yet another ear infection

[lyn]

paddy has another ear infection starting i still have some drops from the last one a few weeks ago and i was wondering that because it is only mild at the moment and i know the vet will give me the same ones,can i just use the one i have.i have checked the info and it says it is ok to use for three months from opening and it's been opened for about 9 weeks.
i don't know why he keeps getting them.i am dithering on wether to get some thornit but he is a horror when it comes to putting anything near his ears.he actually went to bite me last time he had drops.even brushing them is a major battle.
poor little pads.

[Nicola]

I would think they're still ok to use if it's the same thing as he had the last time.

Can't help on why he keeps getting the infections though...    Hopefully someone a bit more knowledgable will be along soon!

[The Moog]

No advice here really Lyn - we use Thornit and (touch wood) havent had any problems with our two (yet).  Give Pads a snuzz from us.

[Annette]

I think you could use those drops too, although it might just be that this particular infection is resistant to those drops as it has come back so quickly. Or it could be that he just needs a longer course.

Buddy hates anything wet being put into his ears, but the Thornits is a breeze in comparison.

I would get some when this infection has cleared up, if I were you. It costs so little and I am sure it does help. Some vets are a bit scathing about it but our vet just said to keep on doing what we were doing as it was obviously working!


Hugs to poor Paddy (and you, having to put the drops in again!)

[happydog]

I am assuming they are antibiotic drops? If they are were they prescribed for five days or ten? The vets I have used in the past have always tended to suggest the shortest possible time ie 5 days at first as most infections can be cleared in that time. If it doesn't clear up then a further complete dose of 10 days or more is sometimes needed. Dont restart unless you have enough for a full course. It can make matters worse if you redose for say three days as you only will kill off the weakest strains of bacteria and leave the more resistant ones to multiply. It is then much more difficult to eradicate. If it is recurring then perhaps it hasnt completely killed all the bacteria responsible and a few are still lurking to cause another flare up. The other thing is that there are many different types of antibiotic and some are more efficient at killing certain types of bacteria than others. It could be that the cause of Pads infection is a strain of bacteria that is resistant to this particular antibiotic. Most vets tend to use a 'broad spectrum' antibiotic to begin with as these are generally cheaper and tend to clear up most infections. If he's already had a ten day course of this one and the infection is recurring , remind your vet of this and ask him/her if there is another antibiotic that you could try.

It sounds as if poor Pads must always have had sore ears if he wont ever let you near them  . The chances are they are always sore because the infection never completely goes away so he is always going to be sensitive to you going near them. It's a vicious circle, for unless you can get it cleared up completely you wont get near him to check everything is as it should be and keep them clean  .

[hamfam]

We use thornits on Lucy, i just put some on my finger lift her ear and rub it around, she doesn't seem to mind at all although i am sure ear drops would be a whole new ball game though.

BTW i am becomming addicted to the smell of thornits, and feel the urge to sniff her head for days afterwards!  - how wierd is that?

[PennyB]

I got mine used to stuff in their ears by using treats --- try doing touch the ear then treat (basically you're not actually putting anything in their ear but just touching it, and work up from there). I'd also use the armchair to prop them against so they couldn't go very far either

When Ruby had to have lots of attention to her eye recently after the thorn incident (she was getting peed off with this) I would put drops in while she was eating as she was too busy wanting to get back to food she didn't bother.

Since I began using thornitts I've never had to go to vets for treatment of my two's ears.

[happydog]

BTW i am becomming addicted to the smell of thornits, and feel the urge to sniff her head for days afterwards!  - how wierd is that?

Hope you declared that as a pre-existing condition with your pet insurance
"Lucy permanently dosed with Thornitts due to owners addiction to cocker ear sniffing"   

Thanks for the pm btw. Very interesting and helpful. Thank you.

[CraftySam]

Max, my golden ret, had ear infections nearly every month from being a puppy.  Funnily only his right ear was ever affected.  I went to the vets every time and ended up with the same drops each time.

Then I read about Thornit on here.  I ordered some straight away and, touchwood, his ear has been clear ever since.  When I got it I used it for a few days, as instructed, as it cleared up the infection he had.  Now I use it on him every now and again.  I can't recommend it highly enough.  

[hamfam]

BTW i am becomming addicted to the smell of thornits, and feel the urge to sniff her head for days afterwards!  - how wierd is that?

Hope you declared that as a pre-existing condition with your pet insurance
"Lucy permanently dosed with Thornitts due to owners addiction to cocker ear sniffing"   

Thanks for the pm btw. Very interesting and helpful. Thank you.

 

thats why she ignores me then - her ears are packed tight with thornits

[lyn]

ok i have ordered some thornit.his ears were never sore until a few weeks ago when he got the first infection ph34rhis current infection is in his other ear >:(he had the drops for five days last time and i have plenty for another five day course.his ear is already better but i know i have to continue with the drops for the full five days.he has always hated his ears and feathers being groomed but i have disguised the drop bottle in some kitchen roll and he seems more at ease(i wonder did the pointy bit graze his ear when he had the first infection and maybe he thinks it's gonna hurt him again)
thanks for the advice
lyn xx

[happydog]

Are you sure it's not Ellie posting things in to his ears? You know what youngsters can be like...  

[lyn]

 
i wouldn't put anything past ellie.because of that i checked for bits of dinner,pigs ears, bone, stones etc.thankfully she hasn't yet started to use paddy's ears as saddlebags.

[AnnieM]

Sorry to hijack the thread, but my Jade has very smelly ears even though they look lovely and clean, she isn't bothered by them, but I am.    She is 11 weeks old, so is she too young to use the thornits and do you think this would help if she isn't?  Amber's aren't as bad but she has a much finer coat than Jade, so I think more air gets around hers.  Any advice greatly appreciated.

Glad Paddy's are getting better.

[clairep4]

Poor Pads - Bella used to get ear infections all the time as well, we were forever having to pin the poor thing down, put cleaner down and then drops, she hated it, I ended up like a walking doggie chemist the amount of things we tried.

Slightly off topic but it's partly why we switched her to a raw diet - she's been on it since October last year and (touch wood) hasn't had a single ear infection since then - she was on Burns before so it was hypoallergenic etc but she just had smelly, infected, mucky ears all the time. I tried Thornits but it unfortunately didn't seem to do the trick.

These days I rarely even need to clean her ears, I still check them regularly but they smell fine and are really nice and clean. She also used to get lots of eye infections and those have stopped since the raw diet as well.