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I have thought of trying yogurt, but never followed through on it. I'll have to get some. I've shared fruit flovroed yogurt with the dogs when i've had it, and they love that!
We also use a dry agent in Sadie's ears. Her's is made by Butler, and called Ear Drying creme. It has seemed to help her ears, which are very infection prone!
Well first of all welcome to Pet Talk!! :) Secondly, if the yogurt works I think many of us will be jumping up and down with glee! LOL! My Bella has been prone to yeast infections in her ears as well. It is often a poodle problem because fuzz grows in there and their ears need to have the fuzz plucked out. We do that, and the groomer does too, religiously but alas the ear infections continue. I have prescription ear wash and an ointment from the vet. It seems that once I stop the treatments it comes right back. A friend of mine at work uses a product that she got from Petco, although now I think PetsMart also carries it. It's called Veterinarian's Best and it comes with two bottles, one is the wash and the other is a drying powder. Actually the drying powder goes into the ears looking like lotion but dries like powder. It also works well but doesn't last. :(
I have changed Bella's diet to Nutro with the thought that maybe she had a food allergy. So far I don't notice a difference though. The vet also mentioned seasonal allergies as a possibility, but Bella's problem is off and on 12 months a year. Out of the 6 poodles I have had, 3 have had ear problems. :( Thankfully Ripley doesn't!
Anyway, sorry to ramble. I think there will be a run on yogurt at the supermarkets after this thread! LOL!
Edit: I forgot to say how adorable your dogs are. I'm looking forward to seeing and hearing more about them.
Cincy's Mom - In the past I too have given the dogs, and cats, tastes of the flavored yogurt and believe me it's a real hit! :)
The benefit of yogart as a probiotic in dogs is in doubt. The idea that a culture of lactobacillis+streptococcus placed in the intestinal tract could somehow make a difference in the ecological system of the ear is... well let's just say the ear bone is not connected to the stomach.
If you wish to attempt to control repeated chronic ear infections then a 1/3 white vinegar to distilled water solution cotton ball swabbing into the ears 2X daily is the ticket. The only problem is remembering to do it faithfully!
Otherwise keep a tube of Ottomax on hand so that you can treat when it's obvious an infection is present.
Dragondawg you are bursting my bubble! I thought I was seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. :( I always have a tube of Otomax ointment on hand and with that I use the Oti-Clens wash, both prescribed by my vet. Neither of them has been successful in keeping Bella's ears free of yeast for very long. It is a never-ending thing. I now alternate with the Veterinarian's Best product that I mentioned earlier because the ingredients do not burn. The ingredients mentioned are yucca, aloe vera, chamomile, clove oil, tea tree oil and echinacea. I have found similar ear wash drops on line under holistic pet care. I was told to not use anything with vinegar or alcohol in her ears because it would burn. Now I am really :confused:Quote:
Originally posted by dragondawg
Otherwise keep a tube of Ottomax on hand so that you can treat when it's obvious an infection is present.
I always had excellent results using the Ottomax to clear things up. The problem is keeping the inflammation and subsequent infection from coming back. In my Lab's case I knew it was swimming, and the vinegar+water trick worked... if I remembered to apply it! In some dogs it can be a result of food allergies, but for the most part it's due to excess moisture in the ear.
Once the ear has been massively infected, the ecology of the ear is disrupted, and the infection will readily come back. An unending struggle.
P.S. Per allergies, the yeast growth itself in the ear can cause allergic reactions. Time again for Benedryl.
Pam, my vet told me to use a vinegar and alcohol mix as I stated earlier on this thread. It does not seem to bother my dogs and so far it seems to be working. She (vet) did say however not to use it if they already had an infection, only to clean and prevent one.
Yes moisture is the culprit for sure! With poodles if the hair is not plucked (as unfortunately some people don't know to do) moisture gets trapped. My vet told me once that Bella's ears aren't as bad as some who come in. "Their ears are like a swamp." His words. :eek: Good description of moisture when it combines with fuzz.Quote:
Originally posted by dragondawg
for the most part it's due to excess moisture in the ear.
Once the ear has been massively infected, the ecology of the ear is disrupted, and the infection will readily come back. An unending struggle.
