Jason
,@jruben310
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Good day- We are the proud owners of a one-year-old English Pointer named Bruno and a proud patient of Dr. Magnifico’s. Recently, Bruno has been shaking his head more often and scratching his ears. He has also been sleeping much more the past few days. When not sleeping, he is still pretty playful and eating/drinking. How do you know if he has an ear infection or not? His ears have been professional cleaned, but same actions with his head. Also, no smells coming from his ears. Any suggestions? Thank you.
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Can someone give me some suggestions on nail trimming on a 1-year old Pointer? His nails and quick are black so that adds a challenge. As soon as he sees the nail clippers, he gets into a panic. Trying to hold him down is very stressful for both the dog and me as the owner (but I do try to remain calm and talk with him the entire time). Please advise tips so we can get to a better place and maintain his nails better. Thank you.
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Sarah Good morning-
This is going to be a bit of a road to travel, but CAN definitely be done. You are going to have to reintroduce the clippers as a positive thing. Slowly and gradually until you get to the point where you are able to trim. Treats and praise will help- but it will take time to get there. In the meantime- the vet techs at your vet will most likely be able to assist you. I am still trying to reintroduce nail trimming to one of our shepherds and it’s almost a year now… not giving up though. So much closer than we were. But right now- they get trimmed during his vet visits. Best of luck ???????? -
Laura I agree with Sarah – you need to revisit the clippers (or dremel) in a different way.
Are you on Facebook? There’s a FANTASTIC group focused on doing nails in a way that the dog isn’t stressed. Some members build scratch boards for their dogs to use while they’re training them to accept clippers. I would encourage you to join and read all the Files: https://www.facebook.com/groups/nail.maintenance.for.dogs/learning_content/
My wonderful vet gave us eye drops for our 6-month old 40lb. puppy. He just had surgery to address a “cherry eye”. Does anyone have any suggestion on how to administer these drops? Every time the dog sees the little white eye drop bottle, he gets very stressed. We are unable to keep him still long enough to put in the drops. Please advise any suggestions.
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Krista Magnifico Hello,
I have two options I recommend. One sir him down in between your legs. Surround him under you and hold his nose to the ceiling. Then drop the drops into the eye. And talk to him. In cases like these it’s not the drops that are the problem it’s the restraint. So practice and don’t give up. The other option is to pull the lower lid away from the eye and place the drops in the pocket. So he doesn’t have to be looking at you. If it’s really a struggle being him in and we will help. If all else fails use a muzzle. Usually they are so blindsided by the muzzle they surrender. Although I suspect this is all about him not wanting to be the patient and you not willing to be the forceful determined dad. Be gently but be firm and don’t let him win. He will never listen to you again willingly. I am at the clinic 10 to 2 tomorrow. Xox -
Sarah Hi there-
I just want to reiterate “calm and firm”. And yes, if you let him win, you will have to go back to square one with a lot of training success you’ve had already. I am living proof???? it is why I have such trouble trimming my dogs’ nails. Keep trying and be persistent. Best of luck.
Good day- We are owners of a new 12-week-old rescue puppy names Bruno. He has been a great addition to the family and we are working thought having a new puppy in the house.
Reference to crate training at night, should we be waking up in the middle of the night to take him out (4-5 hours or so), or should he alert us that he needs to go out and then we wake up and take him out? We do walk him before going to sleep in his crate. Please advise your thoughts.
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Laura Yes, when crate training, someone should wake up in the middle of the night to take puppy out…unless you stagger bedtimes in such a way that he’s only in there 4 hours.
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Krista Magnifico Hello!
My answer depends on a few things. For the first week I just tel people to focus on getting used to each other I’m more worried about the stress of acclimating than the hard core training although both should be thought about simultaneously. If he is waking up at night then yes help to reassure hi and to get him on a potty break schedule by getting up. Most puppies won’t sleep more than 3-5 ours at a time until they are about 4-6 months old. So getting up as soon as he gets up helps to reinforce he is loved and cared for and it also helps with housebreaking as they have to go to the bathroom as soon as they get up. Over a few weeks he will start to sleep longer and get used to your schedule and be able to hold it through the night. Please also remember the tenants of housebreaking are ringing the bells on the door as you go out. Giving a key word like “time to go potty” directing him to his potty area immediately upon being outside and rewarding him for going. Also don’t let him wander in the house as this will fool training.
Crate training is always rewarded when entering and used after he has been adequately exercised and rewarded for going in. Never make the crate a bad or scary place. It’s his home within your home.
Hello,
Ear infections are best diagnosed with an otoscope visualization and a swab and microscopic slide evaluation of the ears. In some cases there is simply dirt and debris and only an ear cleaning is needed. In others it is infection and therefore an otic antibiotic or antifungal is needed and in some cases it is just a red itchy ear due to an allergy. In any and all cases of head shaking it is imperative to identify what is going on and alleviate it ASAP or you can get an aural hematoma. Which adds two things to treat for and a painful pup too. Please call me and we can take a peek to see what’s up. As you are my client I will add the following at home tips.
1. Look at the ear flap. Is it red? If so this indicated inflammation and discomfort. Try diphenhydramine mg size equals weight of dog. Ie 50# dog = 50 mg diphenhydramine orally every 8 hours. If two doses don’t knock it out see me!
2. Is there any dirt or debris that looks like dark chunky wax inside the ear canal? If so you need to clean the ears. I have a video on this on my YouTube channel?
3. Do you see any yellow liquid in the ear? Does it smell terrible? If so you need a vet ASAP!
4. If it hurts to touch the ear see me ASAP.
Whatever the cause is once you have one ear issue you should expect more. So ask your vet about at home care and ear cleaners to help avoid this from happening again. Also lots of red rated head shaking dogs have allergies. Ask about this before you get an aural hematoma. (YouTube on that too!)