Help with bad ear infection

[veux]

Hello Pet forums,

I have a 3 year old black lab, who suffers from a very bad ear infection.(yes just one ear infection that refuses to go away.) She has had this infection for about a year and a half. The very first vet who checked her out and told me what bacteria was in her ear ect. and gave me antibiotics and ear ointment to give to her, but sadly that did not clear it up and it made no improvement it actually seemed to have gotten a bit worse. Since then I have taken her to multiple other vets who give me the same treatment to give, even after I explain to them that the antibiotics are not working. She also has a bit of a allergy problem so the vet also said we should switch her food which we did and saw no improvement. Her ears are horribly scratched on the flap and full of puss on the inside.

I'm sorry for the long post, but I'm truly frustrated and feel horrible for my dog for having to go through this.

I'd be truly grateful if someone could give a little advice? Maybe you've experienced the same thing?

[alisonog]

Poor thing. I know my dog was having a terrible time, and it was mites. I had to put drops in and the vet said to make sure I put ear cleaning drops in his ears each week (soak a cotton ball and put it in his ear for 30 seconds while massaging). I wonder if he could be having an allergic reaction to the drugs.

[veux]

At first we were thinking she might have mites and maybe that was causing the infection, but they checked for mites and it came back negative.

You know maybe you're right she's really sensitive to medication in general.

Although I'm still lost about what I could do to clear up her ears... I guess all I can do for now is keep her ears clean, and try another vet...but right now I'm pretty upset with them.

Thanks for the help I really appreciate it

Anymore Advice?

[luckypenny]

What kind of an infection? Bacterial? Fungal? Did the vet do a culture? What meds were prescribed? I would stop using ear washes until the infection clears up and don't use any that contain perfumes in the future. What foods are you feeding your dog?

[veux]

Yes the vet did a culture.They said it was a bacterial, her ear contained Ecol i and Staff. They also said she had a high amount of "yeast"

The medication they gave us were

Oral medicine-Ciprofloxacin 500mg, Chlorpheniramine Maleate 4mg and Meloxicam.

Liquid medication was Otomax 15ml

We were currently feeding her "avoderm", but they told us to switch to a brand called science diet. We followed the indicated treatment with the medicaiton for 2 months with the food they told us to get, but the infection didn't clear. Then after the "treatment" we switched back to avoderm since she didn't sit well with the science diet brand.

[cell]

Just a thought but Avoderm is very high on grains for a dog food, first ingredient is Wheat, second is a Meat Meal and third is Rice (for the Original Beef recipe). That is measuring meat wet, so the meat content is lower then the bag lists (by weight ingredients). Science Diet is no where near a step up from your other food, vets always recommend it because that is what they sell, just to keep that in mind.

You may want to compare some foods on a site such as [url]http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/[url] and maybe consider having a allergy test done to see if maybe grains or something else in the diet could be aggravating the issue.

[DoubleRR]

I second the diet aspect--grains are often the first thing to eliminate when dealing with long term ear problems. In my own experience, switching to grainfree stopped ear problems, as long as I clean them periodically there are no issues, but before, even on high end foods, ears were inflamed from time to time and always itchy.

[veux]

Cell and DoubleRR

Thank you!
I never really realized avoderm was so high on grains, I figured it was a better choice then Purina. I'll defiantly Check out the site.
Do you guys think holistic treatments will fare any better than the medicine?
Since every time we went to the vet they kept giving us the same medicine, and we saw no improvement. Although we have tried some treatments like white vinegar and water, but that didn't seem to help, so then we did a little research and found people who used a brand called "zymox", which we ordered and tried and the infection didn't clear.

Also the last vet we took to look at and clean her ears, she said they wanted to put tubing in here ear and if that didn't work they wanted to take out her inner ear all together in both ears to clear the infection.....

I thought that was a little cruel though, considering we've told all the vets that we went to that the type of medicine was not working and it wasn't clearing, but they kept giving her the same medicine..so that's why I'm upset.

Aha sorry vented a little there....anyway thank you

[NoahGrey]

My cat had an ear infection a few years back. She was put on meds by the vet. My cat is also prone to very waxy ears, says the vet. I figure with her waxy ears she is more prone to ear infections, so I have been using UbaVet ear cleaning solution. I use it every few weeks. I use the non-alcohol one. I found that the alcohol ear cleaning solution bothered my cat to much. you should use the cleaning soluption when you are done the meds. It will help maintain the ears.

[veux]

Thanks Noah

Do they have a UbaVet ear cleaning solution without fragrance in it?

[NoahGrey]

I am honestly not sure. Since you are in Cali, there might be different brands that your vet sells?

[Tundra_Queen]

Hi

I'm so sorry to hear about your lab's ear infection...the poor pup!

