# Dog ear problems



## shroomhunter (Aug 6, 2004)

Please Help...My Choc. Lab has suffered for a long time with continual ear problems and I have had him to the vet continually for this. I finally found a vet that told me that the problem may be due to allergies from dog food and that I need to change his diet. Is there anyone that has experienced similar problems and found a solution to the problem. The vet said it could be beef, cereal in the food etc.

This dog rarely gets wet and if he does I have the solution to dry them. This problem does not stem from wet ears. I would appreciate any suggestions.


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## ohiotuber (Apr 15, 2004)

Larger eared dogs, such as my German Shepherd can be prone to ear infections. Cocoa actually had to have surgery on 1 ear & we keep ear medication on hand. She tends to tilt her head to the side of the bothersome ear when she has an infection.
Mike


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## littleking (Jun 25, 2005)

its not even the large ears that do it, its mostly how close the fold is to canal, and the amount of fur around the ear canal.

mushroomman, is it yeast infections that the dog is getting? how often do you clean the dogs ears?


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## dakotaman (Oct 19, 2005)

Sometimes the more you clean them the worse they can get because you are changing the natural pH balance of the ear and fluids within. Do your best to dry it out and remove any visible dirt with a cotton ball. Don't use q-tips as they can be dangerous. One wrong move and you can go to deep. They make powders that you can puff into the ear to help dry them. Remember, more isn't always better. Depending if infection is present, an anti-bacterial ointment may be necessarry. Once you get it under control, you should be able to maintain them with just regular cleaning.


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## littleking (Jun 25, 2005)

i use Panalog/Animax on my oldest Brittany, she gets yeast infections often in her right ear quite often during the warmer months.

she's always swimming in something wet/dirty, and even trimming the hair back from her ear opening has not helped much. i put three drops in her right ear once every other week during the warmer months. and i have not had any problems since.


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## onesmokinduramax (Dec 12, 2007)

We also have a choc. lab and she has some issues at times.
she has gotten a few ear infections but also had started to have problems with her hair thinning under her belly and around the legs. 
The vet said the same thing about probably a food allergy or environmental allergy & that most lesser expensive dog foods are missing some major vitamins & other fats. 
The only way to single out what the allergy was... was to take all kinds of allergy tests... which can cost thousands of dollars... OR start trying things at home...
Sooo.... so far, over the past year, we have started buying dog food that has more fat in them and i think it is lamb based instead of some of the other stuff. I think (can't remember exactly) that the vet said that alot of dog foods might have beef or pork but that they don't contain the nutritional values needed...
and we started giving her 2 capsules of Skin Formula 3V caps a day. After about 1-2 months we noticed a difference. Her hair started comin back in, less itching & scratching and no ear problems.

Here lately we have stopped giving her the 3V caps and kept the dog food brand (i believe it's Pedigree). And she is still doing pretty good. But as soon as I see her hair thinning or ear bothering her... we might just keep up with the 3V caps too.
As far as dog food, I remember the vet saying that the 1st named ingredient is the important one and to look at the fat contents.

As far as the 3V caps, they can be pricey at the vet. So we surfed the internet & find a place that sold it for like $9 a bottle, but then ordered them thru 1-800-pet-meds & they match the price. (I wanted to get them from a reputable pet supply)

Sorry for the long post, but i know what your goin thru. If you don't have thousands of dollars for the testing, maybe just trying eliminating & introducing different foods & vitamins and give it a couple of months for a result.

Hope this helps!!!


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## shroomhunter (Aug 6, 2004)

Thanks for the replies and to answer a couple questions..I try to keep his ears clean with Q-tips, the vet showed me how. He rarely ever gets in the water, occasionally when it's hot. I have been trying different foods and he does seem to do better on the Lamb and rice formula but it's not a sure bet. I read the ingredients and most of them include the words "animal protien/fat/byproducts which negates the benefits of the lamb. I would like to find one that is truly lamb and rice without mystery animal additives. I will give the vitamins a try and see if they help him.
Thanks again to all


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## steely123 (May 17, 2004)

Maybe ask your vet about 'Otomax'......My lab's ears respond real well to it...

steely123


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## freyedknot (Apr 10, 2004)

ditto on the ottomax, i also used a home mixture of hydrogen peroxide and vinegar i believe.i did find this info on the web http://www.earinfectionindogs.com/home-remedies-for-ear-infection-in-dogs.php


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## Pike (Apr 7, 2004)

My girlfriends parents dog has the same issue. It was a food allergy. They switched to a food that has venison as its main source of protien. Might be worth a try.

Pike


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## Muskarp (Feb 5, 2007)

My long since gone Lab had that claimed ailment. Thousands of dollars and various vets had no affect for his 12.5 years. I used to make him fish and potatoes. (Because supposedly dogs could not be allergic to it.) What a nightmare, cooking two meals every day for dinner. It never really helped. Like Dakotaman stated, sometimes you can irratate the ear more by frequent cleaning. So I used q-tipps and cleaned the slime out once a week. Usually avoided harsh cleaners. Maybe used a Foster and Smith ear pad to clean if the ear canal wasn't irratated. It sucks. But you do what you can, and b&tch about what you can't. Good Luck.


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## Fishaholic69 (Apr 6, 2007)

my buddies dog has floppy ears and the doctor said he had a yeast infection in his ear. he had to put medicine in it. I don't have a dog tho so I can't really help other than that..


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