ear infections

[.sarah]

Have you tried her on an allergy formula of food? Mandy and Nova had the same problems until we switched them to Natural Balance Sweet Potato and Fish.

Mometomax is slightly stronger than Otomax. That's the only one I know of. Animax I believe is the same strength, but I could be wrong. Mometomax is once daily vs. twice daily on Otomax.

[pnance]

lv4dogs and .sarah I'll mention those to the vet and see what she says. I'm guessing I'll have to take her back in for and exam since our old vet just moved back to Colorado, so I have to start fresh with one of the others in that office, but that's not a big deal since all the records are still there.

.sarah I've actually fed that food before, it gave 2 of mine really bad gas and their coats started to thin so I switched them. Mandy and Nova don't have any problems?

[dab_20]

Well I've got a cocker spaniel, and used to have another one, and they always get ear infections. You do pretty much what I do, so I can't be much help. I hope you get this figured out so your pup can feel better!

[.sarah]

.sarah I've actually fed that food before, it gave 2 of mine really bad gas and their coats started to thin so I switched them. Mandy and Nova don't have any problems?

No, they do wonderfully on it ... although I'm going to try switching them to raw food I think.

[labmomma]

One of my 2 rescued labs, Sam, is presently being treated for an ear infection. I'm irrigating and cleaning the ear canal one/day with Epi-Otic and wiping clean with a cotton cosmetic pad. Also am applying Ottomax twice/day and giving Keflex 3X and Prednisone 1X. This may appear to be overkill but he has to have surgery in 9 days for a congenital eye defect and they want everything cleared up by then. My vet said to use the Epi-Otic no more than 7 days in a row and once the infection is cleared up to routinely clean the ears. I plan on starting a maintenance program with my other Lab, Hokie. Good Luck

[lv4dogs]

Hows she been? Did you go to the vets?

She's in my thoughts.

[pnance]

Thanks everyone, sorry I didn't follow up on this, but I knocked a glass of water onto my laptop, so my computer access is a bit sporadic while I get it fixed.

I couldn't get a vet appointment till after the New Year, but I did take her. It was a new vet in the office that I'd never seen before,(and definately won't see again if I can avoid it ). I mentioned a stronger antibiotic even adding an oral in, but she wasn't very receptive. She thought it was allergy, and prescribed otomax again and added a course of prednisone. I tried to discuss trying a different one since otomax was helping but wasn't clearing it up, but she just kind of nodded and said we'll just try it first and see since that's the normal way to treat.
Nikka seems to be doing better, but right now she's still getting both the preds and otomax, which ends next week so I'll see how it goes. Once I've got it knocked down I thought I'd try the vineger/rubbing alcohol combo and see how that goes. If I still have problems I'm definately going to one of the other vets and making sure they actually pay attention to the previous notes in the file and me rather than just going with the "normal" regime.

The fun part is now Hunter has an ear infection in one of his ears, so back to the vet, although I'm going to make sure it's a different one. I have an appointment for Friday, but when I used a Q-tip to try to clean some of the stuff out I pulled it back with some blood on it so I may try to just go to walk in when I get off work tonight. I keep joking he doesn't want to be left out of all the "attention" Nikka gets when she get her ears cleaned....

[lv4dogs]

Boy I don't blame you for seeing that vet again. Didn't she look at your records & see that you have already tried the "normal" way to treat? Even so she should of listened to you.

Hope Hunter is ok. You have to be really careful when you use q-tips in their ears. Good luck to him!

[solares412]

This is what one vet said to use for persistent ear infections:

Dennis W. Thomas, DVM - "As a pet owner, it is important to know that persistent or recurring ear infections in a dog commonly are manifestations of other concurring disease processes. Allergies and hypothyroidism are good examples. Systemic allergies often cause dermatitis and itching in the ear canal, which predispose self-trauma and subsequent ear infection. Hypothyroidism may manifest itself as increased thickness of the skin and continual release of exudate in the ear canal, which favors an environment for otitis externa. It is not wise to use cotton tip applicators in the ear canal. This can be quite painful to the dog. Also, I don't recommend using alcohol in a dog's ear. Alcohol will dry the ear, but if there is inflammation or small scratches in the canal, the alcohol will burn and cause tremendous pain and further inflammation. If you must use a product from the shelf at home, use white vinegar diluted 50:50 with water. "

Some people, after that, put in a couple of drops of Grapefruit Seed Extract (diluted in a little water) because it kills all sorts of bacteria, fungus and yeast and is safe for pets. Health food stores sell it.

[Logan]

We fight this with our Golden Retriever, Honey, constantly. In fact, she's due for a recheck on her ears now. She seems to get ear infections constantly and our vet usually treats them with Otomax and Cipro (antibiotic...very strong, very expensive ), and 20 mg Prednisone. Last time (two weeks ago), he did a deep flush on both ears, which was painful for Honey (and for me as I had to help hold her while he did it). I'm so in hopes that she is cleared up now. She seems better. He said it is very painful for them when they get so infected. Poor baby. I looked in her ears, with his scope and it was a bloody, infected mess in both ears.

We are using a solution that he provided, 4 times/week, now and flushing her ear canals out. It is a clear, blue liquid. It has a lot of alcohol in it to help keep the ears dry. The next step, if this continues, is to resection her ear canals, surgically. I know it would benefit her to have this surgery, but I'm certainly hoping to avoid it. The recuperation is horrible. We went through it with our Murphy (RB) on one ear, as she had tumors that blocked her ear canal, and it was tough. I think Honey would recuperate more quickly as she is younger and doesn't have the tumors, but still it is quite invasive.

Apparently, a dog's ear canal is quite complicated and curvy, thus making it harder for them to get air to dry out and when infection sets in, it is harder to clear up. The resectioning straightens it out and allows much more air flow, and less chance for infection.

Good luck. I know what a problem this can be!

Logan