# SNAPPING/snarling at ear medication



## fortam (Aug 20, 2015)

Hi everyone!

My pup has been getting recurring yeast infections in his ears since he was younger (probably due to the antiobiotics he had to be on for a stomach issue)

He used to let me medicate them just fine, without complaining or anything, but this time round, he wont have any of it. (2x a day)

He tries to snap/bite the bottle and snarls and backs away.

Its almost impossible to restrain him and I don't want to damage the bond I have with him by forcing it into him.

Any ideas on how I can treat him?
Theyre really irritating and he scratches them until they bleed.
Leaving them untreated is just making them worse.

He does allow my fingers to go in his ears for a scratch but the medicine needs to go deeper than that, into the canal. 
Its also quite a lot so it wont fit on my finger if i tried to put it in that way. 

Thanks in advanced!


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## Magwart (Jul 8, 2012)

Recurring infections are not normal. If you treat and it comes back, I would ask the vet to have it cultured and tested for antibiotic resistance. There's a canine version of the human MRSA infection, called MRSP in dogs, and it can affect the ears. We had a dog in rescue who had recurring infections that would seem to get better, and then come back -- she needed a very weird drug to finally cure it because the bacteria was resistant to the usual ones used to treat ears.

Also, there's a couple of newer forms of treatment that are "leave in" treatments (not requiring daily dosing). One is from Bayer -- someone here posted about having really good results with it. Another is called "Otipack" -- I'm familiar with that one because our rescue's vet uses it on dogs that don't like ears messed with, or that have difficult-to-treat issues (like MRSP). It's a wax plug that can be infused with an antibiotic of the vet's choosing. It gets placed in the ear and slowly releases the medicine, and then in two weeks it falls out on its own. 

Lastly, I would get this dog on a limited-ingredient (allergy) kibble ASAP, if you don't already have a special diet. Switch to a protein that is novel for your dog (not chicken!). The dog I told you about with the recurring infections improved dramatically overall when we switched her to fish-and-sweet-potato LID food. Wellness, Natural Balance, Canaidae, Nature's Variety and many other brands make these foods. The reason is that there's often a bit of an allergy component (inflammation) that makes the dog open to the recurrent infections.


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## MayzieGSD (Aug 28, 2006)

Mine snaps at me when I try to put his ear drops in too. He could really bite if he wanted and he doesn't, he just gives me toothy snaps in the air to tell me to stop. I just try to give him lots of rubs and baby talk until I can sneak them in.


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## Suzy25 (Mar 3, 2016)

Make sure that when you go to give him the medication that he is tired, make him for a run or play, give him a few minutes for his adrenaline to go down, when he is relaxing and you are giving him a rub, rub around his ears, it relaxes them and he will trust you around his ears. When he is ready start bringing out the bottle and just leave it out beside you and give him a rub, start playing with it and even rubbing the bottle on him so he doesn't react or consider it a bad thing. Then out some of the ointment on a paper towel and put it around your finger and just go do the parts of his ear that is closer to the outside, don't try and stick your finger down his ear canal at first, just around. do all of that while he is relaxed, taking breaks in between to rub him and calm him down, go nice and slow, give him treats only when he is clam, never when he is getting worked up. He will start to trust you to put the ointment in more and more, he will never be fully happy about it, but he will learn to tolerate it and that he will get treats for it. when you are done make big fuss out of him. 

My pup used to be like him, I did what i just said to you and after a few days I say significant changes in the way she handled it. even still every time i get out the bottle she knows what it is, she just goes to her bed and gives me a look like please don't i don't like it, but she never snaps anymore and will lay there and let me do it, of course she hates it and will calmly move her head away and such during it but thats to be expected when doing something they don't like. Wish you all the best with him hope i could help at least a little


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## fortam (Aug 20, 2015)

Magwart said:


