How often are you cleaning the ears? What exact product are you using to clean the ears and what steps do you use to clean his ears? Are you using cotton swabs, pads, cotton balls, or cloth to clean the ears?

Howdy fellow lab lover. I have a middle child (5 yr. old male) who is constantly battling ear infections.

We use Oti Calm - available at the vet to clean but were still batting infections too frequently. We use extra large cotton balls, rolled cotton, long cotton q-tips, regular q-tips, etc., etc., We were doing it all and he would still have the yucky brown ear constantly.

At the last visit for the ears, we started a new course of treatment. He has been on a 3 week course of Gentocin Otic with Lotrim as the infections he's having are yeast based. After the 3 weeks of treatment with Gentocin, the vet has him on a regimin now of cleaning his ears once a week, and he will now have Zymox-E drops twice a week for life. