Pet instructor skill review
Course Content
- Introduction to your Pet First Aid Instructor refresher course
- Course introduction
- Dog First Aid and The Law
- The vet and your role in first aid
- The Role of the Dog First Aider
- When is Veterinary Care Required?
- Keeping your pet safe in an emergency
- Car Accidents
- Car Accidents - Injuries and Treatment
- Pet Proofing your home
- Please rescue my pets stickers
- Hand Hygiene
- Dog Microchipping
- Cat microchipping
- Precautions and Safety
- Pet Anatomy and Physiology
- First Aid Kits and Equipment
- Checking a Pets health
- Initial Assessment
- Checking Your Dog's Health and Finding Out What Is Normal
- Gum Colour
- Collecting a Urine Sample
- How Dogs Show Pain
- How Dogs Show Pain - Vets Comments
- Taking a Pulse
- Taking the Temperature
- Taking the Rectal Temperature
- Vital Signs
- Comprehensive Assessment and Checking Vital Signs Example
- Pet Accidents and First Aid
- Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation - CPR
- Choking
- Bleeding Control
- Types of Bleeding
- Dressings, Bandages and Controlling Bleeding
- Catastrophic Bleeding
- Dogs and haemostatic dressings
- What is the ideal animal haemostatic agent
- Collaclot - Collagen pad to stop bleeding and promote clotting
- Dogs and Tourniquets
- Commercial Tourniquets for Dogs
- HaemoCap™ MultiSite - Dogs
- Shock
- Shock - vets comment
- Different Conditions you may see
- Breathing and Respiratory Problems
- Loss of Appetite
- Sneezing
- Lethargy
- Urination Problems
- Weakness in Animals
- Weakness and Collapse - additional vets comments
- Hair Loss and Skin Conditions
- Cataracts
- Dehydration in Dogs
- Clinical signs of dehydration in dogs and cats
- Hydration and rehydration in dogs
- Fluid balance in dogs and cats
- Oralade - treating dehydration
- Oralade for cats
- Oralade - The Science
- Injuries
- Suspected fractures
- Types of fractures on animals
- Dog Fractures Treatment
- Spinal injury and moving an injured dog
- Spinal Injuries
- Paw Problems
- Paws and Claws
- Nail and Claw Injuries
- Eye Injuries
- Eye Problems
- Ear Problems
- General Bandaging
- Bandaging the Ear
- Bandaging the Tail and Tail Injuries
- Bandaging the Body
- Fight Wounds
- Puncture Wounds
- Mouth and Dental Problems
- Animal bites and scratches on dogs
- Small Cuts, Scratches and Grazes
- Bandage aftercare
- Stings on animals
- Ibuprofen and pets
- Carbon Monoxide and dogs
- Poisoning
- Vet poison information line
- Inducing Vomiting in a Dog
- Inducing Vomiting - vets comments
- Snake Bites
- Dog Burns
- Chemical Burns
- Electrocution
- Electric Shocks
- Cruciate Ligament
- Falls From Height
- Illness
- Dogs and Illnesses
- Bloat and Gastric Dilatation and Volvulus (GDV)
- Why do dogs eat grass
- Why are Onions Toxic to Dogs
- Why is Chocolate Toxic to Dogs
- High Temperatures and Heatstroke
- Hyperthermia - Vets Comments
- Hypothermia Treatment
- Hypothermia - vets comments
- Vomiting in Animals
- Different Types and Causes of Vomiting
- Vomiting - vets comments
- Seizures and Epilepsy
- Diabetes
- Allergies in Dogs
- Allergic reactions
- Pancreatitis
- Cushings Disease
- Nose and Respiratory Problems - Vet
- Breathing Difficulties
- Coughing and kennel cough
- Kennel Cough - vets comments
- Diarrhoea in Animals
- Stomach Conditions
- Possible Causes of Blood in Dog Faeces
- Rabies
- Alabama Foot Rot
- Blue Green Algae
- Hip Dysplasia
- Urinary Tract Infections
- Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
- Pyometra
- Vestibular Syndrome
- Parasites that affect pets
- Cats
- Different types and sizes of animals
- Summary and Your Practical Session
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We find a lot of animals come in with ear problems, it is quite a common problem. They will often come in, initially, head-shaking or scratching at their ear. With dogs, they love to rub their ears along carpets as well. And the owner will come in, not necessarily saying that it is an ear problem, but telling me that those things are happening, they are shaking their head. Not always an ear problem, but most of the time, it is. So the most common things are ear infections. At different times of the year, we get different issues. So, if your dog does a lot of swimming, then you can get water in your ears, that can then lead on to infections. Infection, they just love ears, bacteria love ears because it is not a very open space. Dog ear canals are very long and very narrow and there is not a lot of oxygen there, so the bacteria just breed and breed. And within a couple of days, you can have quite a bad ear infection there that is really painful for that dog. What