Shaking head

[RolleySkate]

I've noticed over the past week or so that Skye has been shaking her head more often than usual. I wouldn't say she was doing it excessively but it is more than she has ever done it. I've tried looking in her ears and they seem normal as far as I can see and she is doesn't seem to be bothered by them other than the occassional head shake. Is this something I should be worried about or shall I just keep an eye on things and seek vetinary help if the head shaking gets more frequent? She is going to the vet anyway for her boosters next month but I don't want to leave it that long if its something that could get worse. Any advice is apreciated!

[echoica]

if it's not overly excessive, her behaviour is not impacted negatively and you cannot see anything in the ear canal i'd say she should be ok until the boosters appt

[puplove]

Did she get water in her ears somehow or maybe it's just a bug bite. I agree with Echoica but if it becomes excessive or if they smell funny or have any discharge than you should go see the vet earlier. She really doesn't have the kind of ears that would easily get infected right?

[StarfishSaving]

Pretty much ditto what everyone else has said but I also wanted to add that you can clean her ears and see if that gives her relief, in case there's waxy buildup in there.

You can get commercial cleaners but homemade works just fine. (In the event that you haven't had to do this before: You can use white vinegar and water, about 50/50, in some sort of bottle or tube that you can squirt into her ear. Massage just below the ear to help work it down into her ear canals, have her sit there with it in for half a minute or so and then let her go shake it out. I always let them shake for a couple minutes and then take a piece of gauze or a baby wipe or something and go wipe it out to make sure that any of the loosened dirt is removed.)

[RolleySkate]

Thanks guys. I figured as much but just needed a second (and third...forth..fifth..) opinion just incase I was being too uncautious with her. I think I'll leave delving any deeper into her ears for now because she doesn't seem too keen for me to be poking about there and I don't want her to get over sensitive about her ears before the vet gets a look in next month. So for now I'll just work on getting her to enjoy having her ears played with before I try anything more.

[vonissk]

Rolley just wanted to share my personal experience here. When I first got Sister her ears were standing and she shook the one side and dug at it. I cleaned it using the mixture Star is referring to and man all kinds of black waxy gunk came out. I looked in there afterwards and it was sort of red. So I had some homopathic--people--eardrops and I put them in for a couple of days and all that did the trick. Not giving medical advice just sharing my experience.................

[StarfishSaving]

vonissk Toby produces a lot of wax deep down in his ears, the black kind you are is referring to. We have it under control after 4 years of struggling. He would be miserable any time it started getting bad again, shaking his head a lot, then digging at it, then it would get infected... and you would be surprised what can come out of there!

[vonissk]

yeah I know the stuff that comes out and just KEEPS coming out. By the way it wasn't a long time but it was longer than a couple of days for Sister's ear to get healed. Other than a dog I had that got water in her ears and it irritated them --she liked to swim--I've never had ear problems before Sister. I take everything as a learning experience --now I check ears regularly and keep them cleaned out.................