Dogs ear twitches quite often... Been to vet recently...
 

Dogs ear twitches quite often... Been to vet recently...

Just took dog to vet, female, beagle mix, spayed, 8 1/2 years old--Sophie.
Only issues she ever had was an occasional UTI and ear infection due to the floppy ears of beagles (and mixes).

Over the last few weeks I noticed a recurring but slight ear twitch in both ears. No scratching, no rubbing on carpet. Does not occur during sleeping or laying fully down with head on floor/bed, etc..

Only occurs when she is sitting, looking at me, ie: in more active states. There has been no head trauma or injuries or dog fights.

It is just a twitch of the ear-one ear or the other. Could occur 10 times in 20 minutes. No head tilt. No moaning/sound of pain.
No loss of coordination, balance or any other sign. The twitch is 1/2 second. There is no coughing or sneezing but this is not to say there could be an allergic basis to this ear twitch. Don't know. Vet did not think so.

There is no discharge in her ears, no cuts, no mites.

Took her to vet today-

Before I took her to vet I looked in her ears thoroughly, rinsed them with an OTIC cleanser. I applied Otomax drops 2x a day for 3 days.


**Vet today saw no infection nor cuts nor mites. She scoped the ears. Inner ear were proper color. Did blood-work. White cells she said were a hair higher than average but of no concern. Liver enzyme (excuse if jargon is incorrect) and other levels including electrolytes seemed perfectly normal. Do not think she tested Thyroid-not sure.
I know of nothing she ate that would be poisonous or any kind of insect bite.

Dog will certainly go on walks, urinate normally, poop as usual, interact with other dogs but is not playing as much as she does (with me) and is a bit lethargic. But then again we (particularly me) was gone for 16 days and at my step daughters and she may be readjusting to our coming back.

I looked up idiopathic tremors but who knows...


Where she has an ear twitch "she is not out of it" like I would expect a seizure to be. Again lasts 1/2 second--the twitch in one or both ears. Dog shows no loss of attentiveness, motor control. It is almost like the blink of an eye but an ear twitch which can happen 20 times in an hour. And again does not occur in sleep or when she is laying down with head down.

So vet thought perhaps it could be seizure related--she did not say epilepsy. Put dog on Zonisamide (Zonegran®) and vet will call in about 4 days to see if that helped. Else I could take dog to a canine Neurologist.


Thoughts??


Thank you very much
Respectfully
Peter

Welcome to the board, Peter and Sophie!

Was the vet able to observe the ear twitch while Sophie was being examined? If not, it might be useful to try to get a video clip of it, although that might be difficult given the timing of the twitches. But I think I'd attempt it if there's no improvement on the Zonisamide. A canine neurologist might be able to tell you from a video if the twitch could be seizure related.

It could just be that she was developing an ear infection and the cleaning and Otomax knocked it back enough that the vet couldn't detect it--that might also explain the slightly elevated WBC. :shrug:

She twitches in both ears, but not both at the same time?

The vet certainly could observe the twitching. There was no sign of infection she could see by scoping the ear, no mites, no redness. Usually when my dog has an ear infection she will scratch the year and it will only be one ear usually. In this case it's just the twitch and not even a shaking of the head or scratching. She told me to stop the Otomax and to try the seizure medicine for 5 days and then see if it helps.I think a dog neurologist might be too expensive and yield nothing except it could be idiopathic if I am using the term correctly. But the vet said she will call next week and discuss next steps and maybe get in touch with a dog neurologist if need be. Thank you very much and I look forward to other replies from yourself or other people

From OP, what the ear twitching turned out to be was not seizure related per se but a result of hemangiosarcoma cancer of the spleen somehow affecting her brain/impulses.etc.

Upon dog being groomed the vet found some abnormal bulging of dog on side and underbelly. After a few scans by a 2 vets it was determined the dreaded Hemangiosarcoma. No cure. Expensive surgery and you owe will get perhaps 2 additional months with dog. The vet put her on prednisone and a chinese herb I read about. This allowed me to have another very good month with her until it was that time. No need to reply but perhaps if you notice your dog being lethargic, belly becoming more and more bloated, loss of appetite and you/vet cannot find a reason, perhaps get a CT scan or ultrasound of abdomen area and see if there is a mass. The twitching was just a side effect.

Again no need to reply. Shed enough tears over this.

Take care ,

Peter

So sorry, Peter. You were lucky to have had each other in your lives. :grouphug:

:candle: Sophie

So sorry for your loss Peter :grouphug:, your experience may help someone else thank you for sharing

:candle: Sophie