Ear infections in dogs - big $$$

[jim]

So I'm down wrestling with my dog, and I thought I hear a yelp when I have her in a headlock. This happened once before but it didn't register right away, I just backed off and figured I tweaked her neck of something. About an hour later she comes up looking for attention and I scratch her behind the ears, and hear another yelp. Then it hits me that it's probably her ear, I look in there and it is RED. Nasty looking. She's walking around this morning shaking her head, I feel terrible for the girl.

Vet appointment at 12:30, I know this is going to be $100+.

[MrCrowesGarden]

So I'm down wrestling with my dog, and I thought I hear a yelp when I have her in a headlock. This happened once before but it didn't register right away, I just backed off and figured I tweaked her neck of something. About an hour later she comes up looking for attention and I scratch her behind the ears, and hear another yelp. Then it hits me that it's probably her ear, I look in there and it is RED. Nasty looking. She's walking around this morning shaking her head, I feel terrible for the girl.

Vet appointment at 12:30, I know this is going to be $100+.

I know how you feel jim. My dog seems to have chronic ear infections, and the drops we give him seems to work, but it comes right back as soon as we run out. Unfortunately, our vet doesn't give refillable prescriptions, so he charges us grande dinero every time we're in there.

[jim]

We've been lucky I guess, the breed(Labrador Retriever) is prone to ear infections yet this is only her second. The drops do work, but I feel bad for her after I put them in. She's pawing at her ear and doing this pathetic head shake.

$110 was the final bill.

[cardinalkarp]

We've been lucky I guess, the breed(Labrador Retriever) is prone to ear infections yet this is only her second. The drops do work, but I feel bad for her after I put them in. She's pawing at her ear and doing this pathetic head shake.

$110 was the final bill.

That's not really that bad.

Our little guy had an accident this weekend and somehow ripped the toenail off his thumb. We had to take him up there to have them cut it off and stop the bleeding. Total cost after the visit $150 (although we did buy some flea stuff and ear cleaner)

[jim]

We've been lucky I guess, the breed(Labrador Retriever) is prone to ear infections yet this is only her second. The drops do work, but I feel bad for her after I put them in. She's pawing at her ear and doing this pathetic head shake.

$110 was the final bill.

That's not really that bad.

Our little guy had an accident this weekend and somehow ripped the toenail off his thumb. We had to take him up there to have them cut it off and stop the bleeding. Total cost after the visit $150 (although we did buy some flea stuff and ear cleaner)

Ouch.

Yeah for vet bills it wasn't that bad, but I guess the point is I didn't need a vet to tell me what was wrong with her. I basically paid that for a bottle of drops and saline solution.

She hates the drops, last night I was sitting down on the floor and trying to get her to lay on my lap so I could put them in. She was sitting in front of me, then she did something that about broke my heart. Her ears laid back and her eyes squinted, her total all-out submissive look. Then she extended her paw to me, like she wanted to just shake and call it a day.

[cardinalkarp]

We've been lucky I guess, the breed(Labrador Retriever) is prone to ear infections yet this is only her second. The drops do work, but I feel bad for her after I put them in. She's pawing at her ear and doing this pathetic head shake.

$110 was the final bill.

That's not really that bad.

Our little guy had an accident this weekend and somehow ripped the toenail off his thumb. We had to take him up there to have them cut it off and stop the bleeding. Total cost after the visit $150 (although we did buy some flea stuff and ear cleaner)

Ouch.

Yeah for vet bills it wasn't that bad, but I guess the point is I didn't need a vet to tell me what was wrong with her. I basically paid that for a bottle of drops and saline solution.

She hates the drops, last night I was sitting down on the floor and trying to get her to lay on my lap so I could put them in. She was sitting in front of me, then she did something that about broke my heart. Her ears laid back and her eyes squinted, her total all-out submissive look. Then she extended her paw to me, like she wanted to just shake and call it a day.

I love dogs. Hope yours starts feeling better.

Our guy has a little bandage wrap around his foot and has been mildly limping since saturday. I feel sorry for him.

[planet planet]

I'm really sad today because we've finally had to put Zeus, our cat, in the basement. I told you about the $700 we spent about 3 weeks ago. Well, the "anti-urination plan" from the vet is not working. He keeps going in the foyer. Sometimes I really question how much they know as professionals vs. how much you know because it's your own cat and having cats for years. Half the time they seem to be taking shots in the dark. Poor guy was crying through the door this morning and our other two cats were looking at the door with a perplexed look on their face.

[Leroy]

That's sad.

[jim]

Another rant: Putting ear drops in dogs ears.

Dizzy hates it. They want us putting the saline in both ears, and the drops in her right ear. The saline really bothers her. She won't sit still (she's 65 lbs), she won't tilt her head so that I can put them in, and in general just makes it as difficult as possible. She knows I have to get out the door and to work, I don't know why she insists on making this harder than it should be.

Poor Dizzy. I do think her ear is getting better, she wanted to wrestle last night for the first time since her infection.

[Simbagal23]

I hear ya (no pun intended!)...our dog had a nasty ear infection last fall. We took him to a park to play catch and when we finished, he was acting a bit odd, then we noticed his ear was bleeding. We had to use an ear cleaning solution and rub an ointment in his infected ear ever night for about 2 weeks.

On the bright side, our total vet bill (vet exam + 2 medicines) was only $56.....we got off cheap that time! We also have plenty of the medicines left, so if we notice this problem (or even just dirty ears), we're good to go.

I hope everyone's pets are on the mend and feeling better soon!