One Knee Forward, One Ear Back

Our two week check up was Wednesday afternoon and he was cleared with a good bill of health. After our swim that day I gave him a full brushing and was so happy that we had reached our first milestone. Thursday night I noticed him scratching at his ears and licking his paws more than normal, but didn't think much of it. By Friday evening I noticed he had a little redness in his ear and I chalked it up to the fact that he had just been scratching at it with his back paw and got a little carried away. I have noticed that he still wants to lick a little at the incision and when I deter him he will start to lick his paws, so I thought the ear scratching may be just another symptom of his frustration. Boy was I wrong! By Friday night Sampson was shaking his head violently most of the night. When I took a gauze pad to it to try to swab out the moisture he literally ran from me with a little yelp. It was so difficult to watch because I was so helpless in being able to ease his discomfort. We made it through a sleepless night and called our vet early the next morning. Sampson had a similar type of ear infection three years ago and it had also flared up overnight. We were able to get into the vet right away Saturday morning.

The vet tech took a swab and I told her what I was able to see the night before.

When Dr. Lawson came in, he began explaining to me that due to Sampson just going off the antibiotics, he was more vulnerable to an infection in his ear, and he probably had some water get deep into the ear canal during one of our swims. He let me see the bacterial bodies in the microscope and I could not believe what I saw! He had a small city of bacteria living in that ear, no wonder he was so incredibly uncomfortable! Dr. Lawson explained that this was a yeast infection and he then applied a topical solution. I remembered this one from the three years prior. We left the hospital with Sampson already feeling better. By Saturday evening his ear was losing the red color and did not seem to be quite so sensitive.

Again the trick is distracting him for a few seconds while I apply the 2-3 drops needed. Thank goodness for doggie treats and peanut butter! They work just long enough for me to apply the drops and massage it into the ear for a few seconds.

We made it through the night without any head shaking or knee licking, so things are looking good. A little bit of solid rest can make all the difference!

We will wait a few days before getting back in the water and I understand my responsibility to swab his ear out immediately after leaving the water, but we are still going to use the swimming as the main form of his rehab.