Sore Ears

It is always a good idea to give your dog a "look over" once a week to see if there is anything out of place such as a new bump, wound, or infection. Usually we get by without so much as a good rub down but it never fails that when we find something on Cheyenne, it is usually something that is bigger then it originally started.

For those that don't know - Cheyenne hardly complains about anything. Once she had a broken toe and we didn't know about it until months later when she was getting her elbow x-ray for limping and the vet pointed it out. Since she never gives me any signals that something is wrong, it shouldn't surprise me that, upon checking her ears, I found the left one to be full of sores and inflamed.

Instead of panicking, I headed to the hydrogen peroxide and cotton balls to clean out any sores. With the sores cleaned, I found a left over bottle of the Panolog anti-bacterial/anti-infection medication used for Dakota during her last ear infection. Five drops in each ear twice a day and after a couple days all the redness and inflammation is gone. We will continue to use the medication for another couple of days per the instructions on the bottle but there is no need to go to the veterinarian as he was the one that told us to keep the leftover medication for the next ear infection.

Good thing we did because Labrador Retrievers are notorious for ear infections due to the fact that their ears flap over and moisture can easily get trapped. Just goes to show that when it comes to our pups, keeping unused medication around makes sense - especially when your veterinarian is a Lab owner and tells you to!