My puppy's ears were just cropped and he's in pain. What do I do?

Lycan appears to have a severe ear infection. I recommend making an appointment to see your veterinarian as soon as possible. He/she will likely show you how to clean his ears and send home an ear cleaner that is less irritating than the product you have to clean the ears daily for 7-10 days as well as a steroid/antibiotic/antifungal ointment to be applied daily or twice daily for 7-10 days. There are also other ear infection treatment options where you do not have to treat the ears yourself daily at home that is you can ask your vet about (Osurnia, Otipacks). I do not recommend ear cropping as it is unnecessarily painful for cosmetic reasons. Good luck!

Poor Butcher! You are correct that excessive panting can certainly indicate a sign of pain in dogs. Human pain medications, such as Advil or Aleve, are not safe for dogs due to the risk of liver and kidney damage. Aspirin is not recommended for use in dogs since it can lead to blood clotting problems and ulceration of the stomach or intestines. Long story short, the safest and most effective anti-inflammatory pain relievers for dogs are prescription-based from your veterinarian. Additionally, I would be concerned about infection in the laceration on Butcher's ear since the wound originated from a dog fight. Bite wounds or severe scratches generally require a course of antibiotics. At this point, I strongly recommend taking Butcher to your vet or an emergency vet to have this laceration and associated pain addressed. Until you can get to the vet, put an e-collar (cone) on Butcher to prevent him from scratching his ear, as this could make matters worse. Ears are highly vascular, so a bit of manual pressure and ice (limit the ice to 10 minutes at a time) may help to lessen the bleeding until you can get to the vet. I hope this helps and that all goes well!

By your description, he likely needs veterinary attention. If there is a rescue service or Animal Control service, you could contact them to get the puppy. If you take him to a veterinarian, you may be financially responsible for his medical care. The ear should be evaluated, cleaned and treated as indicated. The pup may need antibiotics and pain management. He will probably need to be kept indoors during treatment and until he recovers.

Ear cropping is not something I, or many other veterinarians recommend, because it is a painful procedure with potentially serious complications that provides no medical benefit. Ear cropping is only for aesthetics, which has led to the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) to have the position that it is an unneeded and cruel procedure. Below is a link to more information about ear cropping. https://www.vetinfo.com/dog-ear-cropping-procedures.html Given the strong opposition to ear cropping, it will be difficult to find a vet to do it. If you do find a vet to do it, then you can expect to pay anywhere from $300-$600 for the procedure. I hope that helps and all is well with the puppies.

Please please do not have someone who isn't a vet clip Shell's ears! This will be EXTREMELY painful for her, and the stress and pain of this could potentially lead to a miscarriage. In addition, this person will not have access to safe pain medication or anesthesia. This type of procedure should only be done under anesthesia with a vet. I cannot stress enough how painful this procedure is to a dog, and to have it done to Shell by a lay person would be cruel. I very strongly urge you not to have this done at all by a lay person, and only have it done after she has had her puppies and weaned them.

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.

Ears are usually cropped between 8-12 weeks. Some vets won't do it because it is an unnecessary procedure. Surgically changing the conformation of a dog's ears is expensive, painful, and is not always successful. If you aren't going to show him in confirmation shows, there's no reason to put your puppy through ear cropping. Please consult with your veterinarian before putting your puppy through this elective procedure.