old bordeaux to the vets on wednesday as she at the time just did'nt look her usual self,she had been sick and was foaming and drooling more than usual,seemed to be holding her mouth open all the time,vet did'nt seem to think her holding her mouth like this was a problem and just gave her treatment for sickness,was advised not to feed her and take her back next morning,which we did and given another anti sickness injection,at this point her jaw was still hanging,but vet did'nt see a problem,anyway when we feed her later that day she could'nt feed ,she wanted her meal,but as soon as she took food into  her mouth it just fell out of the sides of her open mouth,so again we returned to the vet,and expressed we where becoming more worried and did'nt think the sickness had anything to do with what was actually wrong with her,at this point i must add she was also being treated for an ear infection which has been reoccuring since she was six months old,the vet then decided to sedate her and see if there was any foreign body in her mouth to cause her from shutting her mouth ,at this point i did mention could the ear infection have anything to do with her symptoms of paralysis,but was told no,after her being sedated the vet said she did'nt think it was a nerological problem,and that her right side seemed to be affected more and she was in no pain she think's it will right its self in a couple of weeks,and put her on a course of antibiotics and steroids.as you can imagine with no explanation given for the condition she is suffering ,i started to do a little searching on facial paralysis,and came across ear canal ablation,which is damage to the ear canal after long term middle ear infection ,one of the sypmtoms can be facial paralysis,as the facial nerve runs just near the base of the ear,this nerve controls facial expression, and it says a facial paralysis is not uncommon after long standing ear disease,this means the patient is slack jawed on usually one side of the face and not able to blink after a time.all these syptoms are the same as hers and as i have said she does have a lot of problems with her ears.
so this morning i took another visit to the vets and again expressed my concern and was told no again,and that if she did have this problem the antibiotics would clear any infection in her ear.i'm just anxious that if she does has this problem which is normally rectified with a operation,and it is not treated will she be paralyzed in her face forever.

Hi angel,
I saw a case of unilateral facial paralysis in a middle aged medium breed dog suffering form chronic ear infection a couple of months ago in my seeing practice.
This dog had a history of chronic ear problems, and presented to us with the symptoms of facial paralysis, ie. the  eyelid, the ear, and the lip of the affected were all 'hanging' so to speak, as well as constant drooling. He could also not blink spontaneously. :(
he could not eat properly either and tried to lift his food out of his bowl into the air with the unaffected side, but was having little success the poor baby! :(  he also had a head tilt which is also a sign of ear problems. (can be sign of other things too but one of the differential is an ear problem)
After clinical exam of ear, and neuro exam, and due to the history of obvious  chronic otitis externa, the poor dog was given a course of strong antibiotics as the first course of action in this case.  Unfortunatly for me, that was on my last day of easter seeing practice so I don't know how he did after that, as I was back in lectures.

Medical treatment of these cases, unfortunatly, is not always effectice, but it is the first thing one must try.
If this treatment does not resolve the infection, or if there is xray evidence of fluid or tissue in the tympanic bulla or chronic bone changes for that matter, a ventral bulla osteotomy (operation) can be performed followed by more antibiotics. Still, in some cases, facial nerve paralysis unfortunatly does not resolve spite of treatment, and the action to be taken in the case of a poor result with the antibiotics, is completely individual to the case presented.

I really hope it works out for you and your girl,
Carol :)

Hi angel1

Ear canal ablation is the removal of the middle ear. The facial paralysis you read about is a complication of this surgery. If she hasn't had this operation then I would follow your vets advice, having a severe ear infection is extremely painful and any swelling may be pressing on facial nerves causing the drooping jaw etc. I hope she gets some relief soon - the steroids will quickly reduce the inflammation.

Best Wishes
Angela x

thanks for your reply's,today she does seem a little better her jaw is still hanging ,but not as much and her bottom lip is'nt as limp as it was, cant see her bottom teeth now ,so hopefully the vet will see some improvement when we take her back tommorrow,fingers crossed!

Hi angel1

Glad she is getting better, I'm sure she'll recover in no time.

Angela :)

i'll let you all know tommorrow ,after we've been to vets,again fingers crossed shes getting better!

hi angel, glad to hear your girl has improved! her antibiotics are working, which is a very very good sign!! :) let us know how you get on, and good luck!
Carol :)

vet was really plesed with her progress, gave her a couple of more days steroids,and wants to see her in a week,maybe we where just a little to over anxious,but i always am when one of our babys is ill.

Aah that's great news, I don't blame you for being anxious - she is your baby :D

Angela x

Great news!!! :) send you little girl big get well soon wishes from me (and Ollie!!) :)
Carol