Dirty ears *update*

Jack has extremely dirty ears. I clean them out daily, sometimes twice daily. We were using listerine to clean them out (per vet's recommendation) and went and bought some over the counter cleaners. It doesn't seem to be working and his ears still bother him. They are THICK with black gunk and sometimes bleed a little bit when I clean them.

He was at the vet last month and they looked at them and didn't seem too concerned. But it still bothers me, I wasn't there when my mom took them in so I didn't get a chance to ask questions about it. I'm afraid he's got mites, but that'd mean that the other dogs probably would too, right? Everybody else is fine and ears are squeaky clean.

I'm taking the cats to the vet later today, should I take Jack in or just continue cleaning them out like I am?

Anybody else have dirty ear problems and found any way to keep them clean?

Kiara's got a gunky ear, too. Not bad, but it gets gunky after swimming a lot.

My vet said the solution would be to make her stay out of the water. However, that is not going to happen, so we just make ear cleanings a part of our schedual and deal with it.

I would take her along (if you can manage all of them) and ask.

Listerine? I've not heard that one!

I use either Oti-Clens or Malacetic. Both from the vet. You should nothave to clean ears daily, even on flop eared breeds!

Let us know what the vet says, even if you decide not to take her in and just ask while you are in there.

I think retrievers are prone to getting dirty ears and infections because they are water dogs. I would just use the solution once or twice a week because you don't want to over do it. is it the malotic solution? I hope he feels better soon. :)

Lucys ears get pretty dirty too. I have to clean them a lot.
I use THESE ear wipes and they work pretty good. I have never had a problem with them. I also use some ear cleaner i got from the vet.

I'd call the vet and see if you can bring the dog in with the cats today. Ears shouldn't get that dirty unless the dog is rolling in the mud and if they are bothering him it may be an ear infection and need antibiotics.

Your vet might need to look at the 'gunk' under a microscope to determine the problem or identify mites. Don't clean out the ears before the appointment so the vet can actually see the 'gunk' that's in there. If your vet STILL doesn't seem concerned then I'd consider a second opinion elsewhere if it were me.

Good luck.

$150 and 2.5 hours later we have two vaccinated well behaved kitties and 3 different meds for the **** head.

They said it was a good thing I took him in, because it is an ear infection. They gave him Tresaderm, Cephalexin and Prednisone. He looked at the left ear, was confused as to why I brought him in (that one looks great!) and then looked at the right. He was just like "Oooooo yeah, this one is a lot worse!" (duhh, I told you that ;) ) Said to give him the meds as directed and to keep cleaning them out like I have been. We'll see.

The most "exciting" part was when the rotten thing JUMPED OUT OF MY CAR. I could've killed him. We were stopped at a stop sign and he was in the back seat, it's a two door so part of my window is by the back seat, and he jumped for it. Good thing I had a leash on him, he has NEVER done anything like that, and I usually never have a leash. Argh. And then I was trying to reel him back inwhile people stopped at the stop signs were watching, I bet it was a funny sight. Finally I shoved him in the car and off we went. I guess he was making up for how good he was at the vets!

Well i'm glad you got it figured out! :) I hope his ears get better! Kodie is on Prednisone right now actually for his allergies. Its helped him a lot!
Nawtee boy for jumping out of the car :eek:

Oh Jack, you're supposed to RIDE in the car, not HERD it! :rolleyes:

Glad you had the leash!!

[QUOTE=k9krazee]The most "exciting" part was when the rotten thing JUMPED OUT OF MY CAR. I could've killed him.
a few words, seat belt for that little bugger. and alex has done similar stuff, the punk ;)

:eek: How scary that he jumped out of the car.

Whoa, I've never heard of a vet prescribing three medications for an ear infection?

They've always given me some sort of medication and then recommended that I got ear flush as well.

Glad to hear he's on the road to recovery. Those labs & their ears, it's a shame they have so many problems with them.

It's common for them to give you the meds that they did, or at least it is for major infections. Tresederm drops for the ears, cephalexin as an oral antibiotic and the pred to help with swelling & itching.


Kay: For Kiara's ear problems associated with swimming you should use a swimmers ear cleanser. It works GREAT for the dog who swims a lot!
http://www.vetdepot.com/browseproduc...nt--4-oz..html

I remember you said Jack was having ear issues over Memorial Day. I'm so glad the vet finally did something. Hope it clears up soon!

And such a nawtee boy for jumping out of the car!! :eek:

Oh Jack.. you're such a funny dude!! :D

How is his ear now after being on the meds for a little while?

Glad they were able to prescribe something that will help.
Now Jack, you showed us how many tricks you know at the Findlay pic-nic, but pleaase.... "jump" does not mean "jump out of the car"! That's not such a good trick, silly boy.

They are MUCH MUCH MUCH better. I feel bad that he went so long like that though :( However, before Memorial day my mom took them all in for their rabies shots and the vet looked at his ears then and told us to just use an over the counter cleaner. But I'm glad we've got them taken care of now!

My boxer suffers from allergies, her ears have been a problem, dirty and itchy but nothing there. Buy a good ear cleanser(from vet or pet store) apply to cotton ball and clean inside of ear and at same time squeeze solution into ear. Then massage ear to loosen gunk and doggy will shake head and hopefully gunk out. It will also dry the ear. After several hours, I apply Otomax (prescription from your vet). This medicine is wonderful!!!! It takes care of itchy ears for 7-14 days, and just a little works. Good luck and hope this works for you as well as it has for my baby.