re: Dog Ear Ablation Surgery: Page 2 Update

This little dude still has some good years ahead of him.

Somebody got a rat and squirrel to frick

My wife's cocker spaniel had ear problems that wouldn't go away. Vets kept telling us that if he had the ablation he wouldn't be able to hear. I told them none of us CARED whether he could hear or not after the surgery, he was already stone-f***ing deaf!He had long since lost his hearing so the ablation wasn't going to cause him any further hearing loss. (Trust me when I say Max was stone deaf. I played LSU pregame on my old trumpet one night to see what he'd do. He stuck his nose in the bell of my horn and sniffed. Every other dog I've owned HATED that trumpet.)

We took Max to UGA Vet-Med school and it ran about $2500. That was in 2003. The ablation was a huge success. No more rubbing his ears on the carpet, no more scratching and digging, no more midnight freak-outs that required ear drops and Q-tips. Just a happy dog that didn't give a damn if I played my trumpet or not. He was 13 when we did the ablation and he lived a very happy year and a half afterward.

Go ahead and do the ablation. Everyone involved will be relieved and happier for it. No facial paralysis either. The price of the surgery was well worth it. But then again, we're now in our 50s with no children except those that walk around on four feet and wag their tails. Money spent on keeping our pups happy and healthy is worth it. Not like we're saving it to send kids to college.

Yes. Had both ears done on our Boykin ($1500 each) . Wish I had just done his worst ear because he is deaf now (unless you yell). It finished his duck hunting career. I taught him to handle with hand signals so I may attempt to use a vibration collar in lieu of a "sit whistle". He loves to hunt much more than our lab and is a much better "boat dog" than she is. It did stop the ear infections though. The vet told me the spaniel breed in general has ear canals not designed to drain and their hair doesn't shed water like the labs so the ear becomes a factory for ear "bugs".

We left our lab with my parents while we went on a trip. The lab gets ear infections pretty regularly but I use rubbing alcohol with paper towels and clean his ears at the first signs of trouble. Obviously my parents were not aware of the issue.

We get home and pick him up and realize the flap of his is swollen. It looked like a jalapeño in his ear flap.

Take him to the vet and he suggested surgery to prevent the blood from getting into his ear flap. They cut out the cartilage and sewed his ear flap back like a quilt.

He has recovered completely with no issues, but it was pretty expensive.

Update. Surgery went well, and the stitches removed this morning. I'm a little concerned with the disconnect between UT and our local vet. Turns out he had a cancerous tumor. All should be removed, but they prescribed him antibiotics as a precaution. Since you know, that prevents cancer. LOL. If they were doing it to prevent infection from the surgery that would make more sense, except they randomly prescribed them a week later.

So he does has facial paralysis. Cool, fine, I knew that was a risk. The vet school said watch for a droopy lip, because that means the cancer could have reappeared. Great cool, but he has a droopy lip from the paralysis. I explain this to my vet and said, well since he already has a droopy lip what should I look for and she straight up just says IDK. Uhhhh...I mean I guess you don't have all the answers but something more than IDK would be great.........then she does provide more. You'll just see the tumor. Oh like the one inside his ear canal know one saw and in the same canal you just sewed shut. Gotcha!

Side note: While I'm dealing with this dumbass, the phone system was down. I literally called them 12 times trying to drop my dog off because they are still curbside. So when I just finally go in someone is there to fix the phones. The technician says to the girl at the front desk what phone is most important and should be worked on first. To which she replies, IDK I'm in training let me ask someone. I wanted to scream at top of my lungs the receptionist phone you idiots.

Ok/rant it has been a day

quote:

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If $1000 is going to result in you choosing to end your dog's life, you're either an a-hole or too poor to own a dog.

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This guy's wife was punking him down during Ida because we wasn't properly taking care of his family.

It's probably an ongoing thing.

Our old cocker spaniel, Max, had horrible ear infection issues that recurred about every two weeks no matter how often we cleaned his ears. He was already deaf so there was no reason to worry about that issue. He was thirteen when he had the ablation surgery done at UGA Vet-Med center and the last two years of his life were absolutely wonderful for him with no ear problems.

Dogs get used to hearing loss. Dogs DON'T get used to digging at their ears constantly in search of relief. If you're okay with spending the money, then go for it. Your pup will be greatly relieved. And don't let anyone tell you how much you should or shouldn't spend on your dog. He's your dog and it's your money. Everyone else can screw off about that.

Take the money you're planning on spending on all the surgery and go buy like 5 more chihuahuas with it. At least one of them shouldn't be defective.

Sounds like a quality vet center.