ear infection

[pbaker]

Koda started shaking his head frequently, so we took him to the vet and the vet said he was fine, but the shaking got worse and took him to the vet again, but his partner was there and she took a cotton tip applicator and dug some drainage out of his ear and he welped in pain and tried to bite, Now every time we come to him he runs away or tries to bite if we have a bottle that even looks like ear drop medicine. The other day I was dying my hair and had a bottle that was kind of shaped like the medicine and he ran in his cage! And tried a muzzlle but he had it off in no time biting, then acting scared of me! And I love him and just want his infection better, We have an appt Mon for the vet, but afraid he won't even go or might try to bite because he is scared to be hurt!! Any ideas?

[pbaker]

Since Koda wouldn't let us put ear drops in his ears for his infection, we talked to the vet and now he is on oral antibiotics and a tapering dose of prednisone! He is acting so different, which I think is side effect of the prednisone! More quiet, and went aggressive over my dad's cat when giving her table food! Don't know whether to keep him on this med or stop it? I want him to get better but scared of the side effects which include aggressiveness, cushiness disease, hair loss and diabetes, I have already lost a chow mix to this disease!

[Cocoa]

I really wish the vets weren't all so fond of prednisone. Don't just stop the medication with Koda, it can be harmful if it isn't stopped gradually. Talk to your vet about accelerating the tapering process. Cocoa's allergies were really bad last fall so the vet put her on prednisone for it, I didn't like the effect that it had at all. Having lost my last girl to Cushing's disease the increased thirst and appetite side effects really scared me. We are just getting into allergy season again and I hope this year isn't as bad as last but if it comes down to it I would put her in the cone of shame for the next two months before I would be willing to let them put her on prednisone again.

[Juniper]

I agree Cocoa on vets being fond of the steroid prednisone. They have the attitude that the steroid, which is known to cause cancer and chows are prone to cancer, is not that bad in small amounts- like 2mg. Yet they put my Troy on it for months, handled allergies initially and then it didn't work anymore.

I'd get a stronger muzzle that Koda couldn't shake off and be more dominant with Koda. When I first got Sheena as a stray I placed a bath towel on her and pinned her down on the floor with my body to apply medication. This wasn't easy for me to do and I felt terrible about it but it needed to be done. Ear medication directly into the ear is the best way to handle the problem although I understand the difficulty on getting it in the ear. Sheena didn't like the look of any similar bottle either and would run, but got over it once the infection ceased and was back to her old self. I would give her her favorite dried chicken breast treat after ear application and tell her what a good girl she was.

Hope the ear problem ceases quickly so no damage is done to Koda's hearing.

[pbaker]

We started weaning off the prednisone ourselves and he started to act his old self with half the dose, we are keeping him on the antibiotic and his head shaking has really decreased, I need to find a muzzle that fits,and together him used to it, but in our area there aren't much choices! It is so funny will let me touch his ears but anything that looks like a bottle of ear medicine he runs or bites!

[Juniper]

Glad that Koda is getting better. Muzzle I use is called "Soft Guard" I have the large size (green one), It's really soft and the front has a mesh netting that allows the chow to breath normally with open mouth. It is easy to come off so I wrap one or both of the straps around a neck collar before I attach so no pawing or rubbing against objects can remove it. It worked great on Troy who was very, very active and hyper and you can get it by mail order, it's about $15.00.

Good health always for all!