Dylan has alergies.

Dylan's ears are bothering him a bit. Two days ago I noticed a smell. I'm probably being weird but it was a nice mushroom smell! I cleaned them but only the parts I could see, I'm very worried about sticking cotton buds down his ears. Yesterday he started to shake his head I took him to the vets today and he said it was allergies, he said it's hardly ever fruitful doing allergy testing and advised I just steer clear of cheese and unusual foods.

I had recently swapped from James Wellbeloved to Royal Canin. They are made by the same people but JWB is wheat free and is made for dogs with allergies so we are going back to that. I liked the Royal Canin though as it's kibble looks slightly oiled and it smells nice. Anyway, it's back to JWB and 8 days of drops (he's going to hate this) to soothe Dylan's ears and clear up any infection.

When we were in the vets a lady came in who I used to work with years ago, she was a right bully and I left my job because of her. She is a BYB and she breeds Rubies. She was very happy to see Dylan before she looked up and saw it was me!!

That's frustrating, Pauline. If he wasn't havng problems before and these started to show up when you changed foods, I'd switch back to his old food and see how he does (you'll possibly need to give him several weeks though to see any affect). Dogs can have allergies to a lot of things though, like dust mites or plants or say chemicals in a carpet.

You were right not to put cotton buds down his ears as nothing should ever be inserted into the ear canal; except by a vet. It's OK though to use a bit of cotton wool around the part of the ear you can see. The mushroomy smell might just be the normal waxy smell of a dog ear!

Did the vet actually examine him for possibilities like ear mites, and did he feel he needs to have his ears cleaned out? No infection in his ears?

Make sure your vet also knowns about PSOM (which will cause this kind of reaction) and SM of course -- less likely but it is important for vets to be aware of these conditions if they are looking after cavaliers. PSOM seems to be really common (both my dogs had it when MRId). It does cause them to scratch at their ears, shake their head, etc.

Thank you Karlin I went assuming Dylan had eat mites and asked the vet to check for this, they were clear. He said there was no wax build up, I had asked him to clean them if there was. He said they were sore but not too bad. He described all different reactions to allergies and he does get quite scientific which I like. I'll change the food back and I feel this will do the trick, we'll see.

I don't know what PSOM is, would it make the ears sore inside?

Karlin said:

Make sure your vet also knowns about PSOM (which will cause this kind of reaction) and SM of course -- less likely but it is important for vets to be aware of these conditions if they are looking after cavaliers. PSOM seems to be really common (both my dogs had it when MRId). It does cause them to scratch at their ears, shake their head, etc.

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I'm bringing Molly to the vet tomorrow because of such symptoms as scratching at ears (and neck, and shoulders), shaking her head, and yawning. After reading the documents at sm.cavaliertalk.com, I thought these symptoms were more CM/SM-related than PSOM, but I'd certainly be thrilled if it turned out she had allergies. :xfngr: I am a bit of a wreck and it seems like the scratching has gotten worse in the last 24 hours or so. Wish us luck.

Pauline, please keep us posted on Dylan. I hope switching the food back clears everything up and Dylan is feeling better again soon.

-laura

Thank you Laura, Dylan hasn't been scratching so that is reassuring. I'm sure the drops will sort him out and he will be fine soon as I have changed back his food. I looked up PSOM and know what it is now. I will keep you informed. I hope it turns out your Molly has ear mites or an allergy or something easy to fix. Let me know how it goes at the vets tomorrow. I don't believe in luck but I will say a prayer for you. :hug:

Another serious ear problem to watch for this time of year is grass seeds in the ears.

I hope he feels much better soon!

*Pauline* said:

I don't know what PSOM is, would it make the ears sore inside?

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PSOM is canine glue ear.

Thanks Caraline, I did some research, I hope it's not that, he is off sorts today but his ears are not bothering him.

Just a quick update, Dylan seems to be feeling better. I had quite a job washing the greasy drops off his ears for our trip out this weekend. Dylan doesn't like his ears being touched much, unless it's a stroke. After just a few days he sits still while I put the drops in. What a good boy