The dog often shakes its head. My dog ​​is shaking his head! What does it mean? What can cause a late visit to the veterinarian

ear - common problem faced by dogs and their owners. The dog breeder can find out about the illness of his pet by certain symptoms. shakes his ears, head, rolls on the floor, scratches his ears, the animal has strange discharge - in all these cases, dog owners should pay attention to the health of their pets.

Do dogs shake their ears? So something is bothering them. The animal feels pain or itching in the ears. He needs the help of the owner. The dog experiences incomprehensible sensations. The reasons for this behavior may be associated with hypothermia of the animal or with the ingress of a foreign body into the ear.

It happens that the dog begins to shake his ears as a result of an infection. Inflammation can lead to swelling of the ear. An unhealthy discharge or bad smell. If a dog develops otitis media, it can lead to sudden deterioration animal health.

Is it possible to help an animal that shakes its ears on its own? It all depends on the situation. You can kill ear mites at home. If your dog has other problems, take him to the vet.

The dog shakes his ears, how to treat it? Look at the animal first. If the dog's ears are blackened from the inside, then the problem is in the ear mites. In this case, you can help your pet without the help of a veterinarian.

Buy special drops from the pet store and start dripping them into your pet's ear. It is important to follow the instructions for using the drug. Fighting a tick is a long and hard task, but you can achieve desired result if you do everything right.

Good for ear mites vegetable oil. They can also bury the ears of a sick dog. This must be done 21 days in a row. That's how long it takes life cycle tick.

If it's not the tick, the treatment for the dog's ear shaking problem will involve something else. Do not come up with a diagnosis on your own. Let the vet fix it. The doctor will prescribe proper treatment your dog, after which you will need to follow his recommendations.

- invasion (infection) with an ear mite. The name of this disease is otodectosis.

Animals aged from 2-3 weeks to 1 year are most often infected. Puppies are infected from their mother. Adult individuals become infected from stray animals, during walks, while communicating with other dogs. Cats are most commonly affected by otodectosis. Transmission of the pathogen can occur through grass, dirty shoes and other items that the pet comes into contact with. If you do not take action, then ear scabies in a dog can give complications in the form of otitis media, meningitis, followed by inflammation. meninges. Treating a dog, in this case, will be extremely difficult.

How to recognize otodectosis?

It is important to determine in time why the animal is worried and why the dog scratches its ears too often. Even if a superficial examination did not reveal pronounced signs of the disease, it is recommended to show your pet to the veterinarian. After diagnosing the ear, the specialist will prescribe a treatment that will be easy and successful due to early detection infections.

Development of the disease

Serous discharge begins in the auricle. Use the corners of furniture to scratch your head. Subsequently, serous discharge will be replaced by purulent. Bad breath comes out of the ears putrid smell. On the inside ear, a crust forms in the auricle. The dog whines, shakes its head, not finding peace. Her hearing is greatly impaired. At the most late stages Complications start:

• Otitis - inflammation of the external auditory canal; the dog has difficulty swallowing, he can do circular motions toward the most affected ear.
• Labyrinthitis (inflammation inner ear) leads to the fact that the animal sits, tilting sore ear down (crookedness).

On the last stage disease begins inflammation of the lining of the brain. The dog may experience nervous seizures, convulsions, she is shaking. This stage is almost always fatal.

Treatment

In the early stages ear scabies you can do the procedures yourself, with the help of family members. Put the dog on its side, calm, fix the head. cotton swabs, moistened (optionally) in hydrogen peroxide, in solutions of furacilin (1: 10,000), boric acid(3%), rivanol (0.1%), moisten the affected ear surfaces. Wait a few minutes for the peel to soften and remove it. If the treatment is carried out with the drug Otoferonol, then you can moisten the swab with the same agent.

Need to clear auricle from purulent and serous secretions, remove the crust, thoroughly clean the ear. This is an indispensable condition, without which subsequent treatment will be ineffective. Uncleaned dirt in the ear will not give medicine access to mites that are under the epidermis of the skin. A new tampon is used for one action each time. This will prevent infection in healthy areas of the ears. Then you need to drip into the ear required amount medicines. It is advisable to hold the dog for a while in a motionless state in which the treatment was carried out. After instillation, the dog shakes its body, the medicine flies out and the effectiveness of the treatment decreases. If possible, gently massage behind the ears with the pads of your fingers.

It doesn’t matter if the dog’s second ear hurts or not, both are subject to the procedure.

Treatment must be repeated after 10 days. Otherwise, the remaining mite eggs will develop into adults and the disease will resume. On the advanced stages treatment is carried out by experts. With complications (otitis and labyrinthitis), a surgical operation is not excluded.

