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Case study. Hairy ear canals in Miniature Schnauzers. Painful ulceration. Bites people. Lateral ear canal resection of the dog. Ear problems. Otitis externa. Educational tips for pet lovers first recorded in August 2002. "We could not go back to the first vet as our Schnauzer had bitten his nail off his finger!" Mr Ho said as he wriggled his left forefinger. "The vet's hand was trembling subsequently. But we had warned him that the dog would bite. He still touched his ears and was bitten. This dog dares not bite me as I will whack him." Mr Ho laughed. I could feel the pain of the nail bitten off the finger in my bones. Just a simple bite would be painful and if the nail was bitten off, it must be excruciating. This Schnauzer did not growl or give warning before biting. He was the strong silent type. He put his head down close to the floor, his tail turned sharply downwards and headed towards the door to get out of the veterinary surgery. Some dogs do associate the vets with pain and some would not enter the surgery room. Their legs became wobbly as they reached the surgery. Legs became so heavy that they glued the dog to the ground. "Why not use the ear ointment regularly instead of putting him under anaesthesia to open up his vertical ear canals?" I asked Mr Ho as the Schnauzer was really pitiful at that moment. His greyish white face with long hair made him looked very depressed. Mr Ho had tried the ear ointment for the past 3 months but the pus kept coming back inside the ear canals. He had to spend over three hundred dollars for two ear irrigations and medication. If the lateral ear canal resection surgery could solve his problem once and for all, this dog would be euthanased. This Schnauzer had ear canals choked full of ear hairs trapping water during bathing. Furthermore, the ear pinnae or flap closed over the ear canal opening. The closed ear canal was not ventilated well. The dampness from bathing encouraged the bacteria to grow and infect the ear walls. Pus formed as the dog's white blood cells tried to contain the infection. The ears became painful and inflamed. Therefore the dog bit anybody when his ears were touched. The dog was kept in the cage pending surgery. He was passive and quiet in the cage, a good patient. Just as I was going to take him out for surgery, he bit my left thumb without warning. Fortunately my nail was not ripped off. I washed off the red blood oozing from a small puncture wound. I had to use the hand to operate. A piece of plaster covering the wound stopped the pain. The dog had both ear canals opened up. I hope he would be happy to see the veterinarian in later years and not associate vets with pain all the time.
Left ear canal fully covered by ear hairs over 1 cm long. Some Schnauzers have very hairy ears and groomers keep plucking the ears frequently. A permanent solution may be lateral ear canal resection.	Side of left ear's vertical canal removed showing opening of horizontal canal as a hole at the lower part of the picture. Lots of ear hairs obstruct the ear and prevent proper ventilation.
Right ear canal also obstructed by a profuse growth of ear hairs. Very uncomfortable for the dog as it traps water and become ulcerated and infected.	Pulling out the long ear hairs from the horizontal ear canal and cleaning up the canal after removal of the side wall by surgery. Should have no more ear problem now.

"I can give you a 90% guarantee of success in this surgery," I said to Mr Ho who wanted the dog back immediately after surgery. The family just loved this Schnauzer and did not want him to be away from the best care at home.

"Your dog will no longer suffer from pain and pus infections inside his ear forever."

"This dog bit two vets," Mr Ho pronounced proudly to Nurse Ann. It was an achievement to bite the dog doctor who is supposed to be invincible and a controller of all dogs big and small, ferocious and submissive. I was the 3rd vet to be bitten. A brown waterproofed plaster wound round my left thumb as I washed out the dog's canal.

Mr Ho turned to me and furrowed his forehead, "Your guarantee better works. Otherwise it would be a lethal injection to kill it as I can't afford to spend more money on veterinary fees."

As for me, I hope this dog would never bite the 4th veterinarian. I have to be super alert whenever I encounter dogs with ear problems.

From this Miniature Schnauzer and a sore thumb, I now appreciated the meaning of the English idiom "Once bitten, twice shy." One of those idioms I memorised for the English test during the Primary School Leaving Examination. That was 3 decades ago, but the Miniature Schnauzer refreshed my English idiom swotting by biting me and making me avoiding him.

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