Cruddy ears....

[HotDogMama]

Last month I took Molly for her 'free' 9 month check up (she was really 10) and asked the vet about this kinda flaky stuff on the tips of her ears, and also some of the hair falls out in little tufts, and sometimes bloody. He said it was inflammation of the blood vessels in her ears and called it something I can't remember right now. He put her on a capsule of Trendal (sp?), the generic name is Pentoxifylline sr, and said to give her these 2x a day and 250 mg of Vitamin E, and to come back in 1 month. We went back today, and I told him I didn't see much improvement, which I don't and he gave me some Malaseb pledgets to wipe on them 2x a day, and come back in a month. Has anybody ever delt with this before?! Just wondering, when it first started they were kind of hard at the edges, but not so much anymore, but some of the hair is still missing and still flaky looking.. Let me know if you know what I am talking about! :confused:

[leighan]

But to me, that sounds like it could be some type of mange.

[Courtney]

Yep, sounds like it could be sarcoptic mange, though I am no expert. It can be hard to detect on a skin scrape. Luckily, it's easy to treat. Switch to Revolution as your HW/flea med. Give one treatment, then another two weeks later. If it's sarcoptic, that should help. Probably a good idea to ask your vet about this first, but Revolution should be safe to use and even if she does not have sarcops, it won't hurt her.

[Rae]

I got nothin but "healthy ear :bigrayz: " for our gal. Ick.

Hope she gets better soon- I am sure it is aggravating for her.

[Helen]

Charlie had something like that, but it wasn't quite as bad as you described. The edges of his ears, in certain places, were kind of flaky, and if you scraped your fingernails sometimes tiny tufts of hair would fall out (never bloody, though). Someone suggested to me adding salmon oil to his diet, and ever since we've done that his ears have improved. He had been tested for mange around the same time, though, because hair was falling out elsewhere. So we knew for sure it wasn't that.

[areese]

Charlie had something like that, but it wasn't quite as bad as you described. The edges of his ears, in certain places, were kind of flaky, and if you scraped your fingernails sometimes tiny tufts of hair would fall out (never bloody, though). Someone suggested to me adding salmon oil to his diet, and ever since we've done that his ears have improved. He had been tested for mange around the same time, though, because hair was falling out elsewhere. So we knew for sure it wasn't that.

Owen's ears are like that...the hair only comes out if I scrape at it (so I don't!) but I can fell rough edges on his ears. It's not bloody or sore or anything. He does get salmon oil every day on his food..maybe I'll increase it a little.

[Lisa]

I agree with what Courtney suggested and adding some salmon oil if you're not currently giving it to her. It made a huge difference in the coat of both my boys.

[JanUet]

When we first got Sophie her ears were crusty around the edges and she had a sore spot on her back near her bottom that was scabby. I called the person that had helped transport her to me (as she had picked up a Rescue to add to her family) she told me to take her to the vet right away as she could have mange. Then she got upset with me and said that Sophie might have given HER dog mange. She insisted that I call her back with the results.

I was so upset and took Sophie to the vet. He just gave us some ointment to put on her ears and her boo boo near her bum (don't remember what it was called :sorry: But she did not have mange. I phoned this person to tell her that Sophie was clear, there was no mange.

I get an email from the person (a week later)that I picked up Sophie from...turns out HER dog had mange!!!!!!

I had to laugh as she thought that Sophie may have given it to HER dog.

[jennie_c_d]

Did the vet do a skin scraping? To me, it sounds like it could be fungal, or it could be mange, or allergies or just weird weenie ears. But I'd want it scraped to make sure it isn't anything gross living on the dog;)

[Helen]

Owen's ears are like that...the hair only comes out if I scrape at it (so I don't!) but I can fell rough edges on his ears. It's not bloody or sore or anything. He does get salmon oil every day on his food..maybe I'll increase it a little.

