With her ear issue you may be seeing some vestibular disease which you can read about here
http://marvistavet.com/html/body_vestibular_disease.html
Ear infections are a common symptom of allergies in dogs. You can read about allergies and dermatitis in dogs here http://www.lbah.com/allergy.htm
http://www.priory.com/vet/vetatop1.htm Dogs can develop allergies to foods, and to inhaled items, and contact allergens such as rug cleaners or chemicals including lawn chemicals or even flea bites.
A low thyroid level can also predispose a dog to allergies. The vet can check for that with blood work.
Hope this helps you!
The other dog licking the ear is bad as the moisture left in the ear is perfect for bacteria to grow in.
The liquid noise can be infection.
There are important things to know before deciding to use a medicine in a dog's ear.
You need to know if this is an infection or an ear mite problem as they are treated differently.
You need to know if the ear drum is perforated or not as most over the counter meds are not safe if that is the case.
You need to know if this is something that will clear up with topical meds, require oral meds, or is related to a problem with allergies or a thyroid problem.
If you know the problem is an ear infection and that the ear drum is not perforated then there are some things you can use.
You can see if your local pet supply store carries Zymox with cortisone or find it online. I've had good luck clearing up infections with that. You can read about it here http://animalpetdoctor.homestead.com/Zymox.html
This site goes over ear infections and has another ear cleaner mentioned that had good results http://www.dermapet.com/articles/art-03.html here is just the product info http://www.dermapet.com/prod-09.html
My suspicion really is that the infection is causing inflammation of the middle ear and impacting the balance center. This may indicate there is a hole in the ear drum and using fluids on that can trigger more disruptions or even damage the middle ear.
You can see a detailed diagram of the ear here
http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/ClientED/anatomy/dog-eye.aspx#ear
That is why I'd suggest another vet exam.
I believe her middle ear cavity has fluid in it. This would affect her balance? I dont believe her ear drum has a hole in it. Before her horizontal canal surgery the vet was extremely surprised on the condition her ear had been kept.The product Zymox with cortisone, this is a safe product that I could try unless I see a change for the worse?
The whole purpose of this conversation is to avoid ANOTHER vet visit.... hopefully it wont come to that. Thanks
I understand your goal on the vet visit but I have to warn you that not checking the ear drum area and using any cleaner etc in the ear can result in a problem for your dog including some serious pain.
You might want to just try plain Zymox - the cortisone is for itching and might not be needed.
They make a plain flush to use too.
http://www.amazon.com/Zymox-Ear-Cleanser-Purple/dp/B00076NTIW
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