we normally do is try and look in the better ear first, if there is one. Often, if it is as a result of swimming or something like that, then it will be both ears affected. They do not like you looking in their ears, but it is normally done. The other thing that we commonly have in the summer are grass seeds. So, most dogs will, at some point in their weekly walks, go through a long field of grass. And they do have these really sharp long grass seeds that will go down an ear, they can get into other parts of the body as well, but probably most of them get into ears. Again, because of the length of the ear canal, it is not something the owner can see, not something that they can remove, but they will go right down to the base of the eardrum. We can normally see them when they come into the vets, and they just need removing.The other things that you can get would be ear tumours. They are not common at all, but when they happen, they are normally quite aggressive and quite nasty. You can get congenital ear problems, where the ear canals have not formed properly during growth in the uterus. They would often require surgery to either ablate, which is taking out the ear canal completely, or open up an ear canal if that is possible. So, the other thing that an owner may notice, even if they do not notice the scratching or the head rubbing, would be a smell in the ear. They are quite specific smells depending on what the infection is, but yeast infections and bacterial infections can smell quite potent and that will be the first thing that gets picked up. And it also helps us if an owner is phoning to make an appointment and tells us about those smells, then we know in advance that that is probably what we are dealing with and it helps us prepare better for the consultation. So, we do see a lot of injuries to pets' ears, probably shared equally between dogs and cats. With the cats, we tend to find it is from cat fights. So, if a cat is head-on fighting, it will often be the ears that get the tear or the wound to them. Ears would always bleed a lot because they have lots of different capillaries in the skin layer, so it always looks really bad when it happens. They will often get infected if they are not treated promptly after the injury has occurred. In dogs, it does not tend to be from fighting. It can be from fighting, but it is normally when they have been running through bushes on a walk, occasionally, it can be because they have jumped through something sharp like a pane of glass. We did have one that had jumped through a car window and cut all of its head, including its ears and a lot of lacerations to the ear that needed suturing back up again. But the ones that happened out on walks, they sometimes do not get noticed because they will be quite superficial and shallow cuts to the ear. And it is only when you get home that you notice that there is a spot of blood, or you can feel the congealed blood on the ear flap, that you then look and find that the cut is there. They do not tend to be quite as serious as the ones that are proper lacerations rather than just the cuts.
Common Ear Problems in Pets: Causes and Treatment
Ear Infections
Ear problems are frequently encountered in pets, often manifesting as head-shaking or scratching:
- Common Signs: Pets may display signs such as head-shaking or scratching at their ears.
- Main Cause: Ear infections are the most common issue, often aggravated by factors like swimming.
Water in Ears
Excessive moisture in the ear canal can lead to bacterial breeding, causing painful infections:
- Ear canals in dogs are narrow, providing a conducive environment for bacteria to thrive.
- Infections can develop rapidly, resulting in significant discomfort for the pet.
Grass Seeds
During walks, pets may pick up grass seeds, leading to deep ear canal penetration:
- Grass seeds can embed themselves in the ear canal, requiring veterinary removal.
Ear Tumours and Congenital Problems
Though rare, ear tumours and congenital issues may necessitate surgical intervention:
- Ear tumours, when present, can be aggressive and require prompt attention.
- Congenital ear problems may require surgical correction to alleviate symptoms.
Diagnosis and Treatment
Owners should seek veterinary care if they notice signs of ear problems, such as:
- Scratching or head-shaking.
- Unusual odours emanating from the ear.
Cats vs. Dogs
The causes of ear injuries differ between cats and dogs:
- Cats: Ear injuries in cats are often the result of fights, leading to bleeding and potential infections.
- Dogs: Dogs may sustain ear injuries from bush runs or sharp objects encountered during walks.