[Libby&Jofi]

Since 12 weeks, poor Jofi has had recurring problems with her ears. She's had two courses of antibiotics so far to clear up ear infections.

I've recently changed vets because I wasn't satisfied with the advice - the new vet seems to be much better. He plucked Jofi's ears because there was a lot of hair inside (the other vet tried to do this too but didn't do a good job - Jofi was very good through this but quite fidgety). We were thinking the problems could be allergy/food related but she doesn't have any other symptoms - no skin or poop problems. I've just ordered a box of Canidae from Germany - having read about the poor ratings for Hills Science Plan - so I'll see if this helps.

Anyway, all was good the last couple of weeks but now her ears are beginning to whiff again - seems to be a lot of wax inside again. I'm still using the antibiotics twice a week as directed. She doesn't seem bothered by her ears - a few weeks ago it was really bad and she was scratching, shaking her head etc. - she doesn't seem uncomfortable now but the odor is a bit worrying - a sign that the problem is returning again.

Have any of you had similar problems - were you able to solve them? Any advice would be great. I've just ordered the R-7 ear cleaning system - do any of you use this?

 

[debbildog]

I think you're on the right track with the allergies. If the Canidae Chicken & Rice helps but not 100% I would try eliminating chicken from her diet and put her on the lamb & rice formula. I would suspect the nasty grains from the science diet are the culprit though!

 

[SadieFern]

We've had amazing results with the blue ear wash!

 

[lmtoth2]

Dex's ear infections stopped when we put him on a totally grain free food. Canidae did not work for us (he may have been allergic to one of the proteins too), but once we got him on a grain free food with a single source of protein he was fine. Good luck...

 

[Libby&Jofi]

Is it possible for it to be allergies if there aren't any other symptoms besides the icky ears? The first vet said that "puppies cannot get allergies" which frankly I found a bit odd. The second said that if she was allergic/intolerant to something in the food she'd likely have more symptoms - sore/itchy pads, irritated skin, soft poop. Her skin is absolutely fine (luckily).

At the moment I feed her on a combination of a grain free ready-meal style natural food (NatureDiet - it's not listed on the food analysis website because it's a small company in the UK but the ingredients are human grade with no additives, grains, fillers etc.) - and the other food I've been using is Hills - we bought a big packet of it in the very beginning thinking it was good as it's sold at the vets. It could be that her ears are just extra sensitive and if I were to feed her just on the Hills we'd be getting more symptoms of food intolerance. I would just feed her Nature Diet but it's very expensive and can't be used for training rewards.

What is the 'blue ear wash'?!

Thanks for the feedback,
Libby

 

[Doodlesville]

Have you tried Zymox ? check it out at www.KvVet.com

 

[Calimom]

When Cali got stinky infected ears, the vet said it was a yeast infection in her ears, so she got anti-fungal treatment. We also changed her to Canidae at that point from a corn based kibble. This along with regular ear wash treatment has virtually eliminated the problem.

I'm wondering if treatment with an antibiotic is causing a flare-up of yeast in Jofi's ears. Did the vet test the gunk in her ears to determine if the infection was bacterial or fungal?

 

[lmtoth2]

it can be from things besides food...not sure from what, but our vet said food is often (but not always) the cause...

 

[Doodlesville]

it can be from things besides food...not sure from what, but our vet said food is often (but not always) the cause...

This statement is very true, however a quality food is in the best interest of the dog, reaccuring ear infections can likly be food related,
some dogs get water in the ear and that too is a culprit, (bathing, swimming, etc)
Best treatment i have found is Zymox it actually cleared up one of my poodles i had battled with for a year
I also have started using colodial silver (spelling?)
this clear up a eye infection i had battled with for months that the vet meds didnt even touch!!! im starting to swear by that stuff,,

 

[MaxandMe]

for us we did the check max and peanut's ears every few days

i have Ottomax and earwash on hand at all times just in case
also making sure they ears are dry after a run out back
clean them once a week IF needed

mine are on All Life Stages Canidae and knock on wood no ear infections since

 

[Sammy-Doo's Fam]

We have a similar situation here...

When we adopted Sam he came with a bottle labeled "Sammy: Ears."
We were told he had an infection and the contents would fix it... WRONG!
He had a double ear infection that made him shake and scratch and we kept using the bottle until his first check-up a week after he moved in...
Well it was only a WASH! Poor guy needed antibiotics and we didn't know!

Well we are looking into allergies because Sam is itchy so we think his infection was from eating the wrong food.

Alos, he has no current infection (we had them check) but his ears have smelly brown discharge frequently.
So we just have to keep on top of cleaning them so another infection doesn't develop!

But we are searching for a new vet for various reasons...

 

[gene]

Besides the possible food allergies, I found that especially with Miko, if I keep the hair under her ears (not in her ears) cut short, she has a lot less ear problems. A lot of her problems stemmed from not enough air flow to her ears. This is just my experience, but worth a try, I believe.

 

[Sammy-Doo's Fam]

Oh and by the way, what is the "blue ear wash"?
The stuff the shelter sent along is blue...

 

[Tink]

For both my kids and my dogs I use "Tea Tree oil" for ear infections. It's inexpensive, doesn't affect the whole system like antibiotics do, and you can keep it on hand to use at the first sign of a problem without having to worry about over-doing it.

I put the bottle in a cup of hot tap water so it warms up to bathwater temp...
Put 2 drops in the affected ear twice a day until the problem is gone. It smells like eucalyptus but is totally safe... it's even used in mouthwash, toothpaste, etc for humans. Make sure you get an eye dropper with or for it.

It's antibacterial and soothing which is the perfect combination for infected ears. Most pharmacies or even WalMart should have it for under $10 for a small bottle which lasts forever and can be stored for a couple years.

 

[dreamer728]

Also a few tablespoons of yogurt a day will help keep yeast at bay - so far so good with Riley's ears. Even with her itchiness before the switch to Canidae her ears have been pristine.

Yogurt naturally helps reduce the production of yeast - try a little on top of food for a few days and see how it goes!

 

[Libby&Jofi]

Thanks for all the advice. I really hope a change of food and a new ear cleaner will help.

This might be of use to others with the same problems - it's a long but thorough article about treating ear infections in dogs: http://animalpetdoctor.homestead.com/Ears.html - it also mentions Zymox as a miracle cure in some cases of chronic ear infections.

The fact that Jofi's ears seem to have a build up of wax says to me that it's likely a food intolerance (of course it could be another form of allergy but first we'll see if a switch of food helps... then if not, we'll go to plan B). I'm not sure how long it will be before the Canidae arrives. At the moment she's just on the standard antibiotics - is it worth my returning to the vets again in the mean time? Jofi and I do love the vets lol!

 

[SadieFern]

Oh and by the way, what is the "blue ear wash"?
The stuff the shelter sent along is blue...

http://www.mariebennett.com/blueear/