The importance of forming a
Lifelong Ear Partnership

After a diagnosis is reached and a treatment plan agreed, a member of your vet team will likely organise a follow up appointment with you, the first one usually after around a week.

Watch this video to learn about the importance of repeat appointments when it comes to ear inflammation in dogs. Follow up appointments might seem unnecessary when your dog is doing better, but they allow multiple events to occur that are essential to the successful treatment of your dog.

This video will provide insight into:

  • Why the vet wants to see you and your dog back
  • The importance of early intervention to avoid relapses
  • The benefits of repeat examinations of the ear, including ear cytology
  • Long-term planning for dogs with primary causes like allergic skin disease
  • The importance of forming a Lifelong Ear Partnership

A follow up appointment is important and covers a number of steps:

Hopefully the answer is really well, but if not, this can be detected and discussed early. You could even take the ear diary with you to share with your vet team. 

Your vet will probably want to re-examine your dog, the ear itself and to repeat cytology. This provides information on whether the inflammation/infection is resolving as expected. If not, the plan can be changed. 

Your vet will also want to check that  the medication is working for you. If you are giving medication at home, your vet can check how you are finding this. This gives you an opportunity to feedback and express any concerns or challenges. Be honest with your vet team – is there a need for a change in treatment strategy?

It’s likely that you have thought of more questions surrounding your dog’s ear condition. This appointment provides an extra opportunity to find the answers. No question is too small, and your vet team will have heard everything before!

The long-term planning – Where do we go from here?

In most of otitis cases, there will be a primary factor which led to the current ear problem. It might be a quick fix like a grass seed in the ear canal or parasites residing in the ear, but in a majority of cases, allergic skin disease is the problem. This primary problem might be further complicated by a less fortunate ear shape or perhaps a habit of frequent swimming. 

Early intervention is beneficial. If you quickly get to terms with the actual cause of your dog's ear condition, you and your vet team will find a long lasting solution that works for all parties. This might include regular use of an ear cleaner, or an anti-inflammatory ear drop.

A good plan means less pain and discomfort for your dog. Hopefully, the partnership makes you feel empowered and helps you understand what to do to help prevent recurrence and when to seek further advice and assistance from your vet team.

Watch this video to learn about otitis externa in dogs including the symptoms and the importance of finding the underlying cause in order to best manage your dog’s ear inflammation.

There is seldom a quick fix for ear infections and there will be a primary factor that led to the current ear problem. Usually, that primary factor is allergic skin disease. Until you have successfully identified and addressed the primary cause, the ear inflammation will come back. Remember to not skip any revisits and collaborate with your veterinary team to minimise the risk of recurring ear problems.

Swelling and pain in the ear (usually called otitis by your vet) is seldom a quick fix and in most otitis cases, there will be a primary factor that led to the current ear problem. If you quickly get to terms with the actual cause of your dog's ear condition, you and your vet team will find a long-lasting solution that works for all parties. This might include regular use of an ear cleaner, or an anti-inflammatory ear drop. Collaborate with your veterinary team to create a good long term plan that will mean less pain and discomfort for you and your dog.  

We recommend that you don´t skip any planned revisits independent of how your dog is doing. These are scheduled for the vet to check the effect of the prescribed medication and for you to give feedback and express any concerns or challenges. There can be several reasons for a treatment failure and your vet will help you figure out what went wrong. There are multiple products to choose from and, if it is addressed in a timely manner, a change in strategy is usually beneficial. 

So, before you leave the practice, make sure the follow up is in your diary and tell your vet team you will see them then!

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