Chronic ear infections

[Nilda Brumley]

I was wondering if any other BB owners have had any problems with ear infections? My boy Neo has, had this chronic infection for awhile now. I have tried laser treatments, antibiotics, ear washes &, drops...nothing has made rhis go away. My biggest fear is progressive hearing loss if this isn't cured. Poor guys ears are very smelly &, yeasty. Full of nasty stinky wax @the time of cleaning. Does anyone have any suggestions, or specific treatment that has worked for them?

[Jenn]

Coconut Oil- not sure where you live, but you can order it online at The Vitamin Shoppe.

Brand: Garden of life

Extra Virgin Coconut oil 100% organic

This brand is Awsome! My parents lab gets horrible ear yeast/infections (from allergies). I researched the uses of coconut oil for myself and ran across info. on the benefits for animals as well. It cleared it up within 5-7 days. You put about an 1/8 of a teaspoon in his ear and gently massage it in ( repeat every day until it clears up) And then once or twice a week as maintenance if needed :)

www.ehow.com/about_5506644_coconut-oil-benefits-dogs.html

 

[Lee May]

Hey Nilda, his diet may be causing the ear infection problems, if your feeding kibble with corn, wheat or soy. I would add a food change first if this is the case. Also clean with all natural products. Baby wipes warm and warm water not much. Some ear washes are too harsh as well. Natural is always better. Good luck.

[Marco]

I agree with Lee most diets we feed our dogs are the source of the problem.  What are your currently feeding right now?  Have you tried changing his diet at all while having these problems.  I hope Neo can get rid of this soon.  Thanks for posting, keep us updated.  Some information below that might be very helpful to you.

 

Itchy, Smelly Dog? This May Be the Problem...

Diet Information Page

 

[Ken_C]

Hi Nilda, My Gemma was getting ear infections regularly for about a month.  Twice a day , I cleaned them with some special cleaning fluid and used some magic drops (sorry, don't remeber the name & I used them all.)  my vet gave me.  My vet said, "the cleaning is very important."  Apparently, I was not doing a good enough job on the cleaning part.  He showed me how he wanted me to do it, in conjunction with the drops, it cleared up up in a bout 8 or 9 days.  It was not easy cleaning the ears like he showed me.  However, it was pretty amazing as to how clean the ears actually got.  If you need me to, I can find out from the vet, what the drops were.  I think they were some type of topical antibiotic.  Good luck with it.  I hope your boy feels better soon. 

All the best, ken

[Nilda Brumley]

Thank you, Lee, Marco &, Ken. I have spent loads of money trying to clear this up. Guess it's time to get saavy about reading kibble ingredients! Thank you all so much, I will keep you posted. : )

[Lee May]

Good luck Nilda, first 6 ingredients, make up most of protein and fats in dog food. Keep that in mind.also look at ash content.

[Sweet Pea]

Nilda, I can certainly empathize with your ear issues as my boy has gone through the same. I have to say that we've done everything you've listed also. Switching to raw food did help, but not cure it. I even tried an elimination diet with raw food to no avail. Over the past few months his ears have flared up again with that stinky muddy gunk. His head shaking is ridiculous. I've tried everything on the market.  We're seeing a homeopath now who says his ears are the result of his poor immune system and imbalance. The product I've found that works the best is Zymox without hydrocortisone. Doesn't cure it, but does keep it at bay. I like the fact that it's natural enzymes and it's not another antibiotic or steroid. They now have Zymox ear wipes which are great too. 

I'd definitely look into diet and as Ken said, keep the ears super clean. Clean them every day if you have to. Also, if they haven't been examined by your vet in a while, that may be useful. I found that my boy's ears had turned into a middle ear infection at one point. The treatment was different than for regular ear infections and that's when you need to start worrying about hearing being affected. 

[Fuller Boerboels]

I had two BB's that had very yeasty ears. Once they were totally off grain, they cleared up completely. Before I realized the grain was an issue, my vet had me doing a vinegar/distilled water rinse. 1/2 vinegar to 1/2 distilled water. Squirt into the canals and allow the dog to shake their head around. After a few minutes, wipe out and dry. It cut the yeast down tremendously, but the food change was the real key.