Preparations and medicines

Treating your pet is currently not difficult if the infection is recognized in time and regular care is taken. Pet owners have at their disposal a wide range of products for the treatment of their pets. All drugs for the treatment of ear mites can be divided into categories:

• Ointments and gels.
• Ear drops.
• Drops in pipettes and emulsion concentrates.
• Sprays.
• Injections.
• Drops on the withers.

It is most effective to treat a sick animal with drops in the ear. They have a direct effect on the causative agent of the disease - the tick. Drops "Otovedin", "Anandin-plus", "Otoferonol-Gold", "Otoferonol-Premium" are complex preparations. In addition to the direct acaricidal action (they kill the tick), they have an anti-inflammatory effect.

Invermectin-based injections can be given to a pet if necessary. complex impact on the dog's body. Invermectin suppresses the development of helminthiasis (worms) in almost all parts of the animal's body. Also effective against skin diseases: scabies, dermatoses, fleas and lice.

If everything is in order with the dog's ears, nevertheless, you can sometimes use drops on the withers. The most common and effective are "Lawyer", "Frontline", "Stronghall". The use of drops at the withers will avoid infections during walks.

Invermectin-based injections should not be applied to dogs of collie breeds and their subspecies: bobtail, border collie, sheltie, etc. These breeds have an intolerance to these drugs and their use can lead to the death of the dog. Why is this happening? During the selection process, a gene (MDR1) mutated in Scottish Shepherds and their subspecies, which caused hypersensitivity of these breeds to opioids, some antibiotics, invermectin and steroids. Invermectin is also not recommended for pregnant and lactating bitches of all breeds.

Prevention of ear mites

Prevention of otodectosis is simple and part of the normal daily care of your pet. Compliance with several simple rules helps to prevent the emergence and development of this painful disease.

1. After each walk, during evening procedures, wipe internal surfaces ears with clean swabs or tissues. You can moisten them with gentle disinfectant solutions. For example, hydrogen peroxide.
2. Try to keep your dog out of contact with stray animals, especially cats.
3. Regularly disinfect the habitat of your ward. If the dog has an aviary, treat it, in addition to the usual cleaning, with acaricidal sprays.
4. Constantly disinfect equipment: collars, leashes, muzzles, toys and exercise equipment.

There are many reasons why is the dog shaking its head. This reaction may be caused by slight itching, acute pain or injury. If your dog shakes his head from time to time, then this is not a problem. If your dog is constantly shaking his head, this could be a sign serious problems. The reasons for this behavior are varied, and some of them require immediate action.

Reasons why a dog shakes its head

• Ear infections can make a dog uncomfortable, causing the dog to start shaking its head.
• Tumor of the ear. If an ear infection is left untreated for a long time, it can lead to blood blisters, which is also called auditory hematoma. They can cause the dog to start shaking his head.
• Wounds on the dog's head. When an infection gets into a wound on the head, it can cause the dog to start shaking his head. Any discomfort caused by head wounds can increase the dog's desire to shake its head.
• Head trauma can lead to various problems including concussion. If the injury is minor, then over time the dog should gradually stop shaking his head.
• Unstable equilibrium. The reason for this may be a head injury, stroke, problems with vestibular apparatus which also causes the dog to shake its head.
• Foreign object in the ear. Sometimes the cause of a dog shaking its head is a foreign object in the ear canal that needs to be removed.
• Ticks, including ear mites. The presence of ear mites or mites on a dog's body can cause the dog to shake its head.

Symptoms of Ear Infections in Dogs

The most common reason for a dog to shake its head is various ear infections or other ear problems.

General signs ear infection

• Ear hot to the touch
• Irritation in the ear
• Bad smell
• Ear discharge
• Humidity
• Rough or matted fur around the ear
• Ear redness
• ear swelling

The dog's owner should carefully examine the dog's ear for any signs of an ear infection. Dog breeds such as the Poodle and Shih Tzu have long hair in their ears, so it's best to trim the hair in your ears carefully to prevent the possibility of an ear infection.

When to contact the veterinarian

Upon noticing signs of an ear infection in a dog, the owner should contact the veterinarian as the dog needs treatment. If your dog shakes his head frequently but you can't figure out the cause yourself, take your dog to the vet for a checkup because it could be a sign of a serious illness.

It is common for dogs to occasionally shake their heads, the owner should only be concerned if this happens too often. Severe injuries heads and wounds require immediate treatment, so do not ignore them.

