This happens when a playful and healthy dog suddenly begins to frantically scratch his ears, sometimes even screaming. Such symptoms can not be ignored in any way, these are clear signs of a hearing disease.
Why the dog shakes its ears, possible reasons
A four-legged pet suddenly begins to shake its ears, wave its head and even get lost for a while, these are symptoms of the disease, possibly not one.
The reasons for this behavior may be as follows:
• Dog may get liquid in the auricle while swimming;
• Perhaps the dog shakes his head and scratches his ears due to the injury received during the walk from another dog;
• An allergic reaction to food is manifested by itching of the auricles;
• Pet hypothermia;
• Intolerance to the smell of tobacco, this can happen when the dog is near a smoking person;
• Disease of otodectosis (ear tick);
• Inflammation of the middle ear (otitis media);
• Infection with chlamydia;
• Bacterial and fungal diseases.
Symptoms of Ear Disease
If the animal often shakes its ears, the first thing to do is to carefully examine the ear inside. A healthy ear shell will be clean, pale pink. When there is a rusty or brown tinge in the middle, purulent discharge, swelling - an inflammatory process on the face.
If the disease has long progressed, then the examination will be complicated. Because of the pain, the pet will shake its head and constantly scratch its ear, preventing it from looking into it. An animal can bow its head toward a sore ear. Visible signs of the disease may not appear, then you need to sniff at the diseased organ. In case of inflammation, an unpleasant odor will be heard.
It is necessary to fix the head of the dog, if you need to seek help from close people. After that, gently press on the base of the auricle from the back of the head. That is, in the place where the ear begins to "grow". If the dog responds, this is the first symptom of otitis media (inflammation of the middle ear).
If the disease is not detected in time, started or not treated at all, the pet will get big complications, will go deaf, or even die. Therefore, such a problem should be treated with full responsibility.
Inflammation of the middle ear - otitis media
As soon as the first symptoms of the disease appear, you should immediately seek help from a veterinary clinic. The owner of the dog should know that otitis is not a harmless disease at all.
The clinic will take a tank of crops from the ear to determine the severity of the disease. The cause of the disease may be a bacterium or a microscopic fungal spore.
Almost always, a complex of antibiotics is prescribed for the treatment of otitis media. Now, these are drugs that are slightly toxic, but very effective. If the etiology of otitis media is unknown, "Surolan" is prescribed - this is a comprehensive medicine in the form of drops. The ear is instilled twice a day (morning, evening), at least two weeks for 3-4 drops.
Ear mite or otodectosis
When the dog often shakes its ears, with light pressure at the base of the auricle, it does not give a reaction - the cause may be a tick inside the ear. A dog is able to pick up a parasite, not only walking on the street. The tick will quietly penetrate the dwelling on the shoes of a person or on the hair of a cat.
When examining the auricle, you can see the red surface, in some places even small blood spots. The parasite itself is almost imperceptible, but by the fact that it causes constant itching, the dog combes itself into the blood.
If the dog does not allow itself to be examined, you need to take a cotton swab, moisten it in warm water and very carefully scroll it in the middle of the ear. The result will be obvious if a mite lives there.
Sniffing a wand can determine how long the disease progresses. The absence of any odor indicates that the tick alone parasitizes and the ear is not additionally infected with a fungus or infection. If an unpleasant odor is present, then antibiotics cannot be dispensed with.
When otodoctosis is used, "Amidel gel" or "Mr. Bruno plus." In the case of antibiotics, Ivermek Spray is most often prescribed. It is worth knowing that this tool is quite toxic and it is highly not recommended for use indoors. Processing needs to be carried out once a week and it is better to do it on the street.
When a pet has severe itching, it needs to be calmed. The best drug is Amit. It contains antipruritic, antibiotic and acaricide components.
Chlamydia
Having become infected with such a disease, the dog not only shakes his ears often, but also has lacrimation and a runny nose accompanied by frequent sneezing. The reason for this is chlamydia.
A parasite can enter an animal recently or parasitize on it for a long amount of time. As soon as the immune system weakens, chlamydia begins a violent activity. Its habitats are the mucous membranes - the larynx, ears, eyes and the mucous membranes of the genitourinary system.
Tears may appear for a short time, then disappear. But the animal, as it was shaking, will continue to shake its ears, combing them.
This disease can manifest itself in a different way. With a long-term presence of chlamydia in the body, males will have frequent inflammation of the testes. And the knots will not be able to bear offspring, each pregnancy will be interrupted.
With chlamydia, the ears are well treated with tetracycline ointment. Apply it with the help of ear sticks with great care. In combination with the ointment, it is necessary to take an antibiotic inside (erythromycin or tetracycline tablets).
Treatment should last at least one week, one procedure will not give a positive result.
Prevention methods
It’s better to prevent a disease than treat a pet later. Therefore, you must follow the basic rules of hygiene.
Once a month, the ears are cleaned. Do this with the help of cotton buds moistened in warm water. Then treat the auricle with hydrogen peroxide or chlorhexidine.
Be sure to regularly treat the animal from fleas and ticks. Twice a year, lubricate the ear shell with tetracycline ointment.
