Author Topic: i feel like fumble is the king of medical issueS!  (Read 5789 times)

Offline Fumble

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i feel like fumble is the king of medical issueS!
« on: March 06, 2006, 07:26:20 pm »
 ??? ??? ??? fumble's ears are bothering him again!!  this is the third time in 6 weeks!!  and the vets keep treating it like a yeast infection even though i keep telling them that it's not.. trying to explain to them that newfies are prone to more wax, but this is more than that. it doesn't smell like yeast either.. but he keeps shaking his head and his ears are VERy sensitive! even when you touch them he cries.. it's just the ears though, not under the ear or anything (my sister brushed the knots and drool out and no cries) but when you pet his head and touch the ears then there's a huge whine!  my breeder told me to use this cleaner and then drying powder, but it's not helping with the shaking and crying.. most of the wax is gone though. i'm not sure what to do!  i don't want to go back to t he vet and pay anohter $120 just for them to put him on momotomax for the 5th time!!   ??? so frustrated! i just thought i'd get some feedback first!   

oh that and i just found a blister thingie on his hygroma!  it's neverending! i swear! lol!  my sis was trying to tell me that having a 130 lb. dog under the age of 1 this is expecteD!  which is always reassuring to hear!
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Offline Titansmom

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Re: i feel like fumble is the king of medical issueS!
« Reply #1 on: March 06, 2006, 08:47:26 pm »
If Fumble is having ear issue with and regular cleaning and antibiotics aren't helping you might want to ask your vet about a deep ear flushing. It has to be done under sedation I believe. That what had to be done with one of my boss's Airedales a few weeks ago after a non stop 2 month battle with it.

Offline jabear

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Re: i feel like fumble is the king of medical issueS!
« Reply #2 on: March 06, 2006, 09:22:23 pm »
Poor Fumble! I feel your pain though! Bear had issues as a baby too that seemed to come in like a wave and then he was all better. He had yeasty ears, growing elbow pains, mange & got bitten by a dog in his tongue (which almost tore it in half) all in a span of a few weeks. Hang in there. Things will get better!  ;D
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Offline Mom2Sadie

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Re: i feel like fumble is the king of medical issueS!
« Reply #3 on: March 06, 2006, 10:40:15 pm »
My vet told me to expect problems with ears and she sent me home from our first visit with the cleaning solution even though Sadie's ears are fine. Our old Golden had horrible problems with his ears too - curse of floppy ears I guess. When did you do the cleaner and powder? Our Goldens ears always took a couple of days to clear up on the ointment we used, maybe give it a day and see if it improves? Poor Fumble! Ear infections aren't ANY fun at all!
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Offline chaos270

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Re: i feel like fumble is the king of medical issueS!
« Reply #4 on: March 06, 2006, 10:54:24 pm »
Poor Fumble....my mom's a vet tech and could look at them Sunday...I know that's far away still.  Kali sends slobbers and says he needs to feel better cause she wants him to be able to wrestle by Sunday.  Hopefully the pain will go away since his ears aren't as waxy, sometimes it takes a few days for them to feel better.
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Offline Senghe

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Re: i feel like fumble is the king of medical issueS!
« Reply #5 on: March 07, 2006, 03:18:02 am »
Awww - poor Fumble with his ears. Nothing makes a dog more miserable.

Have you tried Zymox? I used to use it on my bearcoat shar-pei (long coat + small ear canals + tight fitting ears = trouble) and it's that good, I go the hassle of importing it from the USA as we can't get it here in the UK. It always stopped mine shaking and scratching almost immediately and it was the only ear stuff they didn't object to or get stressed out when I was administering it. I've used the green and the blue in the past, the only difference being the blue contains hydrocortisone .

Offline orion5221

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Re: i feel like fumble is the king of medical issueS!
« Reply #6 on: March 07, 2006, 07:31:24 am »
Is he itchy anywhere else? Could be allergies... my dobie/shep ( floppy ears) had really bad ear infections. I changed her food ( think it was fish and potatoe) and her ears cleared up... maybe something to talk over with the vet...
Good luck.
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Offline aggghgmom

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Re: i feel like fumble is the king of medical issueS!
« Reply #7 on: March 07, 2006, 09:24:32 am »
Poor Fumble :-[.  My springer spaniel had ear problems for years, it is NO fun.  I don't really have any suggestions - how close are you to your vet - could you take Fumble somewhere else to get a different opinion?  I wound up going to 4 or 5 vets with Stoli one even wanted to do surgery and put in ear tubes so they could drain bettter. 

hope you feel better really soon Fumble!!!!

