my 10 year old rott had an ear problem . the vet treated it but she wont stop shaking her head even after it?

Question

cleared up.now one ear has blown up with broken blood vessels, the vet said nothing to be done , has anyone ever had a dog do this and how in the world do I have her stop shaking her head and doing more damage. she is so sweet ,but always been a little neurotic

Answer 1

That's an aural hematoma, which is primarily an immunologic problem that causes weakened capillaries in the ear flap....then the hematoma is triggered by severe shaking due to an ear infection, which ruptures the already-weakened blood vessels. Be aware that once it happens in one ear, it often happens in the other ear, too....unless the dog is given an antiinflammatory dose of prednisone. (If it weren't an immune system issue....every dog and cat who ever had an ear infection would develop a hematoma as a result of the shaking. They don't, however. Only some....a relatively small percentage, in fact....do. Dogs and cats even get aural hematomas when their ear canals are slick as a whistle....not infected at all. Like I said, it's primarily an immunological problem at the root of things.)

Did you take the dog back as soon as you finished treating the ears for your DVM to verify with an otoscope that the infection was indeed 100% cleared up? (Failure to do so is the most common cause of continuing problems....because even if the dogs 'seems' back to normal, if you leave even a tiny bit of infective debris down in there, it will just come right back....and be even harder to clear up subsequent times because the ear pathogens develop resistance to the medication.)

There is plenty to do for an aural hematoma. Surgery is best, but for a geriatric Rottie, you might choose a more conservative (medical vs. surgical) treatment. That consists of antibiotics, prednisone, and something for pain (not an NSAID like Deramaxx...since it can't be used concurrently with cortisone.) The blood/tissue fluid in the ear will be eventually reabsorbed by the body....and the ear will 'shrink down' into what is known as a cauliflower ear. Until that happens, it can be quite uncomfortable for your dog....but do not.....I repeat, DO NOT....stick a needle in it to drain it. Doing so will only cause it to fill right back up again, and drastically increase the odds of it becoming abscessed (full of PUS.)

Answer 2

Talk to the vet about a seditive. Benadryl will help the dog to relax a little and may also help if he's having an allergic reaction to something. You can give the dog Benadryl, but you need to check with the vet as to how much. It will be according to it's weight.
What happened to your dog is when a dog shakes it's head over and over, blood rushes in, forming a hematoma, mostly at the end of the ear flap. Sometimes the vet will drain this. Sometimes it goes down on it's own, and unfortunatly, sometimes it will pop or get scratched open by the dog. Either way, you need to stop the dog from shaking it's head before it gets worse. Good luck, pick up some benadryl, call the vet to get the dosage amount, knock him down a little with the benadryl. It certainlly won't hurt him.

Answer 3

You won't necessarily see anything. Advise that you do take to the vet as soon as possible as if it is a grass seed then they can end up travelling through the body and causing problems. If it is an ear infection setting up caused by anything (mites or whatever), the sooner treated the better. When there is a problem the ear canal inflames and narrows. This makes the inner ear warmer and the bacteria produce more in that environment and so the whole thing gets worse and can then become ongoing.

Answer 4

My dog had ear problems and when I took him to a vet, she told me it was probably due to allergies,but she didn't seem so concerned about it and since she's a vet I just assumed she knew what she was doing. The problem was that she didn't really treat his allergies, so I switched vets and she aggressively treated his allergies. Alot of people will tell you to just give him benadryl, the problem with giving a dog a medication that's meant for humans, is you have no idea how they're going to react to it and how in the world do you know how much to give him. So to sum this all up, I would suggest finding a vet that specializes in ears only and taking you dog there.

Answer 5

Sounds like you mean an aural haematoma. If this is the case, the ear needs to be opened and drained surgically then stitched, 'splinted' and bandaged.

They can be hard to treat, but if your vet is saying there's nothing to be done, I'd be seeing a different vet. In the meantime, bandage her ear to her head, as this will stop her from shaking it and doing more damage.

Also- have a look at this Q & A from the other day: http://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Ai5McUXuWGRg_KC0qJw4c5Lg5gt.?qid=20061018052827AAprf7b

Answer 6

most people stop treating an ear infection long before it's actually healed competely just because the dog doesn't show any visible signs and then notice it coming back. retreat the ears and keep treating them. go to a pet store or tsc and get some ear powder
from the pet section. keep it at home and use it on a regular basis.
just a couple of squirts of powder in each ear weekly should help
make your dog more comfortable. my dog loves his ears messaged, do this after each treatment and your dog will love
having his ears messaged with to.

Answer 7

See another vet,,,, It could be anything from something still inthere to an allergy,, Should the ear be removed?

Answer 8

take her to a different vet!!! your dog could have ,a yeast infection in her ear !!

Answer 9

ask your vet if you can give her a Benadryl.