If you are going to become the owner of a dog, then first of all you need to determine the breed and consult an experienced veterinarian. If you master the basic rules for caring for animals, you can avoid a huge number of mistakes.
Today we want to talk about a dog’s ear. This is an external paired organ, which can be easily examined, but about which the owners often forget and begin to sound the alarm when inflammation is already present. It is very important to prevent this problem, which means that all pet lovers need to read the article.
Physiology
The dog’s ear is similar in structure to ours. The outer, inner and middle ear are also excreted. Let's dwell on each of them a little more. The dog’s outer ear is the visible part on which our knowledge of physiology usually ends. The shape and size of the shell can vary greatly, depending on the breed. Very often it is this feature that is decisive in choosing an animal. Someone more like a dog with big ears, another vice versa. Functional load is slightly different, depending on the shape. The standing ear of a dog is a locator that picks up sounds. Hunters often use long canvases; they serve not only as an organ of hearing, but also drive odors directly to the nose when an animal follows a trail.
The middle ear is the sound-conducting and sound-forming sections. They consist of a tympanic cavity and a membrane, an auditory tube and ossicles: a malleus, anvil and a stirrup. The dog’s ear is equipped with a longer auditory canal and a huge eardrum. This is what provides a keen ear. The inner ear is a membranous and bone labyrinth.
Advantages and disadvantages of the system
As already mentioned, the hearing of our favorites is many times superior to human. However, this structure also has its drawbacks. This arrangement of the ear canal almost negates the ventilation of the ear. That is, any liquid cannot leave it and gradually causes inflammation. This causes difficulty in the treatment of diseases. Therefore, breeds of dogs with ears longer than the nose are at risk and should constantly undergo a routine examination.
Otitis
Almost every person has encountered this disease, well, or at least heard about it. Simplicity in diagnosis creates the illusion that otitis can be cured very quickly. However, this is not the case. Indeed, it is not difficult to determine that the ear is inflamed . If you know the symptoms, then suspect otitis media literally from the first day:
- Soreness of the shell. When pressed, the dog begins to whimper, press the ear to your hand.
- Behavior changes too. The animal shakes its head, scratches the ear with its paws, presses it to the floor. Especially at night it is very noticeable that the dog does not sleep, but walks around the house.
- If inflammation leads to a rise in temperature, then your pet may, on the contrary, be depressed.
Diagnostics and purpose
Do not pull with a trip to the veterinarian. Any breed of dogs with large ears is prone to inflammatory processes, so any deviation in behavior should be the reason for contacting a specialist. In severe cases, lymph nodes can become inflamed, which can even lead to the development of encephalitis, that is, inflammation of the brain. However, to prescribe a full treatment, it is not enough to evaluate the external clinical symptoms.
Causes of Ear Disease
Any therapy begins with a full diagnosis. Veterinarians share what causes otitis media into primary causes and supporting factors. In fact, to prescribe an adequate treatment, we are most interested in what caused it initially:
- The most common cause is immunodeficiency and a weakening of the barrier properties of the skin. Do not forget that the structure and functions of the integuments of our body are the same everywhere.
- Hypersensitivity also often becomes the cause.
Otitis of various etiologies is not often caused by ear mites, or otodectoses in a different way. The activity of the parasite itself leads to constant itching. The animal paws injures the skin and infects the infection, which leads to the development of secondary inflammation. Foreign objects can injure the ear and cause a similar reaction, for example pieces of cotton wool that remain after cleaning, particles of grass and dirty water that gets into the auricle during bathing. Rarely enough, the cause of the development of otitis media is a violation of the endocrine system and a tumor in the auditory meatus.
Secondary Disease Development Factors
A start has been made, one of the listed reasons has led to the fact that inflammation has begun in the ear cavity. If you do not pay attention to him and do not give your pet proper help, then it will progress. The septic, or secondary, factors include the whole huge amount of microorganisms, bacteria and fungi present in the environment.
Now it is precisely on what exactly the ear cavity is populated, that is, on the qualitative and quantitative set of pathogenic microbes that have settled in the dog’s ears, the whole variety of external manifestations of otitis media, i.e. the number and color of purulent excreted, as well as the duration of the disease, will depend. Therefore, do not try to make a diagnosis yourself. At the first symptoms, take the animal to a veterinarian who will examine the dog’s ears. A photo and description on the Internet will never give such exhaustive information as the trained eye of a professional.
Treatment
If the ailment is not started, and the dog calmly refers to such procedures, then most likely it will take only one or two visits to completely cure your pet. However, it also happens that examination and performing cleansing procedures are possible only with general anesthesia. The first procedure is cleansing. It is necessary to remove all accumulated discharge, clean the cavity of accumulated pus or other contaminants. To do this, use disinfectant solutions. Then all the affected areas are lubricated with a special ointment, treated with a spray or instilled drops. Usually after this comes some relief.
Treatment duration
This is a purely individual factor. For example, a large dog with short ears is less likely to infect them. Therefore, improvement will occur much faster. Short-legged creatures with long ears, in which dirt, dust and bacteria constantly fall, are most affected. Therefore, the duration of treatment depends on a huge number of factors and can result in either a quick victory, or the need to periodically carry out preventive measures for a certain time or even a lifetime.
Weekly Treatments
To be sure that your pet's ears are completely healthy, it is enough to conduct an inspection once a week. To do this, stock up with cotton swabs and discs, as well as a solution of "Furacilin". The latter is used if signs of redness are noticed, as a means of wetting the discs. If the surface of the skin is light, even, there is no sign of inflammation or suppuration, then it is not recommended to use any additional funds. With a clean wand, remove sulfur and praise the pet for his endurance.
Instead of a conclusion
Ear diseases in dogs are many-sided, and each of them has its own course. Moreover, for the owners of some breeds, it is simply necessary to know the intricacies of care and the first signs of the inflammatory process. This applies to basset hounds and dachshunds, beagles, poodles, that is, all short-legged representatives of the canine world that have long and heavy ears. If you regularly devote time to preventive examinations, then you will be able to notice the first signs in time and start treating the dog’s ears before it develops into a real tragedy.