Randy & Harley

Offline K9ldy00

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Re: i feel like fumble is the king of medical issueS!
« Reply #8 on: March 07, 2006, 05:07:56 pm »
Have they done a culture on the ear to see what if anything is growing in there. If it's not yeast or bacteria. Then it probably is allergies. And if it is bacteria they would know Which antibiotic to treat it with.
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Re: i feel like fumble is the king of medical issueS!
« Reply #9 on: March 07, 2006, 05:37:42 pm »
Poor Fumble.  I hope he's feeling better soon, and that the vet can nail-down what it is...

Kate gets stinky & dirty ears.  When they're dirty, she doesn't like them touched (cause I bet it sort of hurts with all that crap packed in there).  We clean them every other day, or they get gross.  Vet said it's alright though, it's mainly because she gets such a mess when she's out in the yard, digging in her "designated" dig area.

Offline swells

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Re: i feel like fumble is the king of medical issueS!
« Reply #10 on: March 07, 2006, 08:21:57 pm »
I am a Certified Vet Tech in Minneapolis, MN. It is really easy to tell if it is yeast or bacteria. Have your vet do an ear swab. They just roll the junk from the ear on a slide, stain it, then look at it under a microscope under high power. Then they should be able to differentiate bacteria or yeast or neither. Yeast has a very distinctive smell, appears dark and thick (reminds me of tar).

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Offline wrknnwfs

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Re: i feel like fumble is the king of medical issueS!
« Reply #11 on: March 08, 2006, 07:59:47 pm »
My boy recently had a raging ear infection. Turned out to be a psuedomonas bacteria and a yeast infection. Psuedomonas is particularly difficult to eradicate because it can become resistant to treatment so it's important to try other treatments if the first fails to clear it up.

I had to give two (10 day) rounds of oral antibiotics (Baytril) and daily treatments with Otomax and Conofite lotion and finally Neopolydex, an opthalmic (eye) drop, before it cleared up. It was so painful for this gentlest of dogs that I had to muzzle him to treat him.

Not being satified that it was simply an ear infection, I also asked for a complete blood count (CBC) and a complete thyroid panel (not just the in-house vet clinic test). The thyroid panel had to be sent to a lab in Michigan. I suspected hypothyroidism .

Indeed my dog was hypothyroid. Ear infections are one of many symptoms of thyroid problems so my guess was a good one. We have had no more ear problems since we started thyroid medications.

My point in this story is to not give up and if you are having chronic ear problems start asking about underlying causes or complications. There are many things that can cause ear infections; disease, allergies, foreign bodies, mites, etc. If you are not getting answers or the problem doesn't get better, get another opinion. It is not humanly possible for all vets to know everything about all dogs. Keep pressing for answers if the problem doesn't clear up. I had to nearly harrass my vet (who I like and respect) into trying different things and looking for causes.

For heavy coated dogs with pendulous ears, owners can keep the fur under the ear (on the side of the dogs face; his upper cheek, if you will) trimmed short. While this won't prevent ear infections, it will help with air circulation in an area that is typically warm and damp. Also learn how to trim up the ear margins. Make sure that you brush and comb that area on a regular basis and check the ears frequently for signs of infection. Lots of gunky brown material is not normal. Smelly ears are not normal. Pink or red or oozing skin under the ear flap is not normal. If your dog rubs his head frequently or cries when scratching, it's not normal.

If you swim your dog a lot, you will probably have some ear problems. Check them frequently during the swimming season. Dry them after swimming each time.  Have your vet show you how to clean and flush ears without injuring them. Don't give up on fixing this problem. Repeated ear infections can lead to scarring of the ear canal or possibly puncture of the ear drum and middle ear infections. Untreated or chronic ear infections can lead to deafness if not managed or cleared up.

Also, your sister may have a point. Hygromas, which are fairly common in Saint Bernards and Mastiffs, are very uncommon in Newfs. In fact, I have only seen one other Newf with a hygroma out of hundreds of Newfs that I have been around at shows, regional club events and pet owner gatherings. Your pup is exceptionally large for a Newf of his age so it wouldn't be surprising that his over sized body at his age is the cause. I don't mean that as an insult or to be hurtful, it's just an observation. You have already determined that he is not overweight, just over sized. You may want to address his size with your vet and ask about other possible problems that being extra-large may cause. There may be skeletal issues or organ problems that you should watch for.

« Last Edit: March 08, 2006, 08:20:08 pm by wrknnwfs »
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