Our yellow lab has had a couple of them too and our vet gave us drops called Surolan and an ear cleaner called epi-otic which is a drying cleanser for dogs and cats.

I know some folks started making their own dog's food as they were allergic to grains.

[veux]

@ Noah

Yeah maybe I'll check with my vet, although right now I'm a little fed up with them for not listening.

@Tundra_Queen
Actually I forgot to mention that we've used epi-otic and it didn't really help the infection, But It did help dry things up a bit. That's a good idea though, either find a no grain dog food, or start making my own.


Thanks You Guys

[Winston]

Welcome to the site! I have a choc lab that was prone to ear infections in his early years. I honestly can say I understand how frustrated you must feel with the vets and whats been going on.

First off I have to say that I think the problem is food related. You may not want to hear that because you have tried the food route! I understand cause I have been there, but its which brand is going to also work for your dog. Trying one brand just isnt enough time to see if it works. I used vet prescribed food for 6 yrs before it was suggested to me to loook at things like grains, by-products, etc. I also never thought about what wolves would have eaten in the wild? they dont get wheat, and soy, and corn etc right? well thats how your dog food should be..something with no grains for example.

Once I changed my dogs food to a high meat content, and no grains or by products he has not had a ear infection since. I do clean them occasionally if he has been in water or they are dirty. Having said all that you will feel pretty overwhelmed learning what there is to learn about proper nutrition but your puppy will thank you for it! I feel Orijen Fish Formula, there are so many good foods out there on the market.

I am not saying that there are no medical reasons for the issues either but I think a food change will help you alot !

Good Luck

How about a pic of your pup?

[veux]

aha Thanks Winston

I do agree with you about the food, since the food route I went down was the wrong one. I never realized that the brands that I thought were good...well except for "Science Diet", would help.. really weren't helping

I think that will help with the infection.

Also to keep the ears clean do you clean your dogs ears with holistic methods? Because I think I'm going to look into more of those.
And I will Post a pic later The computer I'm currently on does not have my photos.

Thanks for your help

[Winston]

Honestly I use my finger and a kleenex just to keep up on them and I rarely use anything. Once the vet prescribved this really good stuff called Surolan and I use it sparingly if they start to smell stinky! the smell is a good indicator of a problem!

I dont think you will regret the food change it worked for me! even RAW would be a great idea too!

[TeriM]

My experience with all those cleaners is that they seem to continually irritate the ear and it becomes a cycle. I have switched to using aloe vera juice instead which my dogs find way easier and it helps to soothe any inflamation. The juice can be found at health food stores.

I would agree with Winston and suggest a major food switch. Check the ingredients of the foods you are have fed and identify any of the common proteins and/or grains that were used. The next step would be to find a food that has none of the ingredients used previously. If you can find it the Orijen Fish would likely be an excellent food to try. Other options might be California Natural Herring and Sweet Potato or perhaps the Go Natural Salmon and Oatmeal.

You might even consider trying a home cooked diet for a few weeks to see it that makes a difference. I cook for my old girl and just throw some meat (chicken, turkey, beef, salmon etc), veg and sweet potato/yam in the slow cooker for the day. To use long term you would need to add supplements etc but it would be fine for a few weeks to see if you are making progress.

I personally have found raw food to be the best for dogs with allergies and have had great success. Not all people want to go that route so try some of the above. Good luck .

[TeriM]

I would also add that if you don't see a noticeable improvement then consider consulting with a homeopathic vet. The initial consult can be pricey (around $250-$400) but I have been very impressed with results as have some other members of the board .

[veux]

She is pretty sensitive to ear cleaners, so that's great that I can use aloe Vera instead, never crossed my mind.

I will definitely check out all of those brand that you listed and compare them.
But for you RAW food worked the best? Can it be expensive having your dog on a RAW diet? If it is maybe half of her diet RAW would be cheaper and half of a good quality dog food?(If that makes any sense)


Thanks Winston and Teri M, I'm learning a lot...makes me feel like a very inexperienced dog owner. haha

[TeriM]

Make sure to use an at least 90% pure aloe vera JUICE not the gel .

I find raw in the USA very cheap to feed when we travel down there. Your meat costs are much more reasonable then ours are here. I have often found chicken breasts with back attached (very good meat to bone ratio for raw feeding) for about $1.50 or less per pound. How big is your dog? Assuming typical lab size (around 65 lbs) then you would probably start with about 1.5 lbs food per day and adjust up or down depending on how your dog does. I find generally that works out to be pretty close to the cost of a high end bag of dog food .

You can feed both raw and kibble but not at the same meal. Ideally there should be at least 8 hours in between as they digest at different rates. I often feed raw in morning and kibble at night.

