RetrieverTraining.Net - the RTF banner

Prognosis on ear tears

1K views 8 replies 8 participants last post by  Hunt'EmUp 
#1 · (Edited)
Came home to a rather large ear tear, I have no idea how it happened, but sliced cleaned through got it stitched. Looking for input from the group. What are the chances it'll heal back up or am I looking at a dog with a snake tongued ear? Also is it better to have it wrapped up or open to the air. I'm thinking air to allow it to drain, however she's been shaking her head, which is no bueno for keeping stitches in. Wrapping seems to keep it constantly wet, dispite the amount of gauze I use.
 
#2 ·
I can't really comment on a complete ear tear. But I know my chocolate managed a little spit/cut at the tip and that took forever to heal. The head shaking kept ripping it open. We ended up wrapping it to control the movement which I believe is the only thing that allowed it to heal.
 
#3 ·
Mine healed by keeping him in a crate. As soon as I let him out he would shake his head but in the crate he didn't. He lost the whole end of his ear.
 
#4 ·
I have a dog that lost a chunk of his ear in a little tussle with another dog. Wrap it against the head so when they head shake or scratch the clot isn't disturbed until it's healed enough where it can be in the open air to fully heal. As long as there isn't hair between the stitched areas, it should grow back together, however it'll probably look odd because of the scar tissue.
 
#5 ·
Super glue the split back together. Sometimes they take, sometimes they don't. If you leave it alone it'll stay split and take longer (like seemingly forever) to heel. You can also staple the split together- again success seems related to timeliness, so depending on how old it is maybe it mends or maybe it doesn't. Hog hunting 101....

Edit. Saw its stitched. Good leave it open so it stays dry and can drain.
 
#6 ·
Came home to a rather large ear tear, I have no idea how it happened, but sliced cleaned through got it stitched. Looking for input from the group. What are the chances it'll heal back up or am I looking at a dog with a snake tongued ear? Also is it better to have it wrapped up or open to the air. I'm thinking air to allow it to drain, however she's been shaking her head, which is no bueno for keeping stitches in. Wrapping seems to keep it constantly wet, dispite the amount of gauze I use.
Try an Ace bandage pinning the affected ear atop her head for a few days.



The stitches will hold - as they did with this masterpiece of veterinary surgery



when an ugly and open tumor had to be removed.

MG
 
#7 ·
My girl had about a 1 inch long tear when the neighbor's dog snapped at her. I tried to get the bleeding to stop, but every time she shook her head, it gushed. The vet's office looked like a horror movie when we left...anyway, 3 months later you can just see a little notch at the edge if you look really close. We used a soft cone for a few days to make sure she didn't scratch the stitches out.
 
#9 ·
Update; 4-5 days of changing horrible goopey bandages twice a day; we've finally started to see a reduction in goop, antibiotic must be working. The top half of the ear looks to be healing together. Bottom half we'll have to see, we put in a couple of new stitches so hopefully that will hold it together, if the monster doesn't find another inventive way to remove her bandages. Notes to self a) invest in a vet wrap & tape company b) if your dog for some reason has dew claws tape those up, use industrial tape c) Medical Gauze and medical tape suck at adhering to an ear, the only thing I've found to stay in place and keep the wound covered, so it won't move around and split yet again; is paper towels and duct-tape (yes, we've gone *******). d) Don't ever have a dog with dew claws again.

Still a long way from healing, but it is finally getting better. Started with a ~2.5 in gash down to ~ 1. in if the stitches hold we might not have a completely snake-tongue ear. Here's hoping
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top