Ears how to fix dog problem but what about the owner?

BONZO had ear problems again and his owner was fed up with the situation. And he was letting me know it in no uncertain fashion.

I guess you could say I was getting an earful. “That’s his ears itchy and smelly again,” he bawled, as if I was deaf.

“I am fed up coming in here again and again,” he yelled, for good measure.

“And this stuff hasn’t worked either,” he declared, as he waggled a small white bottle in front of me.

I recognised it as the last treatment I had given him and let my eyes wander to my computer screen to check when exactly that had been.

Bonzo’s owner continued his rant as I scanned the history.

We had seen him in June 2018 for itchy ears. A treatment had been prescribed and he had been asked to return for a check-up two weeks later.

The next time we saw him was July 2019. Same problem. Same request. And now here

BY NEIL McINTOSH we wer,e nearly a year later. I took the bottle from him and shook it. It was half full.

Ear problems start because of some initiating factor.

This could be ear mites, allergy, foreign body (grass seed), other skin issues such as hypothyroidism or seborrhoea, swimming (as water dries the ear out!), ear structure (hairy ears, ear flaps, narrowed canal), inappropriate owner interference (put that cotton bud down, boy), or polyps.

Of course, some breeds, such as spaniels, are predisposed because the ear flaps prevent air circulating.

In 80 per cent of cases, a result of the primary problem, secondary infections with the bacterium, Staphylococcus pseudintermedius, and the yeast, Malassezia pachydermatitis, rapidly occur.

These cause more inflammation, pain, headshaking and scratching, so the ear canals become narrowed, the wax glands go mad and produce an excess of wax and the ear’s self-cleaning mechanism breaks down.

Simply treating flare ups of ear problems doesn’t cut the mustard.

The underlying cause needs to be investigated and appropriate medication used, especially if the problem is part of an allergic problem and, given the seasonal nature of its occurrence, it sounded like that was Bonzo’s problem.

The trouble is, a recent survey showed that 55 per cent of owners find it difficult to administer ear medications twice a day and that 79 per cent (including Bonzo’s owner, it would seem) give an incorrect dose.

Happily, there is a new treatment, called Neptra, that can be effective with only a single application.

I just needed for Bonzo’s owner to be quiet, so I could tell him.