Hi again everyone!

It’s Roy (Dr. Goldman’s dog)! I hope you all had a good holiday season! My vacation involved chilling at home with my mom and human siblings. It started really well especially with these tips on how to eat, drink, and party safely from my mom Dr. Goldman, but the end of it was not good. My ears became really itchy and painful. Let me tell you, the smell that came out was not so good either…

Guess what I got for the New Year?

Yep, you guessed right… I got an ear infection!

Now what?

My mom says many dogs get ear infections and some dogs suffer from infections quite frequently. The most common cause of ear infections are allergies to certain food ingredients or environmental causes or both . However, some dog breeds are more likely to get ear infections because the structure of their ear canal causes more wax build up. Other causes can be irritation from water after a bath (that’s probably why my neighbour, Max, the Golden retriever, has so many infections in the summer after going swimming).

Guess what my mom first did after examining my ears? Yep, shoved a long Q-tip and got a swab (from both sides!). I didn’t see that coming… seriously mom???

Then, she special stained it to help her see what it was under the microscope. She wanted to know what type of bugs I was growing in there – if it was mostly a bacterial or a yeast infection or maybe a combination of the two (some dogs can also get ear mites) … Gross! I am so itchy right now… but mom says she sees ear mites mostly in younger dogs and puppies).

Mom was determined I had a yeast infection, and chose the right ear drops to help me better. She cleaned my ears and put in medicated ear drops. I didn’t want to cooperate at first because it was so sensitive, but within a couple of days I was starting to feel much better. I forgave mom and was thankful for her helping me get better. Now that I am not stinky anymore, I can nap on the sofa with my brother and I’m allowed back on mom and dad’s bed! They’re thrilled to have me back.

 

Dr. Goldman’s takeaway: if your dog or cat is starting to shake his or her head, scratch their ears and/or have a bad smell coming out of the ears, they most likely have an ear infection. It is important to get a vet to examine his or her ears, get the right ear drop medicine to get rid of infection resolves and to make your pet healthy and happy again. If you don’t get it fixed, your dog or cat could have serious hearing loss or even a brain infection, which may only be treated by surgery.

You can call 416.292.7804 or email vets@millikenvet.com to book an appointment with Dr. Goldman if you have any questions about ears, infections, or anything else for your dog or cat.

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