hi everyone
my dog has had an ear infection, done the washout and drops, recomended by vets over the last few months. done antibiotics, but, over the last week her ear has puffed up
and she has 'blood blisters' on her ears the vet has lanced last week them and they
have come back. Going back to vets tomorrow to have them lanced again,
any advice on how to stop it coming back.
any questions i should ask vet, to get a solution ?
when we went last time they said we had to come back when there were more staff as
they needed more help because she is a powerful dog (EBT) but not agressive.
our dog didnt flinch but i think the vet was scared of her from the begining
the vets at our surgery are all trainees and you never get to see the main vet.
what would you do.
they take one look at her and cringe but she really is a big baby and no one there is willing to touch her
should they put her under to do it or not but her ears are bad
any advice will be most helpful
Donna :-)

Haematomas on the ears usually happen when the dog shakes the head a lot due to ear irritation so point number one is to make sure that is cleared. Then the haematoma needs to be drained again and to be stitched up very, very tightly with LOTS of tiny stitches.(I think my dog had 30.) They usually leave a sort of grove in that can drain the fluid out, it looks very messy for a while, and the stitches needs to be kept in for as long as possible, usually 3 to 4 weeks. Otherwise as you have found the heamatoma will just come back again as it will simply fill up. I had this surgery done on a dog of mine about 2 years ago and it's never come back.

thanks marriane
thats what i was thinking the way the are vets are going now its going to
be  drain them once a week every week and not sort out the infection
i will suggest that to our vet and see what happens
Donna

I have been using 'thornit' as a weekly preventative for about the last year with good effect.
This was after recurring ear infections and advise fom here!

Karen

are you sure the vets are trainees? i wouldnt have thought they were allowed to do consults without supervision and certainly wouldnt be allowed to do procedures without a qualified member of staff. where i work, they have to be supervised to take a blood sample etc etc nevermind a procedure like draining an aural haematoma?
marianneb is right, she may need surgery, there are several different ways to do this and its usually down to preference of vet.

I changed my boys food and he's nearly on a total BARF diet since doing this he has had no more ear problems and has put on weight.  So after over 4 years of going to vets, having a haematoma drained etc. I now have a happy healthy boy.

Hi
and thanks for  the replies and advice
with regard to the trainee comment,
perhaps, i should have said very young and seem
inexperienced. the practice we go to is a branch
and not the main vets practice. Last night,
we had an appt. with the main vet and he recomended
the operation, to sort her ears out once and for all.
so this morning we dropped her off to have it done :-(
and we are just waiting for phonecall to pick her up.
wish her luck

Donna

>I changed my boys food and he's nearly on a total BARF diet since doing this he has had no more ear problems

I find with my two, food that is too rich (protein/fat) will always give them ear problems.  A change of food (can take a while finding the right food) and the problem disappears! 

Colloidal Silver is briliant for cleaning ears it is gentle, natural and very effective.

Hi
I feed my dogs on frozen tripe and wholemeal biscuits
they have cooked veggies with this around 3/4 times per week
i also give them raw ox heart or cooked liver once per week
as treats they get a pigs ear each once per day.
they were on complete food ( BETA )with thier tripe but were getting fat.

Donna

PS i have ordered thornit powder for her ears sounds good, as she
will not tolerate wet stuff in them so i will give it try

had a similar thing with one of my cats treatment exactly as Marriane has posted the ear did flop after but treatment worked and she is fine.

just letting you all know she had the op.
her ears are all stitched up now,(her ears look like cross a  stitch pattern :-) )
and she is doing well. Got all her bandages off within 3 hours of getting
her home :-( :-(
but by all accounts, she seems happier in herself today
better than 'before'  the operation, it looks bad, but ,
she is much better in herself. been back to vets today and they are happy
wiith her progress.
thanks for all your advice,
going to try with thornit powder to clear her ears. and looking into her diet
possiblibly going barf with it!!
need to do some research.!! any advice feel free to send me some
many thanks Donna :-)

Hi My 5 year old flatcoat has also had ear problems since she was 6 months . She has regularly had antibiotic ear drops and cleaners from the vet and hopefully I think I have solved her problem. Someone on a fcr board recently recommended quistel ear cleaner it contains gentian violet.
I have used it for approx 3 months now and touch wood her ears are fine and smelling much better too.

Zoe will not tolerate having any thing wet in her ears,
its a real struggle trying to get drops in her ears
i am going to try the thornit powder for six weeks,
after her stitches are out. if it's no good, i will try
the quistel drops read good things about both,
thank for all the advice

Donna :-)

My vet injects cortisone directly into the haematoma, touch wood this has never failed to work. This was prrobably caused by your dog having an ear infection and constantly shaking and scratching his ear. If left though withouit veterinary treatment the skin will become thickened and the dog will have a cauliflower ear so best to get it sorted sooner rather than later.

Glad you bitch is now feeling better, having suffered from a haematoma myself of late I can confirm that it is extremely painful, she has my sympathy.

she is happy in herself and has left her stitches alone
so no need for a collar they come out a week today,
not looking forward to that battle. :-(
keep you posted
Donna