Dog Food and Ear Infection?

Hello, I'm new here and tried to use the search engine, but too many results came in for what I was wanting to ask. I've done some reading and would really like to be part of the forum. I was referred a few months ago by another member here.

I guess it's no use to ask about whether or not the raw food diet is good, because there is so many people for and against it, with good vets on both sides of the argument.

My problem is that my female 4.5 year old yellow lab always gets these ear infections, once or twice / year. At first, the vet told us that it was because moisture was trapped inside. Then another holistic vet (expensive!) said to leave it alone and it should heal itself. Then it got so bad, we brought it back to our old vet and he said that the ears almost sealed up! Very bad!! I hate the amount this is costing and the pain she has to go through when this happens.

Having to give her antibiotics and medicine so often bothers me much more than what it costs to take her to the vet. I just want my lab to be healthy and happy.

My 4 year old male dobie licks her ears sometimes and sometimes his saliva can cause irritation, even on my skin. The vet said that it was not this, but I'm not sure. Now the vet is saying it could be food allergies. I am currently feeding her the raw food diet, with human grade meats and vegetables from a good reputable supplier. The vet recommended a hypoallergenic kibble food diet. Does anyone have good experience or advice? I'd hate to feed her anything bad.

Thank you for reading!

First of all, Welcome to Pet Talk! :) I know you will like it here. There are lots of wonderful people here who will gladly share their knowledge and, at times, bits of humor and, unfortunately, sad times as well.

My standard poodle, Bella, has been plagued with ear infections off and on since she was about a year old. I, too, use the ear wash from my vet as well as the ointment and it seems like I am needing to do this too often. The "stuff" which we get out of her ear, which he has tested, is yeast. :( Yeast infections in poodle ears unfortunately are pretty common. Of the 6 poodles that I have had in my lifetime, 3 have had them.

My vet, like yours, feels there is a strong allergy component going on. Originally he thought it was something growing outside like the things that give us humans problems. When it continued off and on throughout the year (even in winter) he felt it might be a food allergy. I was originally feeding her Eukanuba but have switched over in the past several months to Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul as I really, really like the ingredients and the price is very good considering what a good food it is. I am in the early stages of thinking about changing again. I read up a little on the website for Solid Gold, and if I make another change I might try that.

I know the main cause with poodles is trapped water (Bella's ear canals are very small and it's hard to get water out once it's down there) and fuzzy poodle hair which can accumulate inside the ear. We, and the groomer, keep the hair fuzz pulled out at all times so I think in her case it is just a case of trapped water. I don't know if labbies have fuzzy hairs which grow inside their ears, but I am thinking probably they don't.

Our vet mentioned, as a last resort, that he could mildly sedate her and thoroughly irrigate and flush her ears. He felt, though, that the wax would just eventually return and also the yeast. :( For now I am feeling pretty much as you are. It is treatable but I hate to see her having this problem. I'm not sure that my answer helped, but at least you know you are not alone with this problem.

We've had the same problem with Greta, our airedale mix. She's had an ear infection now for the past three months. And she also has food allergies, and I'm not sure whether the two are related or not.

We've switched to Flint River lamb and rice dog food, which is totally natural, no preservatives, no fillers, and has a lot of extra good stuff in it (be warned tho, its expensive!). Her allergies seem to be under control (no more pawing at her mouth and she also used to foam a bit too). And it seems that her ears are getting better too, altho I can't tell whether its from the food or they're just...getting better. We flush her ears twice a day, and were using antibiotics for 3 weeks. The gunk is finally getting less and less.

Our vet says that it can take months for an ear infection to totally clear up and that we'll probably have to continue flushing her ears, perhaps for the rest of her life.

Thank you for the welcome and thanks for the replies and advice! I’m going to look into the foods mentioned ASAP, and report back immediately if things get better. Luckily, I’m pretty sure it won’t be as expensive as the raw food diet that she eats now.

I’m thinking that with Greta, she’s getting better because of the antibiotics and medication, because with our lab, Molly, she always got much better with antibiotics and the medication, but then months afterwards, it would seem to come back. Does that sound logical? I guess since you changed the food, if it never comes back, you probably know the cause. I hope she does well and remains happy.

With Bella, did you also need antibiotics as well as the ointment? I can’t remember what the results of the culture test we did on Molly. I don’t know whether it was yeast or even whether or not it was the same each time. I don’t think we did a culture every time it happened because it would increase our vet costs. I was thinking about trapped moisture also, because the first time it happened, there was a really foul smell coming from her ears, and it happened following a swim she had in ocean water.

