What's wrong with my dog's ear?

by Dina
(Lexington NC, US)

Ongoing Dog Ear Infection: A stray Shih Tzu showed up at my husband's shop about a month ago. She was so skinny, smelled really bad, and her hair was in knots. Her hair was wrapped around her feet& carpenter tacks mangled in her hair as well. Her nails were an inch and a half long, and they were also mangled in hair. She had poop embedded on the outside of her left ear and it had to be cut out. The inside of her ear smelled really bad; kind of like rotting flesh.

I took her to an animal hospital to get her checked out. After cleaning her up, everything about her checked out okay except for her left ear. The Vet never took a scraping of her ear, but gave her an antibiotic shot, some drops, cortisteroids and an oral antibiotic. The ear infection did not get better.

Two weeks later I took her to another Vet. Same thing: shot, drops and an antibiotic. They did put her to sleep so they could clean her ear out. Once again, they took no scraping. It is now two weeks again and her ear is still bad, now it's bleeding on the inside. She has an appointment to see a new Vet - this week.

I have spent 400.00 on her ear. Can someone please give me some information to take with me to the Veterinarian so I can make sure that this visit is effective in treating her ear infection?

I have posted a photo of her ear, it's a little fuzzy, but you can see how bad her ear is - it also really smells really bad.

Please help! Thanks.

Response from The Dog Biscuit:
This sounds, and looks, like a serious problem and you do need to see a Veterinarian to get the help you need. When you visit the Vet this time, make sure that you bring a list of the medications and treatments you've already tried with your previous veterinarians - your new Vet will need to know and understand the history of the treatments and the fact that it hasn't worked. Your dog may also develop a resistance to antibiotics if over-treated with them.

From the picture, it looks like there is swelling so it's important to ask your vet if the infection needs to be lanced to relieve the pressure and swelling. You've mentioned scraping the ear - and I assume testing for the type of infection. Ask your Vet if he/she doesn't want to do that, why not? (It could be because the Vet is pretty certain what the issue is and feels it can be treated with meds - however you've had two unsuccessful experiences and need to make sure that you clearly communicate that to your new Vet.
Hopefully your dog gets better soon - please let us know how your visit goes and if this dog ear infection problem gets cleared up!

For more information, visit dog ear infections.

Kris from The Dog Biscuit.