# Ear Infections and Heart Murmurs



## Syoung (Feb 20, 2017)

Hi,

We are first time HWV owners and have a wonderful 12 week old boy.

We have had him 4 weeks now and he has suffered on and off terribly with ear problems and I dont actually know what normal is for him as yet - we have tried drops and cream and this cleared things for a week (where we managed with aloe vera on the ear flaps) but now we are back on the vet drugs again - any advice welcome! 

Also at his 6 week check with breeder vet no sign, but at 8 weeks and still at 12 weeks our vet detected what she called a mild murmur in one side of his heart - she said we shouldn't worry too much and to check again at 16 weeks...but he is my baby boy how can I not worry! 

Our boy is fantastic, a great temperament and as puppies go he has been a little star but these two health concerns worry me - any advice gratefully received! 

Thank you


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Hopefully one of the members with wirehairs will give you more of a answer.
In my smooth coated dogs, ears haven't been a big problem.
When I've had ear problems it was normally caused from a food allergy, or me slacking on using a ear dry after swimming. 

*she said we shouldn't worry too much and to check again at 16 weeks*
I would go with your vets advice, but also let the breeder know.

Would love to see pictures of your pup, and welcome to the forum.


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## jld640 (Sep 29, 2010)

Also not a wirehaired owner, but Savannah had ear infections as a puppy, too. The vet said not to worry too much, she would probably outgrow them. She did.

With that said, assuming you are having the same problems that we did, keep his ears clean. Search the forum for good cleaning techniques - we follow one recommended by Linescreamer a while back, but that may only be good for smooths. Act as soon as you suspect an ear infection with either a vet visit or by following previous vet instructions so the infection doesn't get out of control. And tell people you meet not to touch his ears when they are infected. They probably hurt.

Welcome to the forum!


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## Syoung (Feb 20, 2017)

Thanks for help and support! It seems never ending with me fiddling with his ears at the moment, I am trying to find a balance where his ears can actually settle and adjust to 'normal' but seems I am always fiddling with them with drugs to stop infections. 
Will definitely look up cleaning techniques, his ears never appear that dirty (they are cleaned at least once a week at the mo) and then over night we seem to have red raw  poor chap! 

Otherwise he is a totally awesome pup - roll on next week when jabs are up to date and we can go walkies


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## Syoung (Feb 20, 2017)

Thanks TexasRed, yes I went straight to breeder at 8 week check (4 days after I got him) - she says none of her dogs have history of problem and no other puppies ever had it. Technically, I probably could of given him back at that point but I was so in love and we don't actually know how much of an issue it could be so how could I!? My breeder also spoke with her vet who said similar to my vet, he may grow out of it - fingers crossed that he does or it stays mild and doesn't effect his quality of life. 

Here are a couple of shots of our boy - can you tell I'm smitten


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## einspänner (Sep 8, 2012)

Oh he is cute! 

Ears can be problematic with these guys. Keep his ears plucked and get yourself some thornit or what is generically called ear canker powder. The powder smells a little weird, but it keeps things dry. I will usually pluck, rinse/scrub out with a liquid ear wash and cotton balls, and sprinkle in some canker powder once every couple weeks. Actually the powder can help with gripping the hair, so you may want to do it after. 

I think it's just a general problem with the wires, but I've noticed with my girl that eating chicken made it worse, so you may want to experiment and see if it's linked to a food intolerance.


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## b4ruby (Sep 3, 2016)

We had a Standard Poodle 10 years ago that had ear infections as a puppy. We kept his ear's plucked used medicine but the infection cycle continued until we discovered "Thorn-it" on the internet. It was amazing. 
We cleaned his ears and then dusted with a very small pinch of Thorn-it. We monitored his ears weekly and used the Thorn-it weekly for about a month or so. We also used it after he got bathed and after swimming. The ear infections stopped. Good luck and enjoy your bundle of energy.


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## Syoung (Feb 20, 2017)

Thanks for both your replies, will look at finding some thornit! 

We havent even ventured out yet (waiting on final jabs) so no swimming etc and I am checking his ears daily at the moment as it seems to flare up very quickly! We currently clean them weekly. Fingers crossed the vet medicine kicks the infection for good now and then thornit keeps it at bay! 

Interesting about Allergies, I have read about this online but my vet seemed to think him too young to be allergy related?!

Thanks again


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## mlg1900 (Jun 12, 2013)

Learn something new every day! I never knew some dog breeds needed their ear hairs plucked! I just watched some youtube videos on it, lol!


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## Jaygeemee (Aug 15, 2019)

I hope your problems get sorted quickly my Wire haired has had an infection that didnt respond to thornit, or drops from vet has ebded up being anaesthetised for swabs and ear flushes. Still undergoing weekly treatment £600+ at the moment. Thank heavens for insurance. I just pray they pay up now.


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## harrigab (Aug 21, 2011)

Jaygeemee said:


> I hope your problems get sorted quickly my Wire haired has had an infection that didnt respond to thornit, or drops from vet has ebded up being anaesthetised for swabs and ear flushes. Still undergoing weekly treatment £600+ at the moment. Thank heavens for insurance. I just pray they pay up now.


Pork mince and potatoes cleared up my whv boy's ears, we'd tried just about every other costly scheme the vet could think of before.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Jaygeemee said:


> I hope your problems get sorted quickly my Wire haired has had an infection that didnt respond to thornit, or drops from vet has ebded up being anaesthetised for swabs and ear flushes. Still undergoing weekly treatment £600+ at the moment. Thank heavens for insurance. I just pray they pay up now.


I have a smooth coat Vizsla, not a wire. Last year we spent roughly around $2,700 on figuring out her ear problems. She finally had myringotomy surgery on her ear. Had to stay on a list I prescription meds before, and after surgery for 6 weeks. Her ears have to be cleaned twice a week, with hb101 for the rest of her life. I can only get the medical grade hb101 from a Veterinary dermatologist. She will always be at risk for bacterial infections in that a ear, but it's been infection free for the last 10 months.
She had developed a rare gram staph negative bacteria, and had fluid in the middle ear. Without Flushing the middle ear, and testing for the bacteria in it. We were never going to fully clear that the infection.

On a side note.
If the infection goes on to long, the bone surrounding the middle ear can also become infected. We were very lucky, and that was not the case with June. If it had, she may have been on medicine for a year, or the rest of her life.


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