My dog's ears hurt, he hates meds, and won't let me touch him. Help!

Poor Sansa! How stressful for all of you. There are ear medications that can be administered at the vet's office, that work on their own for up to two weeks without you needing to do anything with the ears at home. We use them frequently at our clinic, because many dogs with sore, painful ears will not allow them to be handled at home! I would recommend calling your vet to let them know that you aren't able to adminster the meds at home, and asking about a long-acting option like Claro or BNT ointment. Even if they don't carry these meds normally, they may be able to order them for you, and you can bring her back to their office to have them apply the medication if needed.

Hello, thank you for using PetCoach. Oral medications (ie: antibiotics) do not work well for ear infections. Any medication to treat an ear infection should be used topically (inside the ear). Oral pain medication would probably be helpful but you would need to get those from your vet. In my opinion, if the ear is that painful you really should take him to your vet now for an examination so they can use the scope to look into the ear and also test the ear discharge to see what the infection is composed of (bacteria or yeast or both). They will also be able to see if the ear drum is intact. Some medications are contraindicated if the ear drum is ruptured. Cyclobenzaprine is NOT recommended for use in dogs. It has a very narrow margin of safety in dogs (and cats) and can cause significant central nervous system (CNS) and cardiovascular (CV) adverse effects. You should NOT use it. If you want to try to treat the ear at home, which I do not recommend, you can use this specific over the counter ear medication linked below. It is once a day and you do not have to clean the ear out first. It contains an anti-inflammatory (hydrocortisone) that should help with inflammation/pain. It is a small bottle so you will likely need at least 2 (if not 3) to do a full course of treatment. You must be sure to get the medication all the way down into the ear canal or it will not help much. If you chose to do this and there is no improvement in 4-5 days then you must take him to your vet for an exam. If he does seem to be improving then continue once daily for at least 14 days. ( https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/zymox-ear-solution-with-5-hydrocortisone-125-fl-oz-2399174 ) Hope this helps. Best wishes.

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I'm sorry to hear you are having difficulty applying the ear medication - I understand this can be a challenging task! Ear infections themselves can be frustrating too. For my own dog, I find it helpful to stand over him with his head between my legs, that way I can gently use my legs to hold his body in place while one hand holds his head/ear and the other applies the ear medication. I then gently massage the base of the ear to allow the medication to contact all surfaces of the ear canal. It is certainly OK if Storm shakes his head immediately afterwards and a little medication comes out. Additionally, if you do not already have one at home, I STRONGLY recommend purchasing an Elizabethan collar (cone) for Storm, to prevent him from being able to itch his ears. Dogs can create a significant amount of trauma to their own ears and skin from scratching incessantly, and a cone will prevent him from getting to his ears while the infection heals. This will also help keep the medication in the ear. I hope this is helpful!

It is not a good idea to try and apply ear mediccine while she is asleep. I suggest you ask your vet whether a differen medication such as Osurnia, which can be applied in the vet's office once and is good for 7 days is not an alternative to struggling with your dog. If not, you may need to put a muzzle on your dog every time you intend to apply the medication.

It can be really hard to treat a dog when they don't want it. I would recommend calling your vet to see if there is a different type of medication that would work. There are some that can be placed in the ear at the vet clinic that can last through the whole treatment period. You could try a distraction like peanut butter smeared on a tile floor. https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/applying-ear-drops-to-dogs

Poor Billy! Ear infections are no fun! Ear infections can be caused by bacterial, parasitic or fungal infection, or a combination of these, and can be associated with dietary or environmental allergies or sensitivities, immune system disorders, or a combination of the above. There may be other options for treatment, such as a long lasting ear ointment that the vet applies once a week (so you do not have to do anything at home), or potentially oral medication, depending on what the cause of the infection is. I recommend you contact your vet to discuss your options and get Billy feeling better.

I'm very sorry that Joe is in pain. It's common for Cocker Spaniels to have chronic ear infections resulting in just this type of situation. I'm so glad you able to get in to see your local Veterinarian. The mediations he/she has prescribe should help some with the pain. If Joe seems restless and can't get comfortable, you'l want to call your doctor and verify that he's on the appropriate dosage and maybe ask if he can take a little more. Your doctor may also be able to prescribe a light sedative. Unfortunately, a vinegar bath probably won't do much. It's really a just going to take patience. The inflammation should go down within a few days and Joe will have some relief. Please keep us up to date with his progression. If you notice he's uncomfortable eating, you might offer a bland diet of boiled chicken and rice. Try to keep his ears as clean and dry as possible. While he's sleeping you can lay his ears open or find a way to keep them up so that the air will circulate. Yeast and bacteria love a wet warm environment. The more they air out, the quicker the healing. Please let us know if you have any other questions or if there's more we can do.