Lab won't stop shaking head
kristen
head constantly. Especially if he wakes up in the middle of the night.
He'll shake his head rapidly (I can hear his ears slapping against the
sides of his head), and do this 5 - 10 times in a row. He also does it
more in the daytime. Something must be wrong, right? The only thing I
can think of is there could be something in his ears?
I thought maybe his ears were dirty, so I cleaned them yesterday with
the solution the vet gave me. My other worry was maybe he had a tick
in his ear? Is this possible? I've checked both his ears and they look
fine.
Does anyone have any ideas? I thought I'd ask here before I spent $60
at the vet for him to tell me he just has an itchy ear.
Thanks a bunch,
Kristen & Baloo(the lab)
YO YO
Maybe thats it?
its not much but thats all i got!
Ev
"kristen" <kwr...@synergysw.com> wrote in message
news:2d2e36ce.03050...@posting.google.com...
Lori E. Smith
Did he swim any before it started? Water can linger in the ear. You can
try a swimmer's ear solution, I've used it for Jack after swimming to dry
his ears out. I just buy the people kind. It could also be yeast, although
you'd probably see it in there, as a black-ish color. Last year Jack
(again!) had dirt way down in his ear that the vet had to get out. His ears
looked clean but apparently it was sand from our sand pile by the water.
The vet had to use a long swab. Then he gave me some ear wash (not the
stuff I usually get) that I think had some kind of steroid in it too. I'll
have to check it and see. I had to use that for a few days and he was
fine - no more head shaking. Oh, and I had made up that purple power
solution too with the gentian violet and tried that first, didn't work.
When I asked my vet about it and told him what was in it he advised against
it, at least for my dogs and their particular ear problems. So, as always,
it's a good idea to discuss any of these treatments with the vet!
--
~ Lori
and Jack, Sasha, Rufus, Joey, and Bug
{Clean the doghouse to reply}
~ http://www.smithandwest.net/
~ PETS, Inc - http://www.petsinc.org/
~ http://petsinc.petfinder.org/
Rod Mendenhall
I have the same problem with Harry off and on. He has been to the vet
several times (new parent) just to make sure that everything is okay. What
my vet told me is that some dogs are just prone to ear problems even if they
don't get their ears wet, but especially if they spend any time in the
water. I was told to use the cleaner every time he was done playing in the
water. The cleaner not only helps clean the ear, but will help evaporate any
water left in the ear canal which will hopefully help prevent any bad stuff
from growing in there. I was also given some medication during one of
Harry's visits because his ear was actually infected. I don't remember what
it was but it had to be refrigerated and after it cleared up his infection
there was still a lot left in the bottle. So, I kept it and used it a couple
of times afterwards when it appeared that he was having ear problems. It
seems to have done the trick each time.
You may also want to get a hold of the May/June 2003 issue of "The
Retriever Journal". It should still be on the store shelf. On page 40 is a
very good Vet article on problems caused by water in the ear and how to
avoid problems and cure them.
If Baloo's ear problem doesn't get better, you may want to take a trip to
the vet for peace of mind as ear infections can lead to permanent problems
if left for too long.
Good luck!
Regards,
Rod and Harry too
Pat
Funny you should say that My dog has the same problem,
Also a couple of weeks ago a friends dog had it also.
I have looked in my dogs ear and it is very clean.
I suspect it is mites or infection .
I think it may be the same with yours.
They shake their heads franticly with ear trouble.
I think it is best to visit the vet...well I will be.
Hope this help.....and it will be ear trouble from what you say.
Pat.
"kristen" <kwr...@synergysw.com> wrote in message
news:2d2e36ce.03050...@posting.google.com...
Madeline
kristen
> For the past week, my 1 year old black lab Baloo keeps shaking his
> head constantly. Especially if he wakes up in the middle of the night.
> He'll shake his head rapidly (I can hear his ears slapping against the
> sides of his head), and do this 5 - 10 times in a row. He also does it
Thanks for all the tips. I wanted to add that Baloo goes swimming
EVERY DAY! So I think he probably has water in his ear. I will wait a
few more days to see if it clears up on its own, and if nto take a
trip to the vet. I've seen a dog with ear mites before and Baloo's
ears don't look like that. They look fine actually.