P.S. Per allergies, the yeast growth itself in the ear can cause allergic reactions. Time again for Benedryl.
Bella's ears don't have any fuzz but it seems to me that her ear canals are smaller than my last standard's were. When water gets in there she has a hard time shaking it out. This problem first arose after I began taking her to the groomer. :(
The vet's latest plan of attack for this problem is to anesthetize her and do a vigorous flushing and drying out of her ears. He gives no guarantees that it will not come back and I am also hesitant to have her "go under" for something without a guarantee. I am still rolling it over in my mind.
Chocolate puppy, I guess the reason vinegar and alcohol has never been suggested to me is that when I bring her in she is never completely "yeast free." *sigh*
Benedryl huh? Maybe we'll give that a try.
What is the dose of benedryl you give the dog? Is it just over the counter human benedryl? Do you give your dog it on a regular daily basis? Bailey has allergies and has always had trouble with ear yeast. It has improved since I started using the yogurt. I use to get a brown cotton ball every time I cleaned her ears, now there is just a small trace of it.
We actually had that done for Sadie about 3 years ago. She had an infection that we could not get rid of...from July-December, we were at the vet's every couple weeks trying somerthing new. Finally, they suggested a deep clean while she was under and that worked. She has had I think only had one (maybe two) infections in each ear since then, and since we caught them very early, we were able to clear them up with one round of meds.Quote:
Originally posted by Pam
The vet's latest plan of attack for this problem is to anesthetize her and do a vigorous flushing and drying out of her ears. He gives no guarantees that it will not come back and I am also hesitant to have her "go under" for something without a guarantee. I am still rolling it over in my mind.
Basset Mom, I would ask your vet about doasge for your pups. We generally give the girls (each about 75 lbs) 2 tablets, 2X a day when allergies are really bad. Sometimes, we only give 1, depending on how bad they seem to be itching, or how dirty the ears are. And if Benedryll doesn't work, other over the counter allergy medicines may help. Cincy tried Claritin for awhile and that helped too. Our vet, said if that one didn't work there were others we could try...but I don't remember for sure what they were.
I'll check with my Vet on the allergy meds. They are doing pretty good now so I don't want to rock the boat. I have been checking their ears daily and cleaning it seems to be working but how do you keep them dry when I am dumping ear wash in them every other day?
Benedryl can be given at a dose of 1-2 mg/lb, where the 2mg/lb dose is appropriate to head off anaphylactic responses to such things as bee stings, or in my Barney's case- yellow jacket stings. :(
Typically for my lab of 75 lbs when she got into allergy seasons (e.g. Spring/Fall) I would give her 25 mg in the morning and 50 mg at night. Warning: Benedryl will make puppy SNORE! :)
There are ear powders for dogs' ears that can be found at PetsMart. In fact I was just looking at one today when I was there buying a few things. Also the product that I mentioned called Veterinarian's Best comes in a two-bottle packet. One is the wash and the other is a lotion which almost immediately dries to a powder once in the ear.Quote:
Originally posted by Basset Mom
how do you keep them dry when I am dumping ear wash in them every other day?
I'm glad I read this thread, I was giving Teeko a TSP of yogurt once in a while and wasn't aware of all the good health benefits from it.
My girls get a good dollop of fat free plain in each of their meal bowls, along with apple and carrot and an herbal supplement. They love yogurt:) Then again, they eat anything:D
My vet just prescribed Benadryl for Jada for her ear problems, which she says are related to allergies. She also has a rash and itchy paws:( Anyway, she prescibed 50mg, 3 times a day, for Jada who weighs about 70 pounds.Quote:
Originally posted by dragondawg
Benedryl can be given at a dose of 1-2 mg/lb, where the 2mg/lb dose is appropriate to head off anaphylactic responses to such things as bee stings, or in my Barney's case- yellow jacket stings. :(
Typically for my lab of 75 lbs when she got into allergy seasons (e.g. Spring/Fall) I would give her 25 mg in the morning and 50 mg at night. Warning: Benedryl will make puppy SNORE! :)
It does NOT make her snore however, she has to be different;)
And, back to the original topic, beneficial or not, my dogs are loving the yogurt!!! I was looking at some supplements today, and I'm sure that would be perfect to mix them in:)