dog is shaking its head after each bark....is this caused by earmites?...if so, how do you treat them, or do i need to go to vet?

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PR Dixieland's Blue Vestal

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clean his ears first then you can get some earmite stuff at the local feed store no use takin him to the vet they charge to much you can do it your self cheapers

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as long as your lookin up at game nothin else matters

Delton Hall's ear remedy works great, and I agree, I wouldn't take him to the vet 'til you get them ears cleaned.

Usually the head shaking happens when they have either an ear infection or just extremely gunky ears. I agree with the others, clean them well before anything else. Then use something to kill earmites if you think it is an earmite problem. More often I've seen messy ears caused by yeast infection (usually dark brown, smelly goo in their ears). There are several good home made ear cleaning solutions. I use a simple 50/50 mix of rubbing alcohol and white vinegar. If you mix some up don't save any of it for later use. If after you've cleaned the ears and then applied something to kill mites and the ears fill up all over again right away with crud then you should take the dog to the vet to make sure it doesn't have an ear infection. If you have done all that and the ears are still getting messed up you may have to switch feed. Certain feeds can cause a dog's body chemistry to favor the growth of yeast which in turns causes them to develop a yeast infection in their ears really fast. Different dogs react this way to different foods, it isn't any one particular feed that always does it to all dogs.

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chuckydw is right deltons remedy is the best stuff I have found for it.

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Its not the size of the dog in the fight, Its the size of the fight in the dog.

a dog might do this. Occasionally, dogs bark so loud it bothers their own ears. This is very common in Rhodesian ridgebacks, and they often shake their heads so hard they break blood vessels in them. One of those Elizabethan collars will muffle the noise long enough for the ears to heal, but the dogs hate them and they look ridiculous. Hounds with voices loud enough to cause the problem tend to be repeat offenders.
the purple solution (gentian violet, boric acid, alcohol or witch hazel)works well for cleaning ears and mild yeast infections, but if the problem is mites, you want something oily. Any kind of oil will suffocate mites. I use mineral oil. Put a drop or two inside amd massage some more oil on the outside of the ears. The dog will shake its head and distribute the oil inside the ear without prompting and they usually like the external ear massage.
Hound ears need regular cleaning--I do it about once a week. Some dogs are really prone to yeast infections because of the shape of their ear canal. This is a genetic trait and runs in bloodlines. Bathing and/or swimming those dogs, or life in a hot humid climate makes the problems worse. It can be surgically treated, but that is very expensive.

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esp

When my 6mo barks he almost always shakes his head after he lets out a big bark. I dont know if it hurts his ears or what? His ears are clean, and he does shake like that on occasion when he hasnt barked, but its normally after letting out a big bark. Doesnt seem normal to me. Anyone have any insight?

Thanks, Cory

I have a blue tick walker mix that is now 2 yrs old. he has done this since he was born he is that loud that if you are close it hurts your ears. he shakes his head when he gets fired up.