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Pet of the Year Finalist: Ear disease puts wolfhound off balance

Ear disease is a regularly occurring ailment suffered by our pet dogs, and is one of the most common reasons for a visit to the vets. Treatment and recovery is usually fairly straight forward, often with owners applying daily medicated antibacterial and antifungal drops to their dog’s ears for at least a week. However Pilot the Irish Wolfhound is an example of how serious the implications of ear disease can be, as he and his owners found out when he required several days of nursing.

Irish Wolfhounds are classed as a “giant” breed – and indeed they are one of the largest type of dogs, often weighing up to between 70 and 80kg fully grown, and reaching a height of 80cm. Because of this, they often need a lot of specialist care and knowledgeable, dedicated and well prepared owners. Wolfhounds generally have a lovely temperament, and in the right homes they can make great companions. If they become ill, veterinary care can be a significant undertaking, with transport and treatment often requiring huge effort and planning, as well as medication proving to be of great expense due to the sheer size of body mass – not to mention a great deal of physical strength as everyone found out with Pilot!

Pilot was already no stranger to the veterinary practice before he was struck down with ear disease, and was most recently recovering from a serious wound sustained to his armpit. Pilot had undergone two operations to stitch up a large wound behind his front leg, and had suffered the complications of serious infection. Resting him was proving to be difficult, but with a special extra-large protective body sleeve that he was wearing to keep the wound protected, and a buster collar, he was finally healing up.

Whilst wearing his buster collar, he sustained an ear infection, possibly not helped by the warm and sweaty environment that was being created by wearing a cone around his head for such a long period. Pilot’s owners knew the signs and spotted them quickly – he was due a check of his healing wound at the practice anyway, so at an appointment at the practice, his condition was confirmed. Due to his size, Pilot requires transportation in his owner’s horse lorry – after all, he is the size of a small horse!

Pilot’s left ear was hot, red and inflamed with a bit of a smell. It was pretty sore to examine, and Pilot wasn’t too keen on the otoscope to examine the inside of his ear deep down into the canal. When a dog the size of Pilot doesn’t want his ear fully examined, it is difficult and usually physically impossible to argue! Nonetheless a diagnosis of ‘otitis externa’ - external ear disease - was reached, a swab was taken to send for lab analysis and treatment was started pending laboratory culture results.

Swabs for culture and sensitivity testing are very important with ear disease, as the results determine the exact bacteria or fungi responsible in the infection, and which antibiotics will be effective. Antibacterial resistance is fortunately becoming more publicised as it is a crucial matter in not only veterinary but also human health. Bacteria are developing resistance to certain antibiotics, and improper or inappropriate use of antibiotics can result in the appearance of ‘superbugs’, causing resistant infections in both animals and people. Pilot’s results returned a diagnosis of Pseudomonas infection – this is unfortunately quite a severe and often multi-resistant infection, seen in more serious ear disease cases.

By the time the results arrived, Pilot’s condition had deteriorated as his infection became more severe. One morning, Pilot’s owner had quite a shock to find that the large wolfhound couldn’t get up to stand, let alone walk. His eyes were darting in different directions and he appeared very distressed. Pilot’s owner was concerned that he could be having a stroke, and though the symptoms can be similar, this condition in the true sense of the word is more a human illness. A possible diagnosis could have been vestibular disease, but this is usually seen in elderly animals, and with his history of an on-going ear infection, ‘otitis media’, or middle ear disease as it is more commonly known, appeared to be Pilot’s diagnosis. The infection, as sometimes happens with Pseudomonas bacteria, was presumed to have spread from the external ear, through the ear drum, into the middle ear to affect Pilot’s balance centre.

With his size and now being unable to walk, Pilot needed a house visit for an examination. This confirmed initial thoughts of otitis media and steroid and antibiotic tablet treatments were started, alongside effective ear treatment to get to the source of the Pseudomonas infection. It was a waiting game for Pilot to respond to the therapy, but this was made all the more frustrating as it was proving difficult to nurse a recumbent patient of his size. Pilot needed three people to lift him and try to walk him outside to the toilet, and needed turning regularly so that he wouldn’t get sores. He was also at risk of a condition known as a GDV, where the stomach can twist and bloat requiring surgery. This was because of Pilot’s deep chested body shape, as he was restless and there was difficulty turning him, but fortunately, the nursing care he received at home with his owners was perfect and without further incident he started to improve.

As the ear disease settled down, Pilot began to stand on his own, gradually taking a few steps, and then improved very quickly from there. After one final horsebox trip to the practice, it was confirmed that not only his ear had recovered, but also his armpit wound had fully healed – off went the sleeve and buster collar, wrestling with ear drops didn’t need to continue, and both Pilot and his owners could return to their usual routine.