My bf's dog just had total ear ablation (he's a cocker spaniel). We have pain meds for him, once of which works as a sedative for him, but obviously can only give him so much of.

Especially crucial for the next few days is that the dog not scratch at his ear (duh), or shake his head too much, which he does when his ear bothers him. And he's shaking a LOT.

I called the vet about a sedative, and he suggested accelerating the schedule for that pain med from every 12hrs to every 8hrs, which is fine, but it looks as though we can only expect the benefit of that to last ~4hrs. His other suggestion was to crate the dog, to keep him still.

Except crating him is now a huge ordeal (especially because of the ecollar), and in the crate he is more distressed.

More than anything, we just need to remove the desire or ability for him to roam the house, as activity is what gets his ear to start bothering him enough to shake.

The best I can think of is to enclose the area under the dining room table.

Has anyone handled a situation like this? If so, any other suggestions?

8/21/2007 4:16:09 PM

Put a paper bag over his head and blow pot smoke into it.

8/21/2007 4:18:23 PM

8/21/2007 4:24:46 PM

Quote :

"crating him is now a huge ordeal (especially because of the ecollar)"

?

i don't understand what you mean

8/21/2007 4:27:41 PM

the edge of the e-collar (cone collar) is too wide for him to walk into his crate as normal. I can't bend it, because of his ear. His ear is so sensitive that even blowing on it would hurt him. When I let him out to pee earlier, I had to apply a fly repellent, and I barely got any on the other side of his head without him whimpering. He's in that much pain

Anyways, putting him in the crate means I have to pick him up, since he won't walk in backwards (with the collar on, he can't turn around without putting pressure on his ear), put him in, and then re-attach the crate. The longer I'm there, the more he thinks he doesn't have to be in there, so he starts trying to get out and gets worked up.


And this isn't even my dog, or a dog I like :-\

8/21/2007 4:34:28 PM

Maybe put a few baby gates up around the kitchen or something. Or put a leash on him and attach one end to something in the house so that he can't roam outside of a 6 foot circle.

8/21/2007 4:39:58 PM

My friend is a really really good vet that specializes in canines. I suggest that you give him a call. He's temporarily out of town for the time being. Look him up online for his number. M. Vick.

[Edited on August 21, 2007 at 4:40 PM. Reason : .]

8/21/2007 4:40:41 PM

How about keeping him in the bathroom? Or if you have a wash room. If you didn't want to keep the door shut, try a baby gate.

8/21/2007 4:41:46 PM

^^^I've done what I can for now. I've used one baby gate to shut one end of the table, but the leash idea might work

This may come down to buying a second crate solely for his recovery :-\
^I thought about that, but then I can't keep an eye on him; plus, he's too inquisitive. He wouldn't be content to try to leave the seat down, or be still and not bang his head on one of the many corners


Trust me, that was the first thing to come to mind.

[Edited on August 21, 2007 at 4:43 PM. Reason : sldkj]

[Edited on August 21, 2007 at 4:43 PM. Reason : three]

8/21/2007 4:42:31 PM

If you do get another crate, I don't know your financial situation, but try Dollar General. May sound bobo, but they have cheap ones. I have one big enough for a small-medium dog for $15.

8/21/2007 4:44:26 PM

nah, it's gotta be a crate for a large dog.

And it's not coming out of my wallet. I'll make sure he sees your suggestion, but there's a petsmart right up the road that he may jsut prefer to run to.

[Edited on August 21, 2007 at 4:47 PM. Reason : lkj]

8/21/2007 4:46:47 PM

is he shaking his ears or is he trying to scratch them? because for dogs who regularly get hematomas or have a predisposition to getting them, there are ways to keep them from shaking their heads and further damaging their ears. All you have to do is get a nylon stocking, cut a tube (cut both ends of a leg section off) and then you can put his head through. The stocking will keep the ear close to his head/neck and won't damage his ear, or hurt his ear if he shakes. Then you could keep him crated - because you won't have to worry about an e-collar.

8/22/2007 7:39:31 AM

They have one for dogs, too.

8/22/2007 8:42:22 AM

How bout getting one of those toddler pens at Walmart? They're a round fence so he can't get stuck in a corner or really hit his head on anything, but he'll be confined to a smaller area?

You could even add pillows around the perimeter, put a sheet over the top and make him a fort!

8/22/2007 8:48:49 AM

Actually, we've decided to use the baby gate to trap him in one of his favorite spots to nap: the corner of the bedroom on my bf's side of the bed. If he makes a mess, oh well. Much better than stressing him out and impeding his recovery

^^^Both. Like I said in the original post: he just had major ear surgery. Once this is healed, he's going to feel SO much better (he already had it done on one ear).

8/22/2007 9:26:22 AM

Im not reading the entire thread but does it need to be enclosed on all sides? If not get a baby gate and seclude him to a small area. that's what we do with Caesar. I'm pretty sure your dog will not jump it...

8/22/2007 11:46:48 AM

I was gonna say put him in the guest bathroom. That's what we did with our dog when he had knee replacement surgery.

8/22/2007 10:14:22 PM

^^Then I'm not going to acknowledge having read yours. Don't be a dipshit

^penning him in the corner has worked. and he's gotten much better rapidly.

8/22/2007 10:51:16 PM

When my dog Bailey had sutures on his side and kept getting his E-collar off to get to them we had to confine him in a crate. He still managed to get the E-Collar off while in the crate. He's a smart dog.
So...
We duck-taped the edges of the E-collar because he was cracking and breaking it by trying to get out... those things are expensive to replace.
We then put a T-shirt on him (cut a hole for the tail) and stuck his front legs through the arms.
We then tightened the tshirt by tieing it around his belly and ducktaping the slack to the tshirt and also had to duck tape the tshirt to the E-Collar. Pain in the ass to do this everytime he went in the crate.
We put him in a crate that he could lay down in comfortably but once the collar was on he couldn't turn around... so he was stuck facing forward while in there. He could eat or chew on a rawhide though.
Bailey accepted the defeat and tolerated all this for the 2 weeks it took for the sutures to completely heal. He looked ridiculous and knew it but it worked/

Put him in the crate first and then put the Ecollar on him.

[Edited on August 22, 2007 at 10:54 PM. Reason : f]

8/22/2007 10:54:02 PM

I would have if I could have.

Seriously, the swelling on this cockers' ear was between volleyball and softball-sized, closer to softball. There's no way in hell he'd have let me put an arm in there with the collar, much less two.

Anyways, like I posted, I think the worst is over

The swelling is almost completely gone now, and the pain seems to be rapidly fading as well. Right now, he's even resting on that ear, instead of on the other like he did all day yesterday.

[Edited on August 22, 2007 at 11:03 PM. Reason : lkj]

8/22/2007 11:02:40 PM

use this instead of an ecollar

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=15678&N=2001+22762

8/23/2007 8:50:49 AM