I would suggest sticking to one plan and one protein for at least a few weeks to one month to see if what you are doing is helping. If you change to many things at once then that can muddle any results.

[veux]

I'm starting to feel a bit more optimistic now that I'll be able to finally clear up the infection, or at least help it improve greatly

And switching to RAW seems better...and cheaper

I'll also pick up and try the aloe Vera juice ASAP


Thanks everyone for your wonderful advice!

[luckypenny]

You've gotten great advice, veux. Just remember that the infection still needs to be treated. Surolan is the only med that worked with our Lab (if your dog doesn't like drops being applied, warm the bottle between your hands for a few minutes). She also had a persistent ear infection years back. We treated with Surolan, switched to a raw diet, and she now gets raw and grain-free kibble occasionally. She's never had an ear infection again. We don't even have to clean her ears at all, they're super squeaky on their own.

Good luck!

[hazelrunpack]

Have they done a recent culture, veux? It may be that the drops have cleared up the bacterial infection but left the yeast, or vice versa. In that case, a switch in meds would be indicated. Macie had a stubborn bacterial/yeast infection. After the first treatment it was the yeast that remained. So we switched to Miconasole (for the fungal infection) and Synotec (for inflammation). No sense in using an antibacterial agent when it wasn't necessary and the Miconasole was stronger than the agent in the first med we used (which was a combination antibacterial/antifungal).

[TeriM]

Originally Posted by luckypenny

You've gotten great advice, veux. Just remember that the infection still needs to be treated. Surolan is the only med that worked with our Lab

Woops, forgot that part. I totally agree. The aloe is to replace the ear cleaner stuff as I find that stuff can dry and irritate the ear. You will likely still need an antibiotic treatment to beat the infection.

[veux]

@LuckyPenny
Yes I will use Surolan, since from what I can see it works very well. I was just a little hesitant at first because of all the meds that other vets have given me haven't worked to treat it.

Originally Posted by hazelrunpack

Have they done a recent culture, veux? It may be that the drops have cleared up the bacterial infection but left the yeast, or vice versa. In that case, a switch in meds would be indicated. Macie had a stubborn bacterial/yeast infection. After the first treatment it was the yeast that remained. So we switched to Miconasole (for the fungal infection) and Synotec (for inflammation). No sense in using an antibacterial agent when it wasn't necessary and the Miconasole was stronger than the agent in the first med we used (which was a combination antibacterial/antifungal).

Yes They've done a recent culture and it is yeast and bacteria. None of it has really cleared up.


@TeriM
So since I will still treat the infection, are you saying I should use both aloe Vera and medication?


Again I can't stop thanking you all enough for helping me!

[catlover2]

Have you tried putting in some Hydrogen Peroxide and swabbing the ears with it? Seems to work clearing out infection in people's ears, maybe it would work for dogs too?

[Winston]

NO NO peroxide in the ears...it will dry them out and cause more issues...

[Pimerz777]

Rolo, my 15-yr-old lab cross used to have terrible, long-running infections until we got these miracle ear drops: MometaMax. They are the only thing that ever helped Rolo.
Good luck!

[veux]

Originally Posted by Pimerz777

Rolo, my 15-yr-old lab cross used to have terrible, long-running infections until we got these miracle ear drops: MometaMax. They are the only thing that ever helped Rolo.
Good luck!

How long did it take you to see results with those ear drops?


@Winston
I actually at first thought that hydrogen peroxide might help...aha now not so much.

[welshie]

Originally Posted by Winston

Welcome to the site! I have a choc lab that was prone to ear infections in his early years. I honestly can say I understand how frustrated you must feel with the vets and whats been going on.

First off I have to say that I think the problem is food related. You may not want to hear that because you have tried the food route! I understand cause I have been there, but its which brand is going to also work for your dog. Trying one brand just isnt enough time to see if it works. I used vet prescribed food for 6 yrs before it was suggested to me to loook at things like grains, by-products, etc. I also never thought about what wolves would have eaten in the wild? they dont get wheat, and soy, and corn etc right? well thats how your dog food should be..something with no grains for example.

Once I changed my dogs food to a high meat content, and no grains or by products he has not had a ear infection since. I do clean them occasionally if he has been in water or they are dirty. Having said all that you will feel pretty overwhelmed learning what there is to learn about proper nutrition but your puppy will thank you for it! I feel Orijen Fish Formula, there are so many good foods out there on the market.

I am not saying that there are no medical reasons for the issues either but I think a food change will help you alot !

Good Luck

How about a pic of your pup?

hi when you say feed raw my dog will eat raw red meat and white but dont i need him to eat some sort of biscuits? for his teeth?