New shelter dog has chronic ear infection.

Question

My wife recently adopted a small daug (dachshund/pug mix) and he came with a nasty yeasty ear infection. We have done some research and have found out that he has been in and out of the local shelter over the past year and went to the owners who gave him to us (an owner kept "loosing" him and was in and out of the shelter for 6-7 months) My guess is they didn't know how to deal with his chronic ear infection and couldn't afford his vet bills. We called his original shelter and they said at intake he was severely underweight and infested with flees. He was yeasty and had bad ear infections. Looking at all his vet records, he has been WAY over vacinated and on lots of antibiotics.

Now to my question... he is very timid and shy. Not aggressive at all but lacks trust (for obvious reasons). I would like to clean his ears (was going to make a homeopathic remedy) and apply some drops the vet gave him but he is not wanting me to touch his ear. Should I give him a few days to settle in before I just start messing with his ear? I don't want the first couple days being associated with me causing him pain. But I also don't want to just ignore his ear infection. When I'm ready, I've read lots of tips holding the dog to clean and apply the drops... I just don't want to traumatize him. Thoughts? I really love this sweet guy... he just needs Us to take care of him since no one else in his life really has. I think this is going to be an on going issue since his immune system is obviously shot. Any advise is greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

Waiting won't change how he behaves, those ears are painful which is why he is fighting. Dog's are forgiving, better to nip it in the butt from the start instead of him finally feeling at ease and then have another stressful experience.

If you need help with cleanings you can schedule an appointment with a technician to give you some pointers and they can do the initial cleaning. This first cleaning is important as it removes the copious amount of infection that has been building up over the weeks.

Chronic ear infections are usually related to allergies, are you aware if he has any?

A really good ear cleaner for dogs with chronic infections is burrows solution, you can purchase this at a veterinary hospital. Be weary of over the counter human version of this as sometimes they add extra ingredients which may be harmful to cats and dogs.

He's going to hate having it done, give him lots of praise and treats after each session.