hot spots & swimming, etc...

["Yanna Jorni" <goldk9s@cox.net>]

Hi all,

Rick asked me to share this post with you all regarding hot spots &
swimming.  Our 4 goldens do a lot of swimming and we do not have any
problems at all with hot-spots, ear infections or matting of their fur.


Also, our Michelob is down to 20 mg of prednisone a day, has probably
lost about 9 pounds and is still going in for weekly blood tests to
check his progress.  He seems to be getting a little better on the lower
dosage of pred... he is not quite as "spacey" and he is not having the
peeing accidents in the house anymore (knock on wood).  We should know
more by the end of this week, after this week's blood test results come
back.

Yanna

-----Original Message-----
From: Rick Reid [mailto:rickreid1@cox.net] 
Sent: Tuesday, August 06, 2002 10:05 AM
Subject: RE: hot spots and swimming 

Gina,

We will keep you posted on Mich. He is going for more test Wed. He seems
to be improving now!  

It's important to dry behind the ear - to minimize mats and to make sure
you don't get a nasty hot spot or fungus growing in the dense coat in
that area. More importantly is getting the ear canal dry. Dogs ear
canals run horizontally near the ear drum - so even if they shake their
heads all of the water will not come out. If there is water in the canal
it makes the perfect breeding ground for bacteria and yeast (moist and
warm). And then you get an ear infection.

Our 4 dogs swim several times per week. After swimming they are blow
dried and I put alcohol in each ear. I recommend using 93% isopropyl
alcohol. You probably will need to ask a pharmacist to order it for you.
Just squirt a small amount in each ear and rub for a minute. The dog
will shake it out and the ear canal will be dry as soon as the alcohol
evaporates. DO NOT DO THIS IF YOUR DOG HAS ANY TYPE OF EAR INFECTION! IT
WILL BURN! Also do not use hydrogen peroxide in the ear. I was once told
this was a good thing to mix with the alcohol - but come to find out -
when hydrogen peroxide breaks down it turns into water!

We haven't had an ear infection in 2 years. 

What ever you do - put your hands on your dog daily! You never know what
you might find! And the worse thing that could happen is you might get a
lick or 2 from your companion. 

Gina- if you don't agree with using the alcohol for ears you can omit
it. It just works for us and a lot of other people I know.

Rick

Rick Reid, Yanna Jorni and The Golden Menagerie - Jake, Chelsea,
Michelob and Austin