An illness in a beloved pet is always a test for the owner, and often you can not immediately recognize the symptoms of the disease in the behavior of the animal. For example, if a dog often shakes its head, presses its ears, constantly scratches them, it is obvious that the animal is tormenting discomfort and pain. To fix the problem, you need to understand the cause of what is happening. It may be on the surface or be hidden, but in any case, such behavior should not be ignored. If the dog scratches the ears, trauma to the skin occurs, which leads to additional pain.

The reason is also not related with illness - it can be foreign body, which got into ear canal. In this case, you can not solve the problem at home, it is better to visit a veterinarian. Extract foreign object it is necessary for an immobilized pet, because when the dog is removed, it will feel pain, so it may involuntarily twitch and the object will be even deeper.

Very often, the disease in an animal occurs in a latent form. Need to understand real reason discomfort and try to eliminate it, and you should not do it yourself.

If there are no suggestions, and the veterinarian has ruled out everything possible options, then the therapeutic treatment. It is anti-inflammatory and sedatives. Possible reasons are determined by the reaction of the body, so the treatment comes from the opposite.

Difficulties in diagnosis lie in the fact that the animal may shake its head and scratch its ears for several reasons. They cannot be identified in one visit to the veterinarian. If the disease is not obvious, then the owner needs to observe the condition of the animal and note what the changes are associated with.

Ear Diseases of Dogs

If the dog shakes his ears, you should be wary: perhaps this is the first sign of an ear disease. First of all, you need to visit the veterinarian, because ear disease brings the dog great discomfort: she wants to constantly itch. When a pet shakes his head, it partly helps him get rid of pain, because it happens irritation major nerve fibers distracting the animal from pain on small fibres.

Otitis media is not always the cause of earache. There are many diseases that affect the head and ears of a pet. The case may be in the appearance of an ear mite, as well as otodectosis. In small breeds of dogs, meteorological dependence is still observed, which is accompanied by headache with changes in atmospheric pressure.

ear mite

If the toy terrier is shaking its ears, the cause may be ear mite. Because of him, the dog often shakes his head, scratches and purses his ears; scratches quickly appear on the muzzle and nape. At the same time, the animal experiences severe pain and whines when examining the ears. Formed in the dog's ears brown coating similar to plasticine.

If the dog is running the disease, then such discharge can clog the ear canal. At first, the discharge from the ears looks like an ichor, and in running case they acquire green color sometimes exudes pus. When sick, a toy terrier develops a characteristic odor from its ears. This is due to waste products of insects, blood and earwax mixed, so crusts form, which begin to exude a putrid odor.

If the owner examined the pet, and his ears are clean, pink and do not smell, then an ear or head injury can be ruled out. If an animal has a concussion, it will feel sick and dizzy.

Injuries and moisture

The reasons that the dog shakes his ears and scratches them may be such circumstances:

• Injury. Such a nuisance as injury to the ears is typical for breeds with long sensitive ears lowered to the cheekbones. The breeder must show to such animals Special attention and inspect them after each exit to the street.
• Another common cause is water getting into the ears. This happens as a result of the following mistakes: the dog is bathed incorrectly; the pet is poorly dried after taking a shower; walking outside in the rain swimming in reservoirs or the sea.

Yorkie ear problems

The Yorkshire Terrier is a delicate and sickly breed, so disastrous consequences cannot be avoided if water gets into the ear:

• From a stagnant body of water, which is a rich source of bacteria and viruses that will multiply rapidly in a warm environment.
• From the ocean or sea. There, the water is salty and can burn the delicate skin of a Yorkie. In addition, when swimming in the sea, microscopic molluscs can get into the dog's ear canal. AT medical practice there are cases when molluscs live in the auricles for years, not only in animals, but also in humans.
• If water has entered from detergent, rinse aid, shampoo or soap, then negative consequences can't be avoided.

In such cases, the pet must be given emergency care . The ear is wiped with a damp cloth, so it will be cleaned. Then you need to wipe it with a paper towel to absorb moisture. This procedure must be repeated each time the animal shakes its head. Maybe the dog itself will be able to get rid of the water in ear canal, but the owner should carefully monitor the symptoms, because with a bacterial lesion or infection of the ear, symptoms may not be detected for 4 days.

Otitis media in dogs

Many breeds with drooping ears suffer from otitis media. For example, dogs of the Labrador breed are often susceptible to the disease. If you carry out regular prevention, which consists in cleaning and examining the ears, the disease can be avoided. In the medical practice of veterinary medicine, there are a number of special factors in which an animal may suffer:

If the owner cannot understand why the chihuahua is scratching his ears, it is necessary to check the signs and check the pet with a veterinarian for ear infections.

