Ask Me Help Desk - Ear infections

Ear infections

I came home Sunday and Kugle was shivering/trembling. I took him to the vet and they couldn't find anything wrong with him except that one of his ears looked like it might have an infection. I cleaned his ears and have been giving him the medicine (drops in ears)

He is still depressed and his stool is soft. He also won't jump onto anything... chair, bed, foot stool. He has no problem jumping down. They checked his back at the vets and he didn't seem to be in any pain.

He is eating and drinking and urinating normal.

I'm making chicken and rice as I type for his tummy.

Could he not be jumping up because his equalibrium is off?
Does any of this sound familiar to anyone?
He has never acted like this before:(

It could be that elevating quickly is causing dizzyness. If there is fluid behind the ear drum due to infection. It's a limited type of vertigo.

All you can do right now is monitor since you took him to the vet.

If it is an ear infection it can take a while for the medicine to work and for the infection to clear up. Did the vet clean his ears out at the clinic? He should have.

An ear infection can definitely cause him to lose his balance, become afraid to jump up on things. Especially if it's a bad infection.

Give his ears a thorough cleaning, and keep using the meds. Hopefully the meds will kick in soon and he'll be back to normal. If he's still not doing better after 5 days, I'd go back to the vet and ask him to check again, or get a second opinion.

How old is Kugle? Is he tilting his head?

Jd, absolutely it could be because of the ear. It may be causing him pain to jump up, and like you said his equilibrium could be off.

Sorry for poor Kugle, give him a little pat and a rub from me. Hope he feels better soon.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Altenweg

If it is an ear infection it can take a while for the medicine to work and for the infection to clear up. Did the vet clean his ears out at the clinic? He should have.

An ear infection can definitely cause him to lose his balance, become afraid to jump up on things. Especially if it's a bad infection.

Give his ears a thorough cleaning, and keep using the meds. Hopefully the meds will kick in soon and he'll be back to normal. If he's still not doing better after 5 days, I'd go back to the vet and ask him to check again, or get a second opinion.

How old is Kugle? Is he tilting his head?

Kugle is around 8 and he is not tilting his head. He just looks really sad.
I did clean his ears before the meds, should I clean them again or just let the meds work?

Both him and Bingo were at the vets for their regular check-up and heart worm test and they had a clean bill of health. It came on so suddenly (seems like overnight) so hopefully it was caught in time.

I do plan on taking him back on Saturday unless he is better.

He threw up last night in the middle of the night, he was sleeping and just woke up and got sick, but it was just some of his regular food and not a lot. No vomiting since.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Just Dahlia

Kugle is around 8 and he is not tilting his head. He just looks really sad.
I did clean his ears before the meds, should I clean them again or just let the meds work?

Both him and Bingo were at the vets for their regular check-up and heart worm test and they had a clean bill of health. It came on so suddenly (seems like overnight) so hopefully it was caught in time.

I do plan on taking him back on Saturday unless he is better.

He threw up last night in the middle of the night, he was sleeping and just woke up and got sick, but it was just some of his regular food and not a lot. No vomiting since.

Remember that in doing what dogs do like shaking their heads it could bring on that vertigo feeling and cause nausia. Just a thought.

Quote:

Originally Posted by califdadof3

Remember that in doing what dogs do like shaking thier heads it could bring on that vertigo feeling and cause nausia. Just a thought.

Yes, I agree, but he sleeps with me and I usually wake up when he is shaking or scratching. It seemed like last night it was quiet and then just Bleeah.:) I could have been in a deeper sleep than I thought.

Did the vet draw blood? Shivering and trembling usually means pain. I would have expected the vet to look harder for the cause.

I feel the same as Ballengerb. It could be that he has an ear infection, but the nausea and the shaking sounds like something else. My old dog Indy is very prone to ear infections. In fact, it seems like he's constantly on meds to clear up yet another infection. He's never been nauseous because of it, nor was he shaking in pain. It was just an annoyance.

If he throws up again, or continues to shake and not act like his usual self, I'd go back. I hate saying that because you've already been to the vet and gotten a diagnosis, but to me it sounds like the vet didn't do a very thorough exam. Just my opinion JD. I hope the little guy is okay.

I'd even consider a better vet, one who knows how to use lab work to properly diagnose

Quote:

Originally Posted by ballengerb1

Did the vet draw blood? Shivering and trembling usually means pain. I would have expected the vet to look harder for the cause.

No but I trust her to know my dog, I have been going there for over 19 years. Hopefully I have made the right decision.

It's just been a day and he seems to only tremble now when he sees me with the medicine If he is not getting better by Wednesday I will take him back and of course if he seems to get worse I will take him right away.

Thank you all for the info, I appreciate it all.:)

My Prada had similar symptoms a while ago, moping, crying, not wanting to walk.
We never pinpointed the exact reason but she has a very sensitive spot in her ear (she yelped and even snapped when you rubbed it, very unlike her) we guessed it was one of the invading army of Bull ants that came into our garden last summer.

She was still a bit sore and feeling sorry for herself the next day but it has improved and after a few more days she was back to her old self.

Quote:

Bull ant?

Oh, I just googled what they are called in the USA and turns out they are only found in Australia, they are nasty little poisonous ants. Romsey Australia: Lethal Ants

I imagine there would be something similar where you live, everywhere has nasty little bitey bugs :(

Just D, you are being too kind to the vet. Any vet in the world can draw blood and send it to the lab. Most don't do the actual lab work. He should have looked deeper for the issue.

Thank God we dn't have those NASTY things in Canada. Some places around had a case of Fire Ants here. Fire Ants Spread to Canada

But luckily not around me (yet). Poor Prada :( Max seems to get stung by wasps or bee's ever year. He swells right up and mopes around for a day or two. Poor guy. Half an aspirin usually helps with the swelling.

How's poor Kugel feeling now?

He is acting normal... running, barking, eating, drinking, but still not jumping up. He has no problem jumping down. His eyes are starting to look happy again. :) He lays around more than normal but I am also giving him benedril for the allergy season.

So I think he is getting better, I'll have to see when I get home from work. No more vomiting:)