What on earth happened to Jordy’s ear?

 

 

 

 

 

Jordy is a gorgeous blue dog that found his forever home with friends of ours. Most of his days involve, chasing the ball, sniffing, dining, lounging (as per the left pic), playing with his newly rehomed blue dog sister ‘Keely’ and avoiding his cat sister ‘Silvy’.

Recently whilst sitting on the patio chair giving his owner the early morning report (a favourite routine of theirs) Jordan’s owner noticed one of his ears looked a little strange. A little dog-eared in fact. On further inspection there was swelling. A visit to the vet confirmed this was a hematoma.

Hematoma’s can occur in different parts of the body but basically they are a sight where a pool of blood has collected. In the case of an aural (ear) hematoma the blood builds up typically between the skin and cartlidge. In some cases draining the blood is suffice but other cases involve surgery. Floppy eared dogs are more prone to this condition but dogs with upright or ‘stand up’ ears such as cattle dogs and german shepherds tend to require a more complex procedure. If left alone, sometimes a dog can ends up with a cauliflower ear. Any wrestler or boxer can tell you what that is.

The vet explained that a bump, nick, puncture or even excessive shaking of the head could create a broken blood vessel. The irritation often causes the dog to scratch the area or shake their ears more. The ear-flap begins to thicken or swell and if left unattended, can cause the dog a lot of pain.

Jordan has always reminded us of a cartoon character with his adorable overbite. He is a highly social, handsome boy and his gentle nature and high intelligence have impressed many. You can see from the pic on the right he has a number of stitches. They’ll be removed in a few weeks time and thankfully for now he doesn’t seem too bothered about them. It does looks like he is wearing an earring and although his Mum has been known to dress the pets up on rare occasions, be assured it’s just part of his collar and not a pirate costume.

Just wanted to share this story with you so you know what to look out for with your own pooch. Good luck Jordy boy.

Leah & Angela O’Meara

Hound Dog Day Care (Specialists in Dog Minding & Dog Boarding, Pet Sitting Brisbane & Doggy Day Cares Brisbane)