ear infection symptoms - what are they?

[Martina]

I'm not sure if Lola has an ear infection and I called my vet today but they weren't much help. Are there any sort of "typical" symptoms? Lola has recently started waving her head like Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles. She sits on the floor with her back at a wall (so she's not scooting around on her butt) and starts waving her head in this oddly rythmic pattern - like she's watching an invisible fly that's flying around her face. I'm not seeing any more earwax, mites or discharge than previously, and she doesn't appear to be scratching or pawing at her ears. However, her ears do smell a bit stronger than they used to -- and I don't know if that's me just being paranoid and hyper-sensitive, or if it really is something! I'm waiting through the weekend and will probably be making an appointment on Monday, but I was just wondering what kind of symptoms I should be looking for.

[fran]

Dari recently had her first ear infection; I noticed because she had her head at an odd angle.And she started to shake her head shortly thereafter ( a sure sign of infection)
When I looked in her ear ,it was red; her other ear was white-pink. The inflamed ear felt hard and had brown "stuff" for lack of a better term.All the opposite of her other ear.There WAS a smell; not pleasant, which is an indicator.The vet gave me drops to use for a week.
He suggested that perhpas water had gotten in her ear; we had allot of rain and caused an infection.
The drops helped almost immediately;stopped the tilting and shaking. It took about 2 days to get rid of the brown debris. I would recommend taking her to the vet; an ear infection can be very painful.
fran

[Carolyn]

Hi Martina. I do not want to alarm you but felt I needed to add that what you described sounds like the affects of a small seizure. I say this because I have owned an epileptic dog in the past and am familiar with the body language. I am probably wrong on this one....and pray that I am.

Lola, being deaf, may have a different body language to her. Please let us know what you vet thinks. I'm concerned about this little girl. Carolyn

[Martina]

Wow!! I can't thank ya'll enough for your answers! And no, Roosje, we haven't been to the vet yet -- our appointment is for tomorrow morning. The only appointment I could get today was with the lady doctor who, shall we say, is less than capable (she didn't seem to think that Gigi's last anal prolapse that was also and intussuception was an emergency and that she could wait a full day to be treated). So we are seeing the man we like tomorrow morning.

When she started doing her head shake thing this morning, I started petting her to see how she'd respond. I thought that if it was a seizure, like Carolyn brought up, she wouldn't be able to respond. Luckily, she stopped, came for some snuggling and loving and then went back to her head shake when she got off my lap. So that makes me feel good!

With reference to Fran, who gave that great list of symptoms, after another check this morning, I can say that her ears both look completely healthy. Thank goodness!

But something must be bothering her ... It makes me wonder about middle ear infection. It could even be allergies - her eyes have been watering A LOT lately. So hopefully the doctor will be able to tell ... if not, we may just stumble through some trial and error to see if we can figure out what it is! Oh well.

I also wanted to let ya'll know about Gigi ... she's finally feeling better appicon - yay, yay, yay!!!
We have been in and out of the hospital (which I have since found out is the best specialty and best french bulldog hospital in Saint Louis - more yay!) for the past two weeks with her anal prolapses. She had surgery on Friday (and got spayed at the same time) and it's like a miracle! I am so, so happy for her! She is happy and, even though she's got a 4 inch suture on her belly, wants to run and jump and play -- hallelujiah! Aaaaand, I just smelled something stinky and found 5 little presents around the house - and I'm happy about it! With all of her pooping problems (and we were just outside and she pooped), I'm relieved to find normal poops - even if they are really small. She's getting better and feeling better. Of course, we don't want to encourage inside pooping (and she's not allowed to do all the running, jumping and playing), but at the moment I'm just so relieved that she CAN poop like a normal dog - and that she wants to act like a normal dog!!

Here's hoping that Lola's problem can be fixed too ...
Martina

[fran]

Martina,
You have been thru SO much.Hopefully it will be over soon.thankfully it appears that one of your girls is on her way to recovery!!!
If I may suggest one thing; please keep her crated.After surgery like this, even though she seems to feel great,playing is not the best thing in the world.
Is Lola(?) do I have that right the one who had surgery on antibiotics?If so, I have always given my dogs either a little yogurt or acidopholous (sp)to balance the intestinal tract.
Several friends of mine have dogs with siezures; they have switched to a raw diet because of the lack of chemicals.I have no first hand experience with this; so I can not comment.But they said it appeared to help.A really good book is "The Ultimate Diet" ; very easy to read and good guide to raw.
Also consider reading Dr Jean Dodds articles about overvaccination. And vaccinating dogs whose immune systems are compromised. You can google her and read what she has to say.I feel it is particularly relevant with your girls because of what they have been going thru.
Well enough of my rambling and sounding like your Mom. Glad that you are getting good news and we have been of some help.Kiss both girls.
And , it WILL get easier..
fran

[Martina]

Great news!! Lola has no infection! She does, however, have big waxy build-up deep in the ear canal (which couldn't be seen with the naked eye) which was probably causing the head shaking. Annoyance, as opposed to irritation - hallelujiah! So we've got lots of deep ear cleaners and we'll see how that works.

About Gigi ... Don't worry Roosje, she's being kept quiet -- or mostly so! She's kept quiet in the house, but she's so excited to go outside for potties that she gets a bit worked up. I'm just soooo grateful that she's feeling better!

I'm just so grateful that everyone's doing well (even me)! As you all can probably imagine, after what I went through with Gigi, I'm super-paraniod about any little thing out of the ordinary at the moment ... I just need to take a couple of deep breaths and calm down :rolleyes: - which is easier said than done!

Huge thanks for all of your concern and well-wishes. Chez Desloge is happy and HEALTHY :D
Martina

[Simba is King]

Great news!! Lola has no infection! She does, however, have big waxy build-up deep in the ear canal (which couldn't be seen with the naked eye) which was probably causing the head shaking. Annoyance, as opposed to irritation - hallelujiah! So we've got lots of deep ear cleaners and we'll see how that works.

About Gigi ... Don't worry Roosje, she's being kept quiet -- or mostly so! She's kept quiet in the house, but she's so excited to go outside for potties that she gets a bit worked up. I'm just soooo grateful that she's feeling better!

I'm just so grateful that everyone's doing well (even me)! As you all can probably imagine, after what I went through with Gigi, I'm super-paraniod about any little thing out of the ordinary at the moment ... I just need to take a couple of deep breaths and calm down :rolleyes: - which is easier said than done!

Huge thanks for all of your concern and well-wishes. Chez Desloge is happy and HEALTHY :D
Martina

I am interested in what your dog was doing exactly. My frenchie is constantly sitting on his butt and throwing his head to one side or the other to the point where his whole body actually turns slowly. The best I can describe it as if a human was to try and look between his or her shoulder blades. He in not scooting and sometimes like your dog puts his back up against the wall. We have checked his anal glands and thats not the problem , his ears check out perfect when we take him for check ups. Maybe we have the same problem you do with deep canal buildup. I was wondering if you can elloborate on exactly what your dog was doing and how you diagnosed the problem. Thanks.