Crumbling Disc - UPDATED

[caza61]

i have just finished a night shift , so my hubby is going to phone the vet to see if they can see him , dont know how he's going to get him there because we arnt allowed to put a collar and lead on him ( because of his neck ) so its going to have to be the harness which he thinks is a muzzle !! , i have never known a dog so difficult than what he is !! and i have had a few , he has been hard work from the day we got him  . i think he is really fed up now because he has gone from having abot 4 walks a ady to just going in the garden 

[Ninasmum]

Poor Ozzy 
I'm pretty sure most vets will let you pop in daily for a nurse to adminster the ear drops & i would be surprised if they charge for this. 
Another alternative is to gently lift him onto a table/ironing board & whilst someone is distracting/holding him, perhaps with a yummy treat, just drop them in.

[caza61]

we may have to try that ninasmum , we have the eardrops here , wot they gave us a couple of weeks ago  , he is our first cocker , are cockers usually so difficult

[Sheryl]

I would check with the vet first. It may be that you stress him out giving him drops he doesn't need.  Some cockers are a breeze....Kali is one of them but others take a bit more patience.  Lyla is one of them 

[jasper_boy]

its impossible to muzzle him ! soon as he sees the muzzle he goes under the table or in a corner and you just cant get near him , he has allways been like this , even the vet has a problem to get the muzzle on 

Long term it does sounds as though he might need to get use to wearing a muzzle. Here is a link to how to train a dog to wear a muzzle http://www.aspcabehavior.org/articles/20/Teaching-Your-Dog-to-Wear-a-Muzzle.aspx it may take weeks or months to get a dog use to it, but by following these steps it should help   

[elaine.e]

Just a thought, but as poor Ozzy is so stressed at the moment, you could try putting a few drops of Rescue Remedy in his drinking water. You can also give them direct onto the tongue, but I guess that may be difficult. You can buy it in Boots and most chemist shops. If you haven't heard of it before here's some info. about it http://www.nelsonsnaturalworld.com/en-gb/uk/our-brands/rescue-remedy/about-rescue/what-is-rescue-remedy/

It won't do any harm and it really might help Ozzy to feel calmer. I've used it successfully for travel sick and anxious dogs and also take it myself before I go to the dentist.

Hope Ozzy gets on well at the vets today 

[caza61]

think i could do with some of that elaine 

[caza61]

decided to leave the harness around so ozzy could have a sniff and gradually get him used to it hubby managed to get it on him no problem went to fasten it and the clip had been chewed off !!! the culprit was our little jack russel x !!  . oh well will have to order him one of those nice fleece lined ones now 

[bluegirl]

Have you taken him to the vets yet? Thought you said yesterday your hubby was going to try to get him to see a vet today?

[caza61]

hubby phoned our vet , he said we have to try and get the drops into him  .. hubby didn't bother asking if he could take him there and get them to do it ! , the vet did say that trying to get the drops in his ears will aggravate his neck , but then shaking his head (because of his ears) will also do the same . these vets sometimes are just not helpfull !!! they know we allways have problems getting the drops in but they still give us them !! we are going to try a different muzzle  .

[bluegirl]

Oh, your vet works very different to mine. We can only get info via phone for something we have just been to vets for ie in this case the back but he wouldn't give advice over phone for ears regardless of how long the history of ear trouble was, we'd have to get another consultation just to make sure it was in fact ears and not back issues iyswim.

My friends dog had continual ear infections and their dog was given a GA and had ears flushed out and treatment applied whilst asleep. Seems like it would be kinder in your dogs case considering his history of ear troubles, difficulties in adhering to treatment plan due to intense dislike to having ear drops applied and the immediate problem of potentially damaging the crumbling discs further whilst trying to wrestle with him to get ear drops in if it is another ear infection.

Do you warm the drops up slightly (to body temp) before you administer as sometimes its the chill of the drops that a dog objects to not the ear drops per say.

Think I'd be looking at changing vets if I didn't think mine was been helpful.

[caza61]

i think the reason he gave us the advice about his ears over the phone is because he treated ozzy for his ears at the time he diagnosed his neck problem (originally he thought it was his ears giving him the pain ), we do warm the drops when we have managed to get them into him , its just that with his neck probs i don't fancy wrestling with him .    i think the best thing to do will be like you said get them to sedate him and give his ears a good clean out 

[bluegirl]

I think then regardless of whether or not he may need a muzzle at the vets or whether the other dog has chewed through the end of the cockers harness, you should be booking him back in to see a vet. If the vet thought it may have been an ear infection at the beginning almost 3 weeks ago but diagnosed a crumbling disc neck problem instead, then I think you will have to presume this is still a neck issue. The dog is showing signs of pain and has bitten people in this period and I really think the only solution which will help your dog get the correct diagnosis and treatment is another visit to the vets. Both conditions are very uncomfortable and I think he really needs medical attention not an owner diagnosis here. What about a home visit?

[caza61]

i agree with you bluegirl , i didnt think of a home visit (didnt know vets done those ) regarding ozzys neck the vet did say give hime 4 weeks , rest and pain killers and see how he is then .

[caza61]

managed to get the eardrops in ozzys ears  !