Dog is acting unusual

ABEasy

Hi, I have a 15 month male lab that's acting weird. When out playing fetch, he'd often start moaning and rub his head on the ground ( he'd actually put his head on the ground and run with his head on the ground, seems to be rubbing his ears). He does have a cut on his ear that is healing slowly but has been doing this a while. He's up to date with worm & flea treatments, anyone have any idea what might be up with him.

Themadhouse

Have you checked his ears for a build up of wax or mites? Might just need a cleaning?

ABEasy

Themadhouse wrote: »

Have you checked his ears for a build up of wax or mites? Might just need a cleaning?

Thanks, will give giving the ears a clean in the morning, what would you use? One of those cotton buds?

Cherry Blossom

Dogs will sometimes do this to rub the scent of any wildlife on themselves that has been there, it's a natural instinct I think to disguise their own scent when they would have gone hunting for food.

anniehoo

Is he scratching at them himself? Does he only do this when out walking? I wouldnt worry about it unless he's shaking his head/scratching at home tbh.If the ear is not congested (red or black waxy bits).

The "moaning" sounds to me like a "happy grumble" type thing which is very normal with dogs..

Zapperzy

Mine does this sometimes except he rolls his whole back including his head along with sound effects. Usually means he's found something particularly smelly! In the back garden (totally enclosed in an estate so not much wildlife can get in) I think he mostly does it on the spot he eats his tripe (also particularly smelly ) so he must be rubbing the smell of that on him! If he goes to do it outside I'm usually quick to pull him away because it usually means he's found something dead (usually a rotten seagull on the beach :eek:).

Mine also does the head rubbing and grumbling when he's wet after being at the beach. Usually likes to dry himself all over the car or on the mat in the kitchen. :rolleyes: Wonder could it also maybe mean he has water stuck in his ears, I know when I'v water stuck in my ear it's uncomfortable.

No harm checking his ears for mites anyways just in case.

HENVEY89

my dog lick walls whats that all about??

kevohmsford

I have a 4 year old labrador. He used to do something similiar. He would scratch his head along the ground but not any more. It may be an alergy to certain foods. Just be careful what you feed him. We only feed him dry food. Hope this helps.
For a dog that young i doubt it would be ear wax.

Kojak

ABEasy wrote: »

Thanks, will give giving the ears a clean in the morning, what would you use? One of those cotton buds?

Wouldn't use one of those buds anyways, could do more damage than good. he may not stay completly still for you while you are at it, especially if you hit a sensitive area. If you rub the backs of his ears hard, it will break down any wax (or other stuff) in his ears and it will naturally fall out.

Zapperzy

HENVEY89 wrote: »

my dog lick walls whats that all about??

My dog licks the floor sometimes, once I let him outside he eats grass which would be a sign of a stomach upset I think. Would your's be chasing a reflection or a light on the wall?

kevohmsford wrote: »

For a dog that young i doubt it would be ear wax.

I'v seen dogs of all ages with waxy ears due to ear mites.

kevohmsford

I suppose it could be ear war. My dog was scrating his head on the concrete but when he was in the field he would just act the fool and roll all over the place.

HENVEY89

Zapperzy wrote: »

My dog licks the floor sometimes, once I let him outside he eats grass which would be a sign of a stomach upset I think. Would your's be chasing a reflection or a light on the wall?

yeah my dogs mad for de reflections, but hes always licking the walls

carleigh

We use ear drops called 'Aurizon' on our Golden Cocker. He used to suffer from ear mites when he was younger, but now we use the drops once a week just to clean his ears out. It costs about €10 from the vet. If he seems to be rubbing his ears alot, I just clean them with a sensitive baby wipe, seems to give him alot of relief, especially if they are cold.

**Vai**

Could be an ear infection. If he keeps it up after u clean his ears it might be worth a trip to the vet.

Discodog

I would pop him to the Vet just to be sure. It could be an inner ear infection, canker, ear mites etc or he could be just reacting to a scent. If not then it is better to get it treated quickly before it takes hold.

ABEasy

Thanks for the advice everyone, I'll try pick up some of those ear drops tomorrow. He's due a booster in the next week or so anyway so will be heading to the vet this week. He has what looks like black wax in his ears so I'm guessing it's wax. He is always shaking his head but just assumed that is what he does, which is really annoying cos he has a cut on his ear that won't heal cos of the head rubbing & shaking.

My fella licks the floor aswell:)

are you serious

If you give him a good rub right behind his ears you should find he will lean right into your had in order for you to do it longer.. I notice whenever I've not done this to my fella for a few days he'l want a good ear rub, at this point he just falls over if I move my hand away he leans in so much

Wildebrian

Labradors,I have found, are particularly prone to ear cankar and mite infection.you should bring him to the Vet as if this is left untreated the entire can swell up like a pilllow and be most uncomfortable for the Dog.Normally a tube inserted into the Ear and then massaged from the outside on a fairly regular basis does the trick.

ABEasy

garkane wrote: »

If you give him a good rub right behind his ears you should find he will lean right into your had in order for you to do it longer.. I notice whenever I've not done this to my fella for a few days he'l want a good ear rub, at this point he just falls over if I move my hand away he leans in so much

Thats exactly what he does, he let's out a small groan and leans into your hand.

are you serious

ABEasy wrote: »

Thats exactly what he does, he let's out a small groan and leans into your hand.

Then just keep doing it I do it every 2nd day or so and my fella hasnt had dirty ears at all!

He's groanig is just a dog way of saying "Oh yeah right there.. more, more, dont stop!!!"

ABEasy

Just a quick update, I was to the vet he gave me a solution to squirt into the dogs ears which frees up the wax, been doing it for a few days and its working a treat (still rubbing the ears, not to free up the wax but cos he loves it~).

Also to help the cut on his ear heal (was about an inch long and always bleeding) I started spraying him with the spray on plasters you get in the chemist, been doing it for 10 days now and its fully healed. Would highly recommend the plaster spray, tried everything else for the past 4 months with no joy. Thanks for the advise from everybody.