Yeah, the salmon oil hasn't cleared up the problem completely. His ears are still a little rough, too, but no more hair comes out, and that's got to be a good thing! :D

[areese]

Yeah, the salmon oil hasn't cleared up the problem completely. His ears are still a little rough, too, but no more hair comes out, and that's got to be a good thing! :D
You know-I looked at his ears after I wrote that and they are a lot better than they were when we were in Florida so maybe it's just taken some time to improve :) They seem much smoother. And, like you said, there aren't the tufts that pull out.

[HotDogMama]

He hasn't scraped anything, but wouldn't he have tested her for mange if he thought it was that bad? :confused: Maybe I made it sound worse than it is, I dunno, but does mange only stay in one place? It doesn't spread? I was giving her Salmon oil everyday I had just started it, and I stopped when I started giving her this other stuff because I didn't want to overload her I guess. I had been spraying Hydrocortisone spray on them before I asked him, and I thought they were getting better but I stopped that too after he said give her the Trendal and Vitamin E, I wasn't sure if it was too much or not. Thanks for the rays and suggestions..... will keep wiping them down and see what happens there.

[Alex's Mom]

Charlie had something like that, but it wasn't quite as bad as you described. The edges of his ears, in certain places, were kind of flaky, and if you scraped your fingernails sometimes tiny tufts of hair would fall out (never bloody, though). Someone suggested to me adding salmon oil to his diet, and ever since we've done that his ears have improved. He had been tested for mange around the same time, though, because hair was falling out elsewhere. So we knew for sure it wasn't that.

Alex had the same thing, also without the blood. I added vitamin E to her diet and that seemed to help. The cruddy bits on the edges of her ears were food residue from when she sticks her whole head in her dish and inhales :rotfl:. (She eats i/d meat because of her tummy). I was kinda :ashamed: when I got my vet to check it out on one of our routine visits and she looked at me like "your dog's wearing food...what's up with that??" My vet happens to also be one of my best friends, and boy! has she never let me live that one down!)

[Wiener Mom]

When we first adopted Oskar, the edge of his ears were dry, rough and flakey. The dermatologist at our vet clinic that treats his dry skin & allergies, recommended an Omega 10 capsule daily. Poof - no more crusty ears!

[Jen]

No advice, Tasha has not had this problem and she does get salmon oil, but plenty of ear :bigrayz: :bigrayz: :bigrayz: :bigrayz: :bigrayz: !

[jennie_c_d]

Either kind of mange can be localized, but Sarcoptic is contagious, and spreads pretty quickly, from what I've read. Demodex is more likely to be localized.

My Emma has chronic, generalized demodex. It's not nearly as bad of a thing to deal with as you'd think, once you get a handle on it.

[HotDogMama]

Well, believe it or not, they do look a little better already! I only started using the wipes yesterday he said to do it 2x a day, and I was comparing them to pics that I took before I asked him, and there is a difference, maybe I just can't tell because I see them everyday.... :scratch: I am going to start her back on the Salmon oil, and see if that helps. Does anybody else give Vitamin E? He said no more than 250 mg a day, because too much can be poisinous, this makes me really nervous, I'd rather not give it to her at all! All I can find OTC is 200 mg..... would mixing Vitamin E, and Salmon oil have any ill effects? (runny doo, etc.,) I give her pumpkin everyday so maybe it will cancel it out?

[Alex's Mom]

Alex gets 200mg of vitamin E / day. In her case its because of its antioxidant effects for her liver and other stuff, and to boost her immune system a bit; she also seems to be losing hair off her tail...I didn't think much of it, cuz I've never met a senior dachsie yet who didn't have hair loss there :scratch:. She's not overly concerned, but thinks we should keep an eye on it, cuz it could be cuz of a depressed immune system, which, given all the things wrong with the old girl is not our of the realm of the possible! She weighs 24 lbs, and has absolutely no side effects. You should be ok... In fact, my vet said that she could go up to 400mg/day if we need to, given her weight, but to start there and see if it works...so far it seems to be!

[jennie_c_d]

Mixing salmon oil and vit e will give her the best absorbtion:)