For the last couple of days, Kipawa has been sneezing. But it was much worse yesterday, so I got him to the vet pronto. Around 8 p.m. I got a call back.
Vet: "We cleaned out so much sand out of his ears".
Me: "Yeah. One of the dog parks we go to has lots of sand".
Vet: "When was the last time you were there"?
Me: "Almost 2 weeks ago, and I clean his ears when we get back".
Vet: "Those ears of his are like a catcher's mitt"!
Me: "They are that"!
Vet: "We also got out something really interesting. Both Dr. Thrasher (2nd vet) and I (our regular vet) saw something white. We both looked at each other and said "it couldn't be"!
Me: "What was it"?
Vet: "A seashell".
Me: "HUH"?
So, the shell was taken out. 
I guess at some point in his young life Kipawa heard the ditty "… sells sea shells by the seashore", and he wanted to bring in a little extra cash to pay for his kibble.
I'm curious now - what is the oddest thing pulled out of your basenjis? Any orifice.
OMG that is way too funny. Well that makes the rule of three….you were sick, hubby was sick and well Kipawa was sneezing...you should be all done now! Maybe Kipawa thought he could hear the ocean if he got the shell in his ear? I have no odd orifice/B stories, but that is the first I have heard of a dog with a shell in his ear!
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Me neither!
Ears always trouble me especially when the dogs are out in windy weather or when the grass is in seed.
Well, maybe Kipawa should read Jonesy's blog of his favorite things, http://drsophiayin.com/blog/entry/dog-product-review-jonesys-favorite-things
The Outfox Field Guard might not prevent all the sand but would at least keep him from anymore seashells in his ears.
That blog has lots of cool doggy things in it! I am liking the ball drop cookie thing.
I'm glad the shell was removed safely and that Kipawa is ok.
so far not had anything odd stuck in/on the Basenjis.
However on Christmas eve my parents papillon was playing with his soft toy and suddenly decided to destroy it.
Christmas day night he woke my mum up by retching and heaving, eventualy she heard something drop on the floor. It was a large plastic eye from the toy. He had a lucky escape for sure
Oh my gosh, so THAT'S what that mesh face mask is all about!
And Kipawa, that sounds like it could have been a potentially scary incident! I'm glad everything was okay. I told my partner and it made him cringe and shriek. Apparently he has a huge phobia of anything getting lodged in his ears.
omg. glad Kipawa was ok!! that is insane!
maybe you need to buy him ear covers? he he
LOL did they think the shell caused the sneezing? All I can think is it was causing drainage due to pressure and am not sure that makes sense.
Something pressing on or 'tickling' the inner ear could certainly cause the urge to sneeze, hopefully that's all.
Never had strange things in dog's orifices, but when my son was a toddler and put stuff in his ears, the pediatrician showed me a shadow box on his office wall where he kept the more 'unusual' things removed from kids noses and ears.
Hope this is the last of your troubles!
hi Debra - they actually thought the voluminous amount of sand had more to do with it. The sneezing was a totally dry sneeze - no liquid or what I call 'sniggets' coming out.
I think the shell was just an added aggravation, albeit a much larger (in size) one. Yes, I understand what you mean by causing pressure (I think). I'm thinking of when I get water in my ears and how I stomp my feet or do anything to get my ears feeling 'balanced' again.
It seems the ear flushing did the trick. I have only had a two tiny tiny sneezes from him since I got him home, and I would almost think that was from irritation from the procedure.
I looked at the Foxtail mesh mask that was suggested. Not sure if that would work for us (gut feeling). My sister is very inventive and creative. Perhaps we can come up with something that can work.
What about putting cotton balls in his ears before going out to the beach or dog park or whatever? I have heard of this being done before and then all you do is pull them out afterwards and dispose of them? Apparently if your dog is a 'head out the window doing 60' type you are supposed to do this because if you don't your dog can do deaf because of the wind noise.
