Sunday evening, Jezz got to play in the yard. The heat and mosquitos have kept us indoors a lot lately, but I wasn't really thinking that maybe the grass seeds were just at the right height for her ears. *Sigh* She came to me shaking her head, and I checked her ears, no seeds, no bugs - and she went right back to playing. Late Monday night, she is shaking her head again, and this time, the left ear has black waxy build up in the cartilage at the base of the ear flap. One node of the cartilage is grey colored (with a few small white spots) compared to the nice pink color of the rest of the ear (and compared to the other ear). After I checked it, she quit shaking her head, but she just doesn't act like she feels all that great. And when she ate dinner tonight, she immediately pulled the ear down, and I could definitely tell something wasn't right. Not good
Tuesday, I checked my first aid book, did some research on the web, and I attempted to clean her ear in case she has something in there. Big mistake! My instinct was telling me just take her to the vet, but I didn't. She jumped and started shivering, and when I tried to massage the ear, she yelped. There is only one area in the whole ear that looks inflamed, but she proved me wrong. I made an appointment with the vet for Thursday afternoon - and, it is going to require her being sedated. We have been working on desensitizing her to letting me work on her ears, and she has just gotten to where I can put a cotton ball in the ear - but nothing else. And now this. Ugh!
I *think* it is just a grass seed. But, I wonder if maybe a bug could have bit her, or maybe laid eggs *shudder* in her ear? Part of the cartilage is swollen in amongst the black gunk I can't clean off. The actual ear canal looks clean (she's a Min Pin with natural upright ears).
Will the vet automatically check a swab for bacteria/yeast etc. If he doesn't, should I ask him to just to be sure we aren't missing something? I would really hate to have them just clean the ears, and send us home with an ear medicine and it not work. I don't like having to give her a tranquilizer, and I don't want to do it more than necessary. I had my DH pick it up today after work - Acepromazine (10 mg tablet for a 7 lb dog). I looked it up, and it seems to be a common tranq for motion sickness and anxiety, but it can last 6-8 hours.[&:]
Any thoughts would be appreciated so we don't miss anything. And I am sure Jezebelle seconds that - "no more ear work than necessary," she says!
Thanks!
Amy