Can you tell in the photo that my ear is bothering me? I am walking around with my head tilted and my ear down all the time. Sometimes I shake my head and occasionally I scratch at my ear. This has been going on since Wednesday afternoon. On Tuesday we went for a walk in some tall-ish grass and then went to the beach and I swam once (no dunking my head - just lots of splashing). Shortly after we got home, mom found a dog tick on the wall upstairs. She gave me a bath and brushed me all over and saw nothing (I am on Frontline too). So did something bite my ear, did I get water in there, did some grass thingy get in, do I have an allergy?
We went to the vet yesterday (yes, 2nd time in 3 weeks) and he looked in my ear and saw absolutely nothing! No infection, no redness, no foreign matter, no water, no wax, no gunk, no smell. He told my mom that my ears were completely clean. I was nervous so I kept my ears up and ready the whole time I was there, so the vet never saw the pitiful looks I give mom all day long. The vet said I may have an allergy and was I licking my feet or anything? Mom said no. He said some times dogs with allergies may shake their heads. He sent us home with an ear cleaner (Epi Optic) and told mom to clean my ear every day for a week and see if it improves. If not, he wants to try an antihistamine (thinking it is an allergy).
Anybody have any ideas? Are Shelties prone to this kind of thing? Mom is worrying herself sick because I look so sad and because I want her to fix my ear and she doesn't know how. Wish we knew if this was some temporary fluke-ish thing that would be over soon or what! I am still eating fine and my balance is fine. I can do my tricks and did a little agility yesterday. And I instigate play but don't feel like playing for long. And barking seems to make me shake my head more.
Gotta zoom!
Ricky
