Help with chronic ear infections

[kaylee]

Hello,
This is my first posting. I have a 7 1/2 year old female who has had ear infections since a puppy. No prescriptions have helped. The gunk in her ear is black and smeels putrid. Since the infection is out of control, I can no longer clean her ears because she bleeds and is in so much pain. To relieve the pain she takes two tablets of Rimadyl a day. The vet says that the only other thing to do is to have him put her out so that he can clean her ears, but says that the infection will probably come back.
Do you have any other suggestions?
Thank you .

[ak moose]

I think theres an operation they can do that will open the ear canal up. Sounds like the ear canal is swollen shut, so they do an operation that i believe is permanent to fix that problem. maybe someone else know more about this. Ask your vet also. Did they recommend something like that to you?
Your dog have allergies?

[Ilovemypuppy]

What are you feeding her ?? Any dairy products and I mean ANY ???

[shybird]

Burlington County Animal Alliance took in a GSD with really bad ears. They had the operation that AK Moose mentioned. Montana looks and acts so much better. Look on their website and you will find an email addy to write to the foster mom. I am sure she will tell you about the operation and the changes it has made in him. http://www.bcaaofnj.org/ Tell her one of the BCAA members told you to write. Don't forget to get the name of the vet.

[Anne]

What type of infection? Bacteria, yeast? Was a swab taken for analysis?
Is it possible she is allergic to what you are feeding her. Allergies account for a lot of ear problems.

My dog had her ears flushed out 2 1/2 years ago under general anaesthetic and she has never had a problem since. She wasn't as bad as your dog though and only one ear was a problem.

[chuck2969]

Is it possible she is allergic to what you are feeding her. Allergies account for a lot of ear problems.

I agree. At the very least I would consider the addition of probiotics to her diet. My wifes Mastiff was cured of recurring yeast infections in the ears with a switch to a raw diet that included probiotics. I use Ultra Probiotic from B Naturals.

[groupieindenial]

I think a good thing to look at is food. My friend's rott was on pretty good food, but always got ear infections, the black gunk you talk about. Poor guy, and she was never diligent enough as to keeping them clean. Now we've switched his food to an excellent feed, and his ears smell better, and he hasn't gotten an infection since the switch and its been 4 months. The infection kept coming back after a month or so off the ear meds.

I've seen the same results in my brothers golden, she had stinky ears, and they are getting better. She was a little stinky and now she doesn't smell at all.

I used to have to clean my dogs ears 2x month. Not bad, I thought that was normal. Now there is NEVER any residue or anything to clean out. I've ceased cleaning his ears for months now, and they barely smell like "ears".

[kaylee]

Originally Posted by ak moose

I think theres an operation they can do that will open the ear canal up. Sounds like the ear canal is swollen shut, so they do an operation that i believe is permanent to fix that problem. maybe someone else know more about this. Ask your vet also. Did they recommend something like that to you?
Your dog have allergies?

Thank you for responding. I will ask the vet about this tomorrow.

[kaylee]

Originally Posted by Ilovemypuppy

What are you feeding her ?? Any dairy products and I mean ANY ???

I am feeding Kaylee regular dog food, dog bones, chicken, turkey, chop meat, carrots, apples, peanut butter, and when in season, cantaloupe, because she likes it. I do not feed her dairy products.
Thank you for trying to help Kaylee.

[kaylee]

Originally Posted by shybird

Burlington County Animal Alliance took in a GSD with really bad ears. They had the operation that AK Moose mentioned. Montana looks and acts so much better. Look on their website and you will find an email addy to write to the foster mom. I am sure she will tell you about the operation and the changes it has made in him. http://www.bcaaofnj.org/ Tell her one of the BCAA members told you to write. Don't forget to get the name of the vet.

Thank you. I will look into this tomorrow.

[kaylee]

Originally Posted by Anne

What type of infection? Bacteria, yeast? Was a swab taken for analysis?
Is it possible she is allergic to what you are feeding her. Allergies account for a lot of ear problems.

My dog had her ears flushed out 2 1/2 years ago under general anaesthetic and she has never had a problem since. She wasn't as bad as your dog though and only one ear was a problem.

Thank you for responding. Kaylee also has it in only one ear. I do not know whether a swab was taken, come to think of it. I do remember the vet looking in her ears and prescribing ear drops, an ear cleanser that I would squeeze in her ear, and then do a heavy cleaning with cotton balls wrapped around my finger twice a day. Once her ear started getting irritated and bled after I cleaned her ear, he told me to stop, and then prescribed the Rimadyl.
As far as food allergies, I first heard of that on this website. I feed her mostly dog food, and dog bones. Sometimes she gets chop meat, chicken, turkey, carrots, apples, peanut butter, and cantaloupe, when in season. Are Rotties predisposed to allergic reactions to certain foods?

[kaylee]

Originally Posted by chuck2969

Is it possible she is allergic to what you are feeding her. Allergies account for a lot of ear problems.

I agree. At the very least I would consider the addition of probiotics to her diet. My wifes Mastiff was cured of recurring yeast infections in the ears with a switch to a raw diet that included probiotics. I use Ultra Probiotic from B Naturals.

This is the first time I have heard the term probiotics. What is that?

[kaylee]

Originally Posted by groupieindenial

I think a good thing to look at is food. My friend's rott was on pretty good food, but always got ear infections, the black gunk you talk about. Poor guy, and she was never diligent enough as to keeping them clean. Now we've switched his food to an excellent feed, and his ears smell better, and he hasn't gotten an infection since the switch and its been 4 months. The infection kept coming back after a month or so off the ear meds.

I've seen the same results in my brothers golden, she had stinky ears, and they are getting better. She was a little stinky and now she doesn't smell at all.

I used to have to clean my dogs ears 2x month. Not bad, I thought that was normal. Now there is NEVER any residue or anything to clean out. I've ceased cleaning his ears for months now, and they barely smell like "ears".

Thank you for responding. Would you mind telling me what the excellent feed that you and your friend used, so that I can try it on Kaylee?
Thank you for responding to me.

[majicka]

I'm sorry your girl is in so much pain..Ear infections are really tough..

My labX had chronic ear infections, I was finally able to elimate them thru her diet. I removed all products that contained corn. After corn was eliminated and the infections didn't clear up I removed wheat products and any dairy. She's now on Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Venison and Rice and hasn't had an ear infection in 6 months..the longest time we have ever gone w/o ear gunkies.

I am waiting for spring however, she also has season allergies that crop up as ear infections. She has had both the bacterial and the yeast type (mostly the yeast).

The vet prescribes me tresaderm drops which are kept in the fridge. I also use a vet prescribed cleaner..if her ears seem irritated, I squirt the cleaner her ear, massage it from the outside and then gently pat it dry.

[chuck2969]

Originally Posted by kaylee

This is the first time I have heard the term probiotics. What is that?

Probiotics are the benficial bacteria and enzymes that promote a healthy intestinal tract, insure proper digestion and discourage yeast overgrowth in the ears and skin. I would use them on any dog that is on antibiotics.