Dexter has been crying sometimes when we touch his ears, and he scratches at them a lot and cries while doing so. His ears also smell bad on the inside, but they are not dirty looking, so I'm thinking that an infection may be the cause. I will be calling the vet tomorrow. I'm so sad for him because we just realized today that this is probably what is going on- and as I am typing this he is scratching his ears and yelping loudly. We only noticed a couple of days ago tops that the smell was present, but his reaction to touching his ears today as well as how often he is shaking his head makes me feel pretty confident that it is an ear infection. Wondering if anyone has any insight with this issue or if their dog has had an ear infection before?
my poor Dex
Yep, sounds like yeast infection. I'd suggest cleaning but you really want them to be able to scrape so just give a benedryl every 4 hours to help the itching.
Ear infections in Basenjis is not very common. It is usually the dogs with ears that lay over that have infection problems. But if you are getting an odor, most certainly an infection, as the infection is usually way down the ear, so they don't always look dirty…. did the Vet check his ears on his first visit?
I'm taking him to the vet at ten- one hour to go. I wonder what would have caused the ear infection? Yes, the vet did look in his ears, he didn't say anything was abnormal about them.
Most likely was going on before you even brought him home. Here are common causes of ear disease
Allergies such as atopy or food allergies
Parasites - ear mites
Infections - bacteria and yeast
Foreign bodies, e.g., plant awns
Trauma
Hormonal abnormalities, e.g., hypothyroidism
The ear environment, e.g., excess moisture and ear anatomy
Hereditary or immune conditions, and tumors
Kipawa developed an ear infection not long after we got him. Our vet felt it could have been caused by a bite, possibly a spider. They checked for mites but could not see any. The infection cleared up with an antibiotic, a few steroid pills and Surolan ear drops.
Well, we just got home. They said that Dexter has a slight yeast infection in his ears. I was given a bottle of Tresederm- a drop in each ear twice a day- and some Epi-Optic ear cleaner/dryer. I was told I could use this after he gets a bath to dry out any water that may have gotten into his ears. I'm glad that we live only 2 minutes away from the vet (I can see it from my back yard) because not only does Dexter HATE car rides in my car (he tolerates my fiance's truck better it seems, strange? lol) but he also was not happy about being at the vet's office today either.
Glad to hear not too serious…
You should take him out more often in the car so that he doesn't associate it with going to the Vet... The more they go for fun rides, the better they get.... Mine just go to sleep in their crates in the car. They might whine for a mile or two when we first leave, but that is about it.
We ride in the car often, so I'm hoping that eventually he will realize that the car is not a bad place! I take him to play with my brother-in-law's dog who lives about 15 minutes from us, he rides with my fiance when he comes to pick me up from class (which is about a 15 minute ride), he rides with us to visit our family (they live an hour away) we took him three times with us so far since we got him. He doesn't mind short rides, but if we are in the car for over 15 minutes, he starts to get agitated and whines or even worse all out cries until he falls asleep, which on the hour long car ride isn't usually until we are only fifteen minutes away from our destination.
Regarding going to the vet, try to bring him there as often as possible, say once a week. If you can (you say it's about 2 mins. by car) walk there. Have the vet/techs do a quick weight check on him. Most vet offices will do this. When you get there, try to have everyone available give him lots of praise. Do the same when you leave, and give him a treat. This will help Dexter understand that the vet is not a scary place.
I could do that. The first time we went he was fine and was having fun meeting all of the workers, who adored him. He only got upset when he got his shot and the fecal test done, but was fine after that again, and wanted to meet the other dogs in the waiting room. This time he was excited to go inside, but there was a big poodle who was barking a lot and crying and it seemed frustrated, and so it seemed like Dexter wanted to go and see what was wrong with the poodle. He kept pulling towards him and when I showed him that I wasn't going to let him go, he just started whining loudly. Haha. I think that may have just made the whole situation off to a bad start because then two cats came in in a pet carrier and they were HOWLING and Dexter then looked even more uneasy. When we got into the room the vet and her assistant told me that the ear infection was slight, and then she asked me if Dexter was a known-drama-queen. I laughed and told her that I couldn't lie about that, because Dexter is such a big weenie, he whines for everything and sometimes if I am walking near him and my leg grazes him he yelps- he is one of THOSE big weenies. She checked his first ear and he whined, and then just as she was about to check his other ear he yelped before she even touched it, so we KNEW he was being silly. My poor melodramatic love 
I know his ears bother him, but I promise he really is just a big baby too.
He did really like the ear massage that the vet gave him though! Sorry for the long post, my fiance went back offshore so I guess I just wanted to share our day with someone! haha
EDIT: after I put the drops in he shakes his head, so I hope that doesn't ma0ke the drops come out.
EDIT: after I put the drops in he shakes his head, so I hope that doesn't ma0ke the drops come out.
If you are able to squeeze the drops down into his ear canal and then massage his ear well before letting him go, most of the medication should stay in his ears, since it's greasy and thick enough. If he has any debris in his ears, the meds and the cleaner should loosen it up so that he CAN shake it out.
Hope he feels better soon!!
Thanks, that's good to know! And Dex sends his thanks for your get well soon wishes.
