melisroy

Since we've had Punch, which is about 1 1/2 months now, the tips of his ears split open on and off. He's had scabs on the ends of both ears and they keep looking like they're juuust about healed up and then he'll shake his head and they'll bleed again. My vet says that it may clear up in the spring and the cold weather could be aggravating it so for now I've just been putting vaseline on the tips to keep them from getting dry and cracking and its worked well enough....until today.

Today, my house, both the dogs, and I are covered in blood. Its just pouring out! He's bleeding through the bandages I've placed on the tips of the ears and I keep replacing them, but its a mess. My bathtub (where I put him to change the bandages) looks like a crime scene. Has anyone ever dealt with something like this? I called my vet, obviously, and she says if they don't heal I may have to have the ends cut off surgically! I'm at my wit's end, any advice??

Kyllobernese

Ears bleed so badly even when it is just a nick. Instead of just putting bandages on the tips, is there any way you can wrap a bandage around his head and under his throat to keep his ears flat against his head, more or less like he had a "hood" on?

At least then when he shook his head his ears could not flap around. If they cut the tips off wouldn't you just have the same problem trying to heal it up?

Monkey

I agree with kyllo or use body glue? Or even something more fatter thats protective??
If there is..

Theres something thats being used on the quick maybe that could work on the ear?

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applesmom

Have you asked your vet about using surgical glue? I'd worry that cutting the tips off might just compound the problem.

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Siouxfly

Even a sort of snood/hood might help protect them. It's quite a common problem with some types of ears. I'd do as most of the above replies suggest and bandage him up for a few days to give them a chance to heal.

melisroy

We tried the snood, but he just shakes and shakes until it slips back over his ears. Maybe we could tape it to his head with porous tape?

Also, the vet thinks the surgery would fix it because then the vessels would be cauterized with the laser, and it would have a clean edge with stitches. The problem now is he has scabby rough edges with a blood vessel leading right into it, so every time a scab breaks loose before its healed completely, the bloodbath resumes. Very frustrating.

applesmom

Could they be old fly bites that developed a bacterial infection?

It would seem to me that first the vet needs to determine the cause of the scaling. No matter how much they clip off, he will always have ear tips. If they don't find the cause, surgically removing the tips might only be a temporary fix until the new tips do the same thing.

In the meanwhile I'd ask about the possibility of using surgical glue to keep the current spots closed and to prevent the excessive bleeding. But first I'd want to be sure that keeping those spots closed so they couldn't bleed wouldn't cause the blood to be trapped inside causing a painful hematoma.

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"I've been fleeced

A well trained dog will make no attempt to share your lunch.

He'll just make you feel guilty while you're eating it.