Ear Problem

[JurgenG]

I've two similar dogs, same breed, labrador, same food, same place, same everything. One needs to have his ears cleaned on a regular basis, very dirty every time and smell terribly, the other one has no such problem, ears always clean. We took "dirty ears" to the vet regularly, always mention the problem. The vets usually looks disgusted when he checks the ears, agrees with us there is a problem, give us always the same cleaning stuff, some liquid to put in the ears before and after cleaning the ears. But it never gets better.

Any advise ?

[stoneyboy]

I've two similar dogs, same breed, labrador, same food, same place, same everything. One needs to have his ears cleaned on a regular basis, very dirty every time and smell terribly, the other one has no such problem, ears always clean. We took "dirty ears" to the vet regularly, always mention the problem. The vets usually looks disgusted when he checks the ears, agrees with us there is a problem, give us always the same cleaning stuff, some liquid to put in the ears before and after cleaning the ears. But it never gets better.

Any advise ?

Change vet.

[isanbirder]

The default explanation for smelly ears is ear mites, which can be difficult to eradicate; why one dog gets them and another doesn't is just one of those mysteries (like one dog gets lots of ticks, and its housemate doesn't).

Your vet should give a proper diagnosis; changing the vet is fine, but if you live in one of the more remote districts, that may not be an option.

Many years ago I had an Alsatian with canker in both ears, which needed to be cleaned out daily (I homed him from the HK SPCA in that condition, knowingly). The poor dog used to scream with the pain, but he seemed to understand what I was doing, and after two months he was cured. I hope this doesn't happen to your dog; I put the anecdote in simply to emphasise that you must have a proper diagnosis.

I'm sure Bina will have much more concrete advice to give you!

[Allyt]

The vets usually looks disgusted when he checks the ears, agrees with us there is a problem, give us always the same cleaning stuff, some liquid to put in the ears before and after cleaning the ears.

Can you tell us the name / brand or content of the cleaning stuff & liquid ?

Thanks

Ally

[bina]

actually might not just be ear mites, if both dont hae it it could more likely be some form of candida ; especially if your dogs like to swim...

ive tried the various medical rememdies and am now going the 'homeopathic/herbal' route: at moment cleaning out ears (of lilee) with white vinegar mixed with some warm water 80% vinegar 20% water and use a cotton ball soaked in the solution, i dont pour it in her ears. she hates it but i keep her busy after the treatment using toys or a walk.

; ... do it every other day, no pain involved, small treats involved... but am investigating the herbal route... if i find an answer, will post.

when i checked cocker spanial sites (they are terrible sufferrers of 'icky ear') most had the same recipes: mixes of white vinegar, sometimes with polydine solutions and boric acid mixed in; some had witchhazel also mixed on... try looking. not to be used on badly injured ears or ripped ear drum.

nienke will suggest changing foods (probably correct but when feeding two different dogs with non compliant husband that likes to give scraps and junkto them, thats difficult) since many foods in dog food cause allergies and ear problems and possibly the sugar content in junk that we give the dogs also adds fuel to the ear fire.

mites: ivermec mixed in ear solution and squirt in, and an injection of ivermec... not much else to do. stay away from ear meds with steroids (if ears arent too itchy) as this promotes fungus (candida).

cant thinko f any other ideas at the moment. thailand is certainly more ideal for growing candida in ears: moist and warm all the time. keep ears dry helps.

bina

[Pseudolus]

Sounds like Canker to me. Just out of interest, doe the vet ever look in the ear after it has been cleaned? If not, make them do that.

most likely canker though, an irritating infection really which smells better when cleaned up, but the infection is still there thus the ears begin to smell again. Labs have close ears and in humid climates the ears are a breeding ground for all sorts. You need the actual cream for it, which you can buy in the pet stores actually; yellowy paste in a small tooth paste kind of tube (1.5 inches). If not, then it's a fungal infection and anti fungal cream from boots will clear that up.

[schondie]

Our Jack Russel had the same problem and our vet gave us an ear cleaning medicine called "Pro+Vet" - a natural product. We cleaned out the black gunk every day but it didn't seem to get much better so I read on a website about using white vinegar mixed with water to clear the problem. It worked.

I made a 1:1 mix and put it in a spray bottle. After spraying in her ears I massaged them for a couple of minutes before letting her shake the rest out. We noticed the problem has gone as the vinegar melts that black wax and kills any mites or ticks that may be in the ear.

Good luck and I hope it gets sorted out one way or another as I know how horrible it is for the dog and for us cleaning out the stinky black mess.

[Niranut]

We always had cocker spaniels growing up and used a vinegar/water mix (1 vinegar: 3 water) which worked great.

Fast forward quite a few years and here in Thailand we have 2 poodles. One has no ear issues whatsoever, the other is just like the OP described-- always dirty & stinky. Initially, I went with the 1:3 vinegar to water mix which didn't do all that much. The vet recommended a variety of things ranging from 90-400 baht, and none of them did much beyond cleaning the ears out initially. Then a neighbor recommended Neo Ear Solution (it's only available at Lotus here in Lopburi, but may be available elsewhere). And the Neo stuff worked great! Used it every day and things cleared up within a week or so. But eventually the ear junk was back, and I found that we needed to use it every 1-2 days. With the frequency, I found that we were going through the little bottle pretty quick and it was adding up (it's 89 baht/100ml bottle).

So I looked back into the vinegar/water option again, and found that I could try it a bit more concentrated. Same as a PP, we went with a 1:1 mix every day and it worked like a charm. It kept it up at that concentration for a month or so. After that switched to 1:2 (vinegar to water) mix every 2-3 days and the dog has been fine. Going to stick with this as it seems to work well.

Good luck!

[bina]

i also had posted about the vinegar thing but there seems to be a debate about whether to use apple cider or white vinegar...

the vinegar doesnt kill the mites and stuff as someone mentioned; it changes the ph so that the black nasty stuff (candida) dies off and doesnt re grow... i was dipping a cotton ball (cotton wool) in to a a warmed up solution of the vinegar and water... but i think spraying it into ears might be better....

i use same mild solution to clean under lilee''s eyes since she has leaky eyes like poodles have.

just careful not to get in to her eyes.