Recently, it isn’t so much the smell, but her ears would be red and very irritated so it might be different sometimes. She hasn’t been swimming for a very long time so it wouldn’t be moisture or contaminants from ocean water. Maybe it would be moisture from our dobie from licking her ears. We also have many friends with labs and other dogs that go for swims all the time at the beach and they don’t need any maintenance for ears! I hope it is just a simple food allergy that we can fix.

One thing that really bothers me is that when Molly is having lots of fun and is really excited, sometimes she would bark very loud, and then immediately afterwards, shake her head. I think it’s because of pain in her ears. Sometimes she seems a little disoriented also, probably because of the ears. She even dislikes going up and down stairs sometimes, but then again, with the stairs, Molly’s always been like that.

Thank you again for your advice and I am going to look into the foods mentioned right now and hope it works. I’ll keep checking back here and keep you updated! It’s nice to be here!

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Originally posted by dbi


With Bella, did you also need antibiotics as well as the ointment?

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The ointment that we use is called MalOtic. It is made up of Gentamicin which is an antibiotic against a wide variety of bacteria. It also contains a synthetic steroid called Betamethasone as well as a broad spectrum antifungal agent called Clotrimazole. These three agents provide antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and antifungal medication. (Got this from the leaflet inside. :) )

There was a short period of time that Bella was on another antibiotic for Lyme Disease :( and I thought that her ears remained very clear during that time. The vet felt that this was a coincidence because he said that antibiotics like she was on actually encourage yeast infections. Actually he is probably correct as any female can attest to :o so the whole thing was rather puzzling.

I think with Bella it may have all started with her first professional grooming appointment (we had been grooming her ourselves) and quite possibly water got in her ears and they have been unable to dry out properly due to her small canals. This is only a hunch but the timing seemed right. :confused:

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Recently, it isn’t so much the smell, but her ears would be red and very irritated so it might be different sometimes. One thing that really bothers me is that when Molly is having lots of fun and is really excited, sometimes she would bark very loud, and then immediately afterwards, shake her head. I think it’s because of pain in her ears. Sometimes she seems a little disoriented also, probably because of the ears.

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I never experienced any redness with Bella's ears. I am wondering if maybe Molly might have a condition that humans can get called "Swimmer's Ear." My daughter had that often during the summer months when she was off from school and swimming a lot. It was quite painful and might explain some of the symptoms Molly is showing.

It is so sad to watch them suffer and not be able to put an end to it once and for all, but my vet also did tell me that this will most likely be a chronic thing all of her life. My other poodles had it all their lives too, but I don't remember the episodes being as frequent. Please do keep in touch and I will do the same.

It's extremely doubtful that the infections in the ears are food related. As you note the frequency is only a couple times of year. If it were food the logic would imply the particular food causing the problem is being administered only a couple of times a year.

There is potential the other dog licking the Lab's ears might setup a moist environment suitable for bacteria or yeast, but again the bets are the other dog licks the ears of its companion more than just a couple times a year.

You need to consider seasonal allergies combined with humid conditions, and scratching. If your Lab swims at the times of year you are seeing the infection then you have the base cause.

You have 2 basic choices for treatment:

1. In the absence of infection swab the ears every other day or immediately after swimming with 1 part white vinegar + 1 parts deionized water. The vinegar drops the pH such that yeast can not grow.

2. If infected and prior to applying antibiotic salve then use a foaming cleaning and drying agent - precription from the Vet. This is followed by application of an appropriate precription ointment such as Ottomax.

If you notice the dog scratching its ears, try giving your Lab 50 mg of Benedryl at night, and another 25 mg in the morning until the allergy season passes.

I agree w/ dragondawg, I also doubt that the ear infections are caused by food &/or your other dog.

You have gotten great advice.
Just clean the ears weekly or every 4-5 days and follow the other suggestions as well as when the dog is sleeping or relaxing flip the ears up so the air can get to them better, that should help.
Good luck

I have just been able to come back and visit now and appreciate the advice!

I think one explanation for the occurance of only a few times / year might be that since it is treated when it happens, the 'treatment' of the antibiotics and medication holds it off for the times of the year it is not happening, and maybe it takes a while for it to happen.

I've tried most of the things recommended here, but I can't say that the discipline of treatment was upheld because I travel a lot and my wife took care as best she could of her most of the time in the past few years. I am back now and I am going to make sure this happens as infrequently as possible.

It happened one more time since the last time I posted, and I was going to post exactly what the treatment was and what my vet said to do, but my wife handled it again and now she is away until this weekend. I'll be back! Thanks again.