On Saturday I noticed that Belle was licking her leg a lot when I looked at it I saw what I thought was maybe the beginning  of a hot spot. She has never had them but I have seen enough pictures of them that I wanted to have our vet take a look.  We were lucky enough to get an appointment for her that afternoon.

It was indeed the beginnings of a hot spot and while we were there I asked if the vet could take a look at Belle’s ears.  In less than a couple of seconds she looked at her ears and said that she had a double ear infection.   Always wanting to know the how’s and why’s Greg and I started asking our vet questions and she was kind enough to take the time to fully answer our questions and give levels of options.

Belle is prone to ear infections although she has only had a couple of them before and none this severe, her floppy ears and allergies make her a prime candidate.   We discussed several things that could be the cause, talked about expensive testing, and have decided for now to start eliminating things from her environment.  We are taking the straw out of their “nest” in the pup pen, Belle especially likes to snuggle down in it. And I found a sensitive no fragrance dryer sheet that I have started to use on bedding, towels, ect.  most of the fabrics that touch us touch Belle as well.

Our pup who hates to have her ears touched and is pretty savvy about spitting out pills hidden in food is doing a great job.  Hot dog pieces have become pill pockets for her antibiotic and steroid. Hot dogs haven’t always worked in the past so I am thrilled  that for now she seems to have a taste for them.  She is handling the ear wash and drops like a champ.  Greg gently holds and talks to her while I wash and swab her ear canal.

I will be glad for her sake when she is finished with the medicine as she is experiencing some minor side effects from the steroids.     After 3 days of treatment with several more days to follow, the hot spot is almost gone and her ears look a lot better.    We will continue the ear wash once a week after the ear infection is gone and will see how things go eliminating things from her environment in an effort to help control her allergies.    In the meantime we’re just glad she’s on the mend.

Belle Pup