CurlyQ Posted November 11, 2014 Report Share Posted November 11, 2014 Apologies for not posting in a while. It's quite hard with school. How's everyone doing? Besides what I have written below, today has been quite wonderful! We just found the cat we lost nearly a month ago when we moved. He's skinny but he remembers us, I can tell. Today Maple and I were playing outside in the yard. Our new backyard is filled with different sorts of exotic plants that were planted and maintained by the previous owners. One of these plants has small non-sharp burs (they're flexible, not pointy). Whenever she gets them stuck in her fur, after we're done playing, I take her inside and comb them out real easily. They're not painful at all (unless they're inside your ear canal!), but they attatch themselves to things very easily. I had tossed her toy into some of the bur-plants area and given her the "Find it" command. I didn't expect anything out of the usual, since it's one of my favorite spots to hide toys. (She's incredible with her nose! She can tell when she's close, and when she passed over it accidentally. Sometimes she's even able to smell it out if it gets stuck on one of the branches of a low-hanging tree!) However, she came out vigorously shaking her head, and I knew right away something was wrong. She whimpered once, and I brought her inside. I went straight to the bathroom with a flashlight, a brush, and a bag of treats. She ran right into the bathroom and began rubbing her irritated side against the wall, which is how I figured out that it was her right ear. I couldn't see anything, but dogs have an "L" shaped ear canal, so I still think there is something in there. I brushed out the rest of the burs, but her ear is still bothering her. I gave her a kong filled with treats to help take her mind off of it, and tried looking up an answer. Now she's walking restlessly around my room, rubbing her ear on things, scratching her face, shaking her head, and making small complaints (the grunting noise she makes when something she doesn't like is happening, such as being picked up when she's not in a cuddly mood) when she's scratching it. It's been about 30-45 minutes since the incident. I'm afraid because I read online that it might, with further irritation, make its way towards her ear drum and possibly pop it. Another thing I have noticed is that she is holding the affected ear lower than her other. I'm not sure if I should take her to the vet now, or try and wait it out. I'm too afraid to do anything more than what I have already done. The vet closes in about an hour and a half, and it's a thirty minute drive there. Help? Should I leave now? EDIT: She also has started barking somewhat randomly. Could it be affecting her hearing? She only barks when someone knocks on the front door, and we haven't had any visitors this evening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gcv-border Posted November 11, 2014 Report Share Posted November 11, 2014 Get thee to the vet. It may be nothing, but better safe than sorry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GentleLake Posted November 11, 2014 Report Share Posted November 11, 2014 I wouldn't mess around with something like that. I'd be taking her to the vet, too. Or at the very least call them and see what they say. If you call ahead and let them know you're coming, I would expect that they'd wait for you. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMP Posted November 11, 2014 Report Share Posted November 11, 2014 Yeah. go to the vet for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gideon's girl Posted November 11, 2014 Report Share Posted November 11, 2014 I would consider that an emergency and head straight to the vet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CurlyQ Posted November 12, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 12, 2014 It's been a couple of hours since this happened and I'm glad to say that symptoms have decreased greatly. Right now it's only the occaisional head-shake and she's barely scratching at her ears. Fingers crossed that she got it out on her own! To be honest, I'm surprised at such a drastic change in behavior, which leaves me hoping for the best. I called the vet and we scheduled an appointment for tomorrow, just to make sure everything is okay. I'm sure everyone in the clinic will be delighted to see her after such a long break. When she was having stomach troubles it felt like we were stopping in for a visit every week. Now it feels like ages since her last checkup! Wish us luck~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloria Atwater Posted November 12, 2014 Report Share Posted November 12, 2014 Glad you're getting her to the vet! We've probably all been there with "stuff in the ear" with our dogs, at one point or another. Keep us posted.~ Gloria Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urge to herd Posted November 12, 2014 Report Share Posted November 12, 2014 I'm glad you're taking her to the vet. With all the head shaking, she could have just jiggled the whatever-it-is a bit so that it wasn't touching something so sensitive. Which means it could jiggle right back and make her painful again. Hope the vet can give you a yes or no either way. Ruth and SuperGibbs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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