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At vets again this afternoon with Harley because of his ears.

Wagtails said:
Sabby, I would seriously consider going to another vet if you can ask around and find a recommended one. Sounds like communications have more or less broken down with this one and there must be others where you live.

Do hope poor Harley will feel more comfortable very soon
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I agree
 
Well, I'd probably try a different vet practice and get a second opinion. If the eardrum was perforated I'd want this checked again to see if it has healed. They may need to do a scan to see what is going on. It is possible that if the ear was waxy and dirty that some of this got into the inner ear where it could cause infection and pain. It could cause recurring infections I suppose if the drum healed with dirt inside. I took in a rescue dog with a permanent head tilt due to a perforated eardrum allowing infection from compacted wax -- left so long that the vet did not believe it could be corrected any longer. So getting a proper diagnosis is very important. A dog could also have an inner ear infection from other causes, and this would be hard to diagnose without a scan.

Some clarifications on some symptoms: dogs with SM can shake their heads in discomfort. They also will do this with PSOM. There are a huge range of different symptoms with SM and it's hard to list every one -- but Leo would shake his head from time to time. Jaspar does it a lot and has PSOM. More often though head shaking means mites or an ear infection -- often, mites.

Scratching at the shoulder isn't air scratching -- air scratching is when they hop along making scratching motions with a hind leg but not making any contact with the body. Generally the foot is well back and not very near the shoulder but often they kind of half twist to the right or left. It looks more like they are cranking their leg with most dogs. That is why it is also often called 'air guitar scratching' as it looks like the motion people make when playing air guitar.

Unfortunately any time you have persistent scratching, even if it comes and goes, you do need to keep SM in mind as a possibility -- so the vet was right there. He was also more or less right in saying that if something like Canaural stopped the issue quickly then the wax, head shaking etc was probably not likely to be due to SM (though obviously you cannot diagnose a dog with SM on the basis of Canaural -- you need an MRI. But if something does help that *isn't* something that would also help SM -- like a wide range of painkillers and allergy meds for example -- then it is certainly less likely to be SM).

So to be fair, he was giving you correct information. The issue I'd find fault with is that he didn't seem to give a proper examination which is what was paid for in the consult. As you are unhappy with some of the other vets, why not switch practices? :flwr:
 
Poor Harley & poor you, such a worry.

If the symptoms continue then it may be worth thinking about a referral to someone that specialises in ear problems.
 
I would be very angry at my vet and find a new one ASAP. Ears are not something I would want taken casually...they are painful when infected and if not treated correctly can lead to deafness.
My now passed Sunshine had a horrible ear infection that went on for two months. When my first vet suggested ear surgery we went to a second, but that vet recommended surgery as well. I went back to my first and explained my hesitation for surgery and he agree to try one more round of strong antibiotics. This treatment finally healed her ear and we avoided surgery. I just think everyone should take advantage of a second vet opinion from time to time, and sometimes a third or fourth.
Cavaliers heavy ears combined with any moisture can lead to ear problems.
 
:updte:

The drops are helping Harley. They did the last 3 times. If it happens again I will have to take it further.
 
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