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Should I be worried???

MomObvious

Well-known member
Today we went swimming at my parents house. Fletcher loves to swim and has no issues wearing his life jacket. Well we have had a lot of rain lately and more is expected this weekend so the pool was full past where is should be kept. So I needed to drain water. The drain hose not like a regular garden hose its made out of the same stuff as the pool liner anyway when you drain water the hose end will sometime flip around like wild snake. Its pretty funny normally the kids scream and the dogs bark at it. Well today for the first time Fletcher tried to attack it, he was having a good old time jumping around biting the water. The water comes out pretty fast it so after a minute I went to turn it off well about that time Fletcher somehow took a good hose full in the face!!!! He jumped back and yelped, I ran to turn the water off. He came right to me I dried his face and EARS off then he went back to swimming with us. But ever since then he has been stopping and shaking his head. I got some cotton balls and re-dried inside his ears but he's acting like he has water in them or something. He ate dinner fine when we got home and he's playing like normal just shaking his head like he's shaking water off. I know I should watch for signs of infection which I do anyway since he swims so much but if the head shaking continues should I be calling the vet?? And if so how long should I give it? He is not scratching at them which I think is a good thing??? But I don't know.

Thanks in advance!
 
Probably no cause for concern unless it goes on for days, indicating he still has water in his ears. I suspect he'll be just fine.
 
If there is water still stuck in his ear it will get infected, but you want to solve the problem before the bacteria get a chance to take over (they'll take 72 hours to a week before the infection is noticeable).

You could drop by a pet store and pick up ear cleaning products (squirt in ear and rub style). They'll be good to have for the future as well.

I would not "wait and see", this is too easy to fix yourself, and too painful to let it just run its course.
 
If you use a cotton ball & get down far enough into their ear canal ( their canal goes deep) and it comes back without any color..then he's probably fine. Our Lab gets yeast infections in his ears quite often...so we clean them out w/ the solution from Dr. Foster & Smith. It works really well.
 
I was told for my daughter to put a few drops of rubbing alcohol in her ears after the pool. Put the drops in, then tip her head with a cotton ball to the other side to get it out and absorb in the ball of cotton.
She gets recurring ear infections with swimming. I'm not sure if this can help with a Cavalier. But I'm sure it can't hurt any (check with the vet).
 
Melissa...( just an F.Y.I. for anyone else that might be interested)
I just texted my daughter and asked what kind of ear infection medicine she uses for her dog.
She has a St. Bernard.
She said she uses Sovereign Silver. ( she uses it for his ears and also his eyes).
Vet has said it is perfectly safe.
I did a little research..and I think this is something I might want to try for Zeb ( our Lab.)
The ear wash stuff I buy from Dr. Foster & Smith works fine...but then he seems to keep getting re-ocurring yeast infections so maybe all the bacteria isn't getting killed off.
And her Vet told her it was perfectly safe...so I assume it is.

She purchases it at the local Health food store. Kills any yeast or bacteria on contact.
It's a bit pricey however...but then she buys the 16 oz. ...lol.. ( you probably only need a few ounces for Fletcher).
She says it works better than anything you could find on the market or even the stuff the Vet has prescribed.
It's all natural..and like I mentioned..you can even use it for eye infections...or even put in a dogs water bowl.
It's liquid ( like water). It boosts their immune system and has all kinds of healing qualities. Make sure you get a good quality brand though. I am sure the sales people at the store could help.

I always prefer more natural approaches ( if possible) ...so wish I would of known about this before I bought stuff from Dr. Foster & Smith.

Here's a link if you buy it on-line...but the Health Food stores might be cheaper.
www.sovereignsilver.info
 
Thanks all, he has not done the head shaking thing since last night so I think he's alright. My brother-in-law (a vet) says human ear dry products are fine to use and they are mostly rubbing alcohol. I went back with plain cotton balls this morning his ears seem to me to be dry and no color. I will continue to keep a close see on his ears anyway. My Mom offered to make a shower cap snood :shock: Back in the beginning of the summer my kids had Fletcher jumping off the diving board (before I bought the life jacket) and I didn't even think of his ears. He sure is going to miss swimming once it gets cold hopefully we have another 6 or 8 weeks before its time to put the ugly nasty black hard cover on the pool.
 
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