> Recurring infections are not normal. If you treat and it comes back, I would ask the vet to have it cultured and tested for antibiotic resistance. There's a canine version of the human MRSA infection, called MRSP in dogs, and it can affect the ears. We had a dog in rescue who had recurring infections that would seem to get better, and then come back -- she needed a very weird drug to finally cure it because the bacteria was resistant to the usual ones used to treat ears.
> 
> Also, there's a couple of newer forms of treatment that are "leave in" treatments (not requiring daily dosing). One is from Bayer -- someone here posted about having really good results with it. Another is called "Otipack" -- I'm familiar with that one because our rescue's vet uses it on dogs that don't like ears messed with, or that have difficult-to-treat issues (like MRSP). It's a wax plug that can be infused with an antibiotic of the vet's choosing. It gets placed in the ear and slowly releases the medicine, and then in two weeks it falls out on its own.
> 
> Lastly, I would get this dog on a limited-ingredient (allergy) kibble ASAP, if you don't already have a special diet. Switch to a protein that is novel for your dog (not chicken!). The dog I told you about with the recurring infections improved dramatically overall when we switched her to fish-and-sweet-potato LID food. Wellness, Natural Balance, Canaidae, Nature's Variety and many other brands make these foods. The reason is that there's often a bit of an allergy component (inflammation) that makes the dog open to the recurrent infections.


It's the second time he's gotten it, and he's currently on a grain free diet. 
But it's REALLY hard to switch him to new food because of his sensitive stomach









I've heard of the wax thing, my vet told me about it. But the problem is that he needs to be sedated for it to be inserted, and apparently I'd have to repeat it 3 times... Which would cost over 600-700 dollars. 
I also don't like the idea of sedating him so many times 

Also, they tested the bacteria last time and just said it was normal yeast. Is there a diff test for testing antiobitic resistance?

Thanks heaps for the advice though. I'll
Call the vet and see what they say about the two week one. Cos the one she suggested to me before only lasted a week supposedly


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## fortam (Aug 20, 2015)

Suzy25 said:


> Make sure that when you go to give him the medication that he is tired, make him for a run or play, give him a few minutes for his adrenaline to go down, when he is relaxing and you are giving him a rub, rub around his ears, it relaxes them and he will trust you around his ears. When he is ready start bringing out the bottle and just leave it out beside you and give him a rub, start playing with it and even rubbing the bottle on him so he doesn't react or consider it a bad thing. Then out some of the ointment on a paper towel and put it around your finger and just go do the parts of his ear that is closer to the outside, don't try and stick your finger down his ear canal at first, just around. do all of that while he is relaxed, taking breaks in between to rub him and calm him down, go nice and slow, give him treats only when he is clam, never when he is getting worked up. He will start to trust you to put the ointment in more and more, he will never be fully happy about it, but he will learn to tolerate it and that he will get treats for it. when you are done make big fuss out of him.
> 
> My pup used to be like him, I did what i just said to you and after a few days I say significant changes in the way she handled it. even still every time i get out the bottle she knows what it is, she just goes to her bed and gives me a look like please don't i don't like it, but she never snaps anymore and will lay there and let me do it, of course she hates it and will calmly move her head away and such during it but thats to be expected when doing something they don't like. Wish you all the best with him hope i could help at least a little


Thanks for that! 
He lets me rub around the ears but gets super snappy and won't let me when he sees the bottle. Even after he's had a 2 hour play at the park...
I'm going to try again tonight but it makes him super grumpy and he trusts me less around him afterwards  he gets really wary as if I'm gonna pull the bottle out at any time
It's also a problem cos the ointment has to go down his canal, via a nozzle or syringe, and not just brushed around the base..


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## Suzy25 (Mar 3, 2016)

Try leaving the bottle out at all times, and give it a shake, then give him a treat, do that throughout the day, it might help a bit. I know for a little while he will seam unsure of you and such, just remember he's more unsure of the medication and not actually you. Your bond will grow again but its more important that he gets that infection cleared out, so he isn't scratching it too the point of bleeding anymore and he will be a happier dog even if he has to hate you for a little while 
I had to put medication down my girls canal too, it sucks and they hate it so much, always shaking their ears after too. 

Another thing you could try is just taking out the medication and out it in a syringe, put a leash on him and tie it to something sturdy (just to keep him from running off) get a treat, ball, kong filled with PB or something to that effect, and when he's going in to get it, put the syringe in, going too far down will cause discomfort which will make it worse so try not to go too far down so you don't make it worse to get him comfortable with it. but the first step is getting him comfortable with the bottle as much as possible.


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## fortam (Aug 20, 2015)

Suzy25 said:


> Try leaving the bottle out at all times, and give it a shake, then give him a treat, do that throughout the day, it might help a bit. I know for a little while he will seam unsure of you and such, just remember he's more unsure of the medication and not actually you. Your bond will grow again but its more important that he gets that infection cleared out, so he isn't scratching it too the point of bleeding anymore and he will be a happier dog even if he has to hate you for a little while
> I had to put medication down my girls canal too, it sucks and they hate it so much, always shaking their ears after too.
> 
> Another thing you could try is just taking out the medication and out it in a syringe, put a leash on him and tie it to something sturdy (just to keep him from running off) get a treat, ball, kong filled with PB or something to that effect, and when he's going in to get it, put the syringe in, going too far down will cause discomfort which will make it worse so try not to go too far down so you don't make it worse to get him comfortable with it. but the first step is getting him comfortable with the bottle as much as possible.


