Ear Infections In Dogs

[Smithson]

My dog has an ear infection. I think it may be caused by a parasite. We've been to the vets who gave her some shots. Each day we clean deep inside her ears (she hates this) and add drops for the vet. It's been almost 2 weeks now, one ear is fine, but the other is still very dirty and smelly. Deep inside her ear is a gray gooey discharge, sometimes there is even blood on the cotton bud.

Does anyone have advice on treatment and prevention? She's been very prone to this all her life. She has fairly long floppy ears. once I even taped the two ears together to help dry them out. This seemed to be somewhat effective.

[elfe]

hi

as you describe it is a severe ear infection and as the drops did not work by now they might be the wrong ones. there are good ear treatments here in thailand, tube with milky solution, have it not handy now but bambina will be able to help with names and ingredients.

treatment should be twice a day for about two weeks, even longer as sometimes the bacteria are very resistent and come back quickly. cut off all the hair around ear to provide the ears more air. also boost immunity of your dog.

raw feeding can help to avoid ear infections and yeast.

[Smithson]

hi

as you describe it is a severe ear infection and as the drops did not work by now they might be the wrong ones. there are good ear treatments here in thailand, tube with milky solution, have it not handy now but bambina will be able to help with names and ingredients.

treatment should be twice a day for about two weeks, even longer as sometimes the bacteria are very resistent and come back quickly. cut off all the hair around ear to provide the ears more air. also boost immunity of your dog.

raw feeding can help to avoid ear infections and yeast.

Thanks, that is very helpful. The milky solution sounds like what we are using, not really drops, more of a goo. The vet said clean twice daily and add drops once. Initially I was following her instructions, however the the situation improved so we moved to cleaning every second day. I was worried that too much poking around could make things worse. My dog really hates it, so I hate doing it, because she looks at me as if I'm punishing her. I will return to cleaning twice daily, hopefully it will go away.

[elfe]

yes it is very very painful, of course, inside the ears!!

maybe you should not clean so thoroughly, just a bit with your finger wrapped in cotton and just pour the solution in in the first days until it gets better.

one of my german shepherds had an ear infection in advanced stage (found him like that), it was horrible and nothing helped anymore but operation. now he is free from pain but a bit deaf. so make sure you be on the spot with treatment that it does not get that bad.

all the best!

[bina]

we use stuff called epiotic; its a liquid that u pour in to the ear canal, then u go swish swish at the base of the ear, then all the icky stuff floats up and u swipe it out. no poking around in the ear any way, when finished, there are drops with some steroids in them, and three kinds of antibiotics, us put them in...

sometime we use some ivomac in the ear canal against mites...

theres also a local injection to give the dog by the ear; it stops the itching which makes them scratch which makes the ear more irritated....

also, good grooming. keep the under ear clean of extra hair; also, a good quality food makes a difference...

dont use q tips/ use a large swab of cotton wool to wipe out the ear, no poking and prodding...

bina

[mangotogo]

Hi, before your dog's ears become a chronic problem: if the infection does not clear up with this treatment: I suggest to have a culture and senssitivity done by your vet: a sterile swab will be inserted in th ear canal and then sent to the lab to isolate what bacteria (or more) is causing the problem and the proper antibiotic prescribed. Otherwise you will go around and around without much luck and life will be miserable for the both of you.

[Nienke]

then u go swish swish at the base of the ear,

bina

You go WHAT at the base of the ear canal, Bina?

[bina]

u know, that squish squish at the base so that u hear the stuff in the ear...followed by a shake of a doggy head, and then disgusting smelling 'stuff' on vet assistant's face; between that and anal gland stuff.... ichchchc.....

mango,

its seems like all the cultures we send in come back with mostly whats called as 'mixed flora fauna': candida plus bacteria and often a mix of bacterias, often ear mites.... and its all more or less the same treatment... so we dont bother, its expensive and non conclusive. maybe in more advanced countries (western oriented) people are willing to pay for decent lab work; here, our area, no one wants to bother... if it was up to them, they would just chop off the offending ear.

bina

actually, many people with doggy ear problems have reported improvment with change to better quality dog foods...

also, compliance (putting drops in doggy ears and doing the squish routine when doggy doesnt cooperate just means that the job isnt done properly so ear doesnt get the proper treatment... and people dont like muzzling doggy and sitting on him to do the treatment regardless of doggy cooperation...

[Nienke]

u know, that squish squish at the base so that u hear the stuff in the ear...followed by a shake of a doggy head, and then disgusting smelling 'stuff' on vet assistant's face; between that and anal gland stuff.... ichchchc.....

555555555, and you still haven't perfected your dive after the swish-swish squish-squish?

actually, many people with doggy ear problems have reported improvment with change to better quality dog foods...

Oh, absolutely! How often I have witnessed that at the kennel ...! Change to better food, and many skin problems, hairloss, bad smell from skin and coat and/or mouth, ear and eye infections etc. improve.

Nienke

[Cuban]

...while we are talking ears.

I have been cleaning our dogs ears with a moistened cotton bud about once a week, although I make a point of checking their ears. paws etc. every day - mostly to get them used to me doing so. From past experiance when you have a situation that requires you to stick a finger in your's dogs' ear, mouth etc. if they are used to you doing during 'normal' times it is less of a trauma later when you need to.

[Smithson]

if they are used to you doing during 'normal' times it is less of a trauma later when you need to.

I have to change the times/places that I clean my dogs ears. When I did it after meals, she started going outside and hiding immediately after eating. If I did it in out room upstairs she'd refuse to enter. Even if I talk about it a little bit she catches on and disappears.

[bina]

do it before the meal; that way, she gets her ears done, and then gets the prize (food)... she may line up waiting for an ear service just to get a meal.... ;

bina

[Cuban]

....do it before the meal; that way, she gets her ears done, and then gets the prize (food)...

The 'learn by association' connection is very strong, I noticed over the weekend that one of mine cowarded when I opened ond of the doors of the house quickly while they wereoutside, it took me a while to work out why as they have zero fear of thunder, lightning or fireworks. It was because I had opened the door quickly a few days before when I needed to stop the little terror and gave him a snal tap across the nose. So I corrected this on Sunday by waiting until he was in the same place - opening the door quickly and praising him - solved.