ear question

so i noticed starting last night that max's ear seems to be bugging him. he keeps on shaking his head every so ofetn the same way he would if his ear was flipped up. we gave him a bath as its been a while since he had one to see if that would help. he still seems to be doing it, but not as bad. i looked in and around it and can't see anything... i also stuck my finger in it and squeezed it a bit on the outside to see if he had pain, but nothing. just wondering if he could have gotten water down in there or a bug crawled in or what.

should i be concerned...

Maybe an ear infection? Oliver does the shaking thing with his head when he has one. I think dogs with long, floppy ears are prone to them. The vet giveshim drops and this clears it up!

Sounds like the start of an ear infection to me, does he have a brown waxy discharge at all? I must say that poking and prodding in a dogs ear is best left to a vet in all honesty, however moving away from that slightly I would advise a visit to your vet just to err on the side of caution. Cavaliers have "drop" ears and are prone to infections, as the temperature in the ear is higher than average so best to get this checked out and nip a more serious infection in the bud before it has a chance to take hold.

It does sound like the beginning of an ear infection, or ear mites. Bathing can actually make an ear infection worse, as water in the ears makes for a really nice moist breeding ground for the bugs.

Yep, off to the vets.

Broken record here!!! Call your vet - or better yet, take the dog in. I know I always preach the same sermon but you'll know the answer then and have something to take care of the problem.

Cavaliers have such heavy ears that any moisture that gets into the ears is held in. (They aren't the only breed that does this) So ear infections aren't foreign for them. And if it has any kind of "off" smell it's even more important to get him seen!

it sounds like an ear infection or mites, lucy and jake were both at the scrathing so they both had visits to the vet, lucy only had mites but poor jake had mites and an infection so both got drops

One hint for baths -- with dogs it is better to take some cotton balls and put them in their ears so that water doesn't get into them at all. Never put water inside as it can contribute to or cause an infection; you can gently clean the outer area with a cotton ball or pad but only the area you can easily see and very gently. Anything down into the canal, whether for cleaning or an exam, should be done by a vet.