If the dog constantly tilts its head to one side, then most likely it has otitis media. When the pet shakes his head, he thus lowers the pressure in the auricle, which leads to a dulling of pain. A change in the color of the ear and its microflora indicates otitis media occurring in a painful form. If the dog constantly scratches the ears or the area around them, then we can conclude that the Chihuahua has either an ear mite or otitis media.

Types and their characteristics

After the initial infection, the disease progresses rapidly and is accompanied by discharge. At first they are transparent, then ichor, blood or pus appears. Even before the appearance of purulent discharge, the ears begin to smell bad, which indicates the course of putrefactive processes and the formation of pus. When it becomes even more, it will come out. Very often on early stage otitis in a pet, hearing deteriorates.

If the disease is accompanied by the closure of the ear canal, then hearing can be completely lost. With any type of otitis in the animal, there is a deterioration in appetite and an apathetic state. In the early stages of the disease, the ears become hot. When the infection reaches deeper layers and causes an immune response of the body, the body temperature rises.

It is necessary to correctly define type of otitis media because the speed of recovery depends on the diagnosis. Otitis is divided into the following types:

1. Outer. Inflammation affects the visible part of the ear. In this case, infected scratches are often observed.
2. Average. This disease occurs in a painful form, it begins in the part of the ear that is invisible to the owner, there are also scratching behind the ears. The first signs are abundant transparent selection and chomping sounds that are observed when massaging the auricle.
3. Otitis externa is hidden and painful form diseases. There are no visual symptoms, but it hurts the dog to move his head, so he turns his whole body. The first signs of the disease are restlessness and apathy, fever or refusal to eat.

It should be noted that the application folk remedies acceptable only in the early stages of otitis externa. If the dog has purulent discharge, then in without fail you need to visit a doctor, because the infection quickly goes deep into the ear and causes irreparable harm to the health of the dog.

Forms of the course of the disease

It is known that many animals can tolerate otitis media without treatment. Some dog breeders become aware of the condition after changing the shape of the pinna. This is because it proceeds with different intensity:

1. Chronic otitis. It is not so painful, and exacerbation occurs when certain conditions. For example, the cause may be hypothermia and walking in rainy weather. Cause chronic otitis media is physiology or incompletely cured acute otitis media.
2. Sluggish - this disease leads to complete complication, but it for a long time remains hidden and painless. The dog is itchy, the ear is moist, but there is no pus. Indolent disease is more often found in the middle part of the ear.
3. Acute is the most painful form with a rapidly occurring infection. The disease starts as otitis externa, but it quickly affects the internal and middle part ear. The disease develops unilaterally, but the second ear begins to become infected during scratching.

With any disease, you can not pull and self-medicate, you must definitely show the pet to the veterinarian. Only he can make the correct diagnosis.

Attention, only TODAY!

Your dog, a handsome man and a family favorite, brings joy, and then he unexpectedly puzzled him with his behavior: he constantly shakes his head and scratches his ears. Let's figure out how to help a pet in this situation.

Possible reasons

If the dog scratches his ears, the causes of the disease may be:

Sometimes the reason why a dog scratches its ears may be genetic features of the shape of the ear. Then the long shape does not provide sufficient ventilation, and long wool causes irritation and itching.

When should you contact a veterinarian

If the dog shakes his head and scratches his ear, then this may be a symptom. dangerous disease. Contact a specialist for a diagnosis and prescription of medications if, in addition to itching, you experience:

• reddish-dark sulfur deposits,
• yellowish or reddish spots on the pet's ear,
• bad smell from ears
• swelling and fever of the ear,
• tumor,
• hanging jaw in a pet.

If the dog constantly scratches his ear, lowers his head, or you notice that others have appeared strange symptoms- do not self-medicate. The animal may become aggressive due to pain.

Don't know what to do when a dog scratches an ear (but at the same time dangerous symptoms no) – do it regularly hygiene procedures for cleaning your pet's ear. In this case, the puppy will get used to the operation from early childhood and will ask for it himself. For this:

1. Buy liquid agent for cleaning ears in a veterinary clinic.
2. Gently pour the drug into the auricle, close with a swab, massage the auricle.
3. After a few minutes, remove the swab, tilt the pet's head to remove the solution with the dissolved earwax.

Treating Itchy Ears in Dogs

Diseases cause severe discomfort in an animal. The dog often scratches his ear and whines, and prolonged pain can provoke aggression even in a peaceful pet. At home, you can mitigate itching, but make a diagnosis and prescribe adequate treatment only a specialist can.

If your dog has earaches and is constantly scratching them, examine your pet, give first aid to relieve the pain, and contact a specialist for diagnosis and treatment. Any ear disease is dangerous for a pet and can turn a friend into an aggressor. Be attentive to the little pupils, and they will give you a lot of pleasure and joy.