canker in dogs

[danny7299]

hi there

i have a 2 year old westie , we have only had him a couple of months , in the last month we have noticed that he yelps when you rub his ear... we had a look in and there was quite a large build up of black like wax... we have removed that but he still seems to yelp , not every time but only somtimes.

we wondered if when he was play fighting with our other dog he may have injured his ear , but we havent' noticed any bleeding or swelling.

any advice would be great! we have some vet ear drops but not sure if that will help of not?

Cheers

Wet Fish

 

[Apache]

You bought a Westie? Oh dear. Too late now..........

This is one of those things that you'd really need to see to come to any decent conclusion, sorry. The possibilities include ear mites, infection (bacteria or yeast), trauma, cancer, polyp, foreign body or allergy.

Westies are prone to allergies leading to skin disease. The ear skin is especially sensitive and sometimes ear problems can be the only (or the first) manifestation of skin disease. This would be my best guess.

Your money would be well spent getting him checked out by your vet. There is a possibility that he/she may see ear mites, damaged ear drum, some kind of growth (benign or otherwise) etc. If the infection is bad and the ears are painful the dog may require some treatment to settle the infection down before the vet can have a good look down there. If they are really bad and waxy then there is a chance he may need a general anaesthetic to flush out the ears and clean them.

How old is the dog?

 

[danny7299]

He is about 2 ... I never reliazed that westies where that problematic !... We have always had border terriors and they are quite hardy ! So this is the first time dealing with things like this

 

[Apache]

He is about 2 ... I never reliazed that westies where that problematic !... We have always had border terriors and they are quite hardy ! So this is the first time dealing with things like this

Westies are so prone to skin disease. We call them 'itchy Westies'. Almost all have pink/orange staining of their feet from chewing their itchy feet.

headbang

A Border is a much more sensible dog.

If he's 2 should be infection, mites or allergy.

Get him checked out and let us know.

 

[danny7299]

Ok , will get him checked out , maybe we should part x him in for a boarder ! He he many thanks

 

[Apache]

Ok , will get him checked out

Good man, let us know how you get on!

maybe we should part x him in for a boarder !

I would!

 

[Apache]

Woof

 

[Cirrus]

My Dad's Westie died suddenly recently from some sort of liver disease which apparently sends them round the bend. The old fella was told they suffer from this as a breed. Is this true?

 

[Apache]

My Dad's Westie died suddenly recently from some sort of liver disease which apparently sends them round the bend. The old fella was told they suffer from this as a breed. Is this true?

I am not a small animal vet and this is not something I have heard of. There is an idiopathic lung fibrosis.

I have done a google search and they are prone to copper toxicity causing liver failure.

You learn something new every day!