We have a swamp on the edge of our yard and Baloo is in there every
chance he gets. At least once in the weekdays, and multiple times
every weekend. YOu should see how many towels I go thru trying to
clean him off.
Thanks,
Kristen
Pat
If your dog goes in a swamp ...I would think it may be an infection.
One of my dogs years back went into a dirty pond.
It caused her to have wet eczema.
Which doubled in size every 24 hours.
Hope all will be fine...sure that it will be.
Pat.
Jenny
and it was a yeast infection.
Jen
"kristen" <kwr...@synergysw.com> wrote in message
news:2d2e36ce.0305...@posting.google.com...
kristen
> If your dog goes in a swamp ...I would think it may be an infection.
> One of my dogs years back went into a dirty pond.
> It caused her to have wet eczema.
> Which doubled in size every 24 hours.
> Hope all will be fine...sure that it will be.
> Pat.
Thanks Pat. I am going to wait till over the weekend and then call the
vet on Monday if he is still doing it. Because I noticed he hasn't
been shaking his head anymore yesterday. I'll keep an eye on it
tonight and tomorrow and then take it from there. There is no keeping
this guy out of the water, thats for sure! Is there any way to prevent
this normally? Like can I do something to dry out his ears after he
swims?
Kristen
cat daddy
Epi-Otic or similar after every swim.
Lori E. Smith
There are many drying solutions out there to help dry the ears out after
swimming. I had mentioned a swimmer's ear solution (for people) in my post
above, that I use for Jack and it seems to help. There are also powders out
there. Check drsfostersmith.com and PetsMart, or some similar place. Some
of the drying formulas contain salicylic acid (yes, the stuff for zits) and
some dogs may not like it if it burns a little. You may have to try a
couple of different things to see what's right for your dog.
Marcel Beaudoin
@posting.google.com:
> Like can I do something to dry out his ears after he
> swims?
>
Ask your vet. After Moogli got his ear infection, ours gave us a solution
that we put on cotton balls and rub in his ear to dry it out and adjust the
pH a little bit.
--
*******************************************
Marcel Beaudoin & Moogli
Remove urka-gurka to reply
*******************************************
'The best kind of dog toy has a person
on one end.'
*******************************************
Sue and Atty
"Lori E. Smith" <dirtyd...@smithandwest.net> wrote in message
news:b9gd3f$it49v$1...@ID-141594.news.dfncis.de...
There are also powders out
> there.
We use the powder - I like it better than the wet stuff - it also has an
anti-itch ingredient in it - It seems to dry her ear canals out better than
the swimmers ear gel.....but sometimes I put too much in and it's a powder
fest when she shakes her head! Goes great with the yellow fur on the hunter
green carpet!
Sue and Atty
kristen
his ear. Yesterday he was ALOT better. no head shaking. (well nothing
beyond whats normal). I doubt it is a yeast infection, because he
hasn't been scratching and his ears look fine. Thanks for all the tips
and help. If he starts doing it over the weekend I will make an
appointment with his vet. And talk to the vet about something for me
to use on his ears after he swims.
Kristen
Pat
Not sure about drying powders.
Looking at the posts people do use them.
However I do not think I would personally.
Would be frightened it may get clogged up in the ears.
A dog shaking its head is probably the most natural thing I would think.
Plus I would just give the ear a quick wipe.
Well there is a way to stop a dog.
However I am not sure like how he gets into the water.
Can he access it from your garden or does it happen when you walk him.?
I know it is hard to stop bad habbits in dogs...but it is possible.
Take care.
Pat.
kristen
> Can he access it from your garden or does it happen when you walk him.?
> I know it is hard to stop bad habbits in dogs...but it is possible.
> Take care.
> Pat.
Pat,
I live on 30 acres of land in Vermont. About 10 acres are dry, with
grass, the rest is swamp. So the swamp is way in front of my front
yard, on the side yard, behind the house. I dont walk Baloo, we just
go outside and play and he never forgets about the swamp and how much
fun he has running in to get wet. He doesnt really "swim" in it. Its
more like laying in it for a minute or two, then running back out. I
think my yard is more like a lab heaven. Of course that means lots
more work for me at keeping Baloo clean.
Kristen