Im really hoping he isnt unsure of me  breaks my heart when he looks at me as if hes wary. I called heaps of vets today and apparently theres a compound they can make up which needs to be put in once a week (instead of 2x a day) and it stays in there, only retreating it 4-6 times. So overall its a month+ treatment.

I've tried with the highest value treats and bones and he wont have a bar of it. But I'm definitely going to try desensitizing him to the bottle.


I tried putting a cone on him today and he was fine until he kept walking into things so next step im gonna try is find a soft collar like the cloud/donut ones to stop him from itching.

Thanks for your advice!

does anyone know what the medication I was talking about is? I didnt get a specific name


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## fortam (Aug 20, 2015)

Magwart, I called the vet today and they said that the plugs can cost 300 dollars just for one dosage  So pricey compared to a bottle of antibiotics!


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## graciesmom (Jun 10, 2006)

Suzy25 said:


> Try leaving the bottle out at all times, and give it a shake, then give him a treat, do that throughout the day, it might help a bit. I know for a little while he will seam unsure of you and such, just remember he's more unsure of the medication and not actually you. Your bond will grow again but its more important that he gets that infection cleared out, so he isn't scratching it too the point of bleeding anymore and he will be a happier dog even if he has to hate you for a little while
> I had to put medication down my girls canal too, it sucks and they hate it so much, always shaking their ears after too.
> 
> Another thing you could try is just taking out the medication and out it in a syringe, put a leash on him and tie it to something sturdy (just to keep him from running off) get a treat, ball, kong filled with PB or something to that effect, and when he's going in to get it, put the syringe in, going too far down will cause discomfort which will make it worse so try not to go too far down so you don't make it worse to get him comfortable with it. but the first step is getting him comfortable with the bottle as much as possible.


The syringe was a lifesaver for me with one of my previous girls. She was so fixated on the bottle that I couldn't get near her. But if I filled the syringe with the medication, it was much smaller than the bottle so easier for me to hold in one hand and I could shoot it in the ear with the plunger. First few applications might not get all the way down, but some will get in and best of all, your GSD will start to feel better, so that further applications will not be so difficult. The other thing I did was to warm the medication a bit first. Just put the bottle in a glass of warm water to heat it up a bit. The warmth has a soothing effect. Good luck.


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## Steve Strom (Oct 26, 2013)

> Its almost impossible to restrain him and I don't want to damage the bond I have with him by forcing it into him.


Some times, you just have to force them. The more you stretch it out, the more of a problem between the two of you it can be. Let him move around after he's been restrained, I bet he shakes it off and gets over it sooner.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

I trained my dog to put his head down on my knee. Once that is a trained behavior, then you can correct for something they understand.


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## Magwart (Jul 8, 2012)

fortam said:


> Magwart, I called the vet today and they said that the plugs can cost 300 dollars just for one dosage  So pricey compared to a bottle of antibiotics!


Say WHAT?! Our vet charges $50. That's rescue pricing, but still... 

We usually only have to do it once, not repeat it unless it's a very bad case. Ours have never need to be sedated for it, and we've probably done it with six or eight different dogs, but maybe yours is so worked up that the vet feels it is needed for safety reasons.

Culturing the bacteria has to go to an off-site lab like IDEXX and costs us typically around $100. It takes about a week to get the results (they grow it out then test it with different types of antibiotics to see which ones work on it). If this is only the second go-round, though, it may be too soon to do that. If it comes back a third time, though, I'd be talking to the vet about it.


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## fortam (Aug 20, 2015)

Magwart said:


> fortam said:
> 
> 
> > Magwart, I called the vet today and they said that the plugs can cost 300 dollars just for one dosage
> ...


Apparently they can't get them in at all without sedation?!  
And more than one dosage is needed.... 

Another vet I called thinks the best bet is to sedate him to apply the first treatment of a 4 week course (one squirt in per week) which lasts in there for a week. 

And then after that hopefully because they're less inflamed we can get it in easier afterwards. 

I'm worried sick about the sedation though, does anyone know if it's something they remember?


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