The drainage has turned to serum (indicating healing). There is some scaring which will change her ear set. So now I'm focusing on making her comfortable. That means no bandage during the day when I can keep an eye on her and remind her not to mess with it. We discussed it, and she'd rather have a bandage at night than a cone or cloud.
Unfortunately, a surgical repair is not prudent at Luna's age (10 years), so I chose the less promising treatment of inserting a cannula in order to avoid the risk of anesthesia with a geriatric dog. I do need the ear to heal, but chose the more conservative approach even though it meant less chance of saving the ear set. I wanted to save the set, but the dog herself is infinitely more valuable to me than her appearance. If it had been Ruby (who is younger), I think I would have tried the surgery (quilting) because her risks would have been about the same either way. For Luna, I hope a surgical repair does not become necessary.
Fortunately, it seems to be healing well, even if the ear is a little misshapen. She's being very good about not messing with it. I only have to remind her every few hours, not every few minutes, and she's being very compliant with those reminders so I'm willing to go coneless. It's nice nursing a trained dog. Because of her training, she's able to avoid physical restraints and receive quicker medication administration, which result in her being more comfortable and less stressed. I'm less stressed too. I'm also very glad she is crate trained because it means I can crate her and know she safe, clean and content when I can't give her 100% of my attention such as when attending to my own personal care.
Or at least 85% of my attention. Sorry, you guys only get 15% because my dog always comes first. But I don't have to explain that to you.
Topic: Luna sends this reminder about ear health (Read 239 times)