[MaxDad]

Hi...my 11 year old Westie is otherwise in good shape. But he has an ear infection, it was treated earlier this year and got better. Came back, vet changed therapy, it got slightly better but has now returned.

The dog is very sensitive to touch there, it smells terrible, and its obvious his hearing has been affected. Vet suggests general anesthesia and a good clean out, very expensive and might not help.

Does anyone have any experience with this? Thanks!!

 

[jagger]

If his ears are that dirty, they have to be cleaned before they can be effectively treated. And if you had a massive ear infection, you'd be touchy too right?

Many groomers are good with ear cleanings, and plucking hair out of them. Maybe bring him in and get them to show you how to do it effectively. It's not hard to accomplish.

With this minpin, he's had many ear infections. Tried everything on the market, over the counter is junk for bad infections. The brand mometamax is the best ever, needs a prescription, ask your vet. Once a day application for a week and generally anything clears up.

 

[San]

Does your Westie have any allergy problems?

When we got our German shepherd back in 2008 (she was around 3 years old), she had recurrent ear infections. It took us 5-6 months of treatment to finally clear them (the vet did blood work, cultures, ear drops worked really well, but once we stopped the medication, ear infection would bounce back). It turned out that she had bad allergy problems (mainly pollen). We eventually took her to a dermatologist, got the allergy under control with desensitization shots, she hasn't had a problem since.

Good luck!

 

[MaxDad]

If his ears are that dirty, they have to be cleaned before they can be effectively treated. And if you had a massive ear infection, you'd be touchy too right?

Many groomers are good with ear cleanings, and plucking hair out of them. Maybe bring him in and get them to show you how to do it effectively. It's not hard to accomplish.

Thank you for this idea. To be clear, I cannot get anywhere near his ears without him biting. I would definitely need a muzzle to do this. He is a gentle, sweet dog, but clearly in discomfort. He, of course, doesn't realize I am trying to help.

I cannot imagine that this will be easy to do, but its a great suggestion to contact a groomer and see if they have experience with this.

Thanks again!

 

[Laco]

Sounds like it may be time for Vet intervention, with anesthesia to help your dog get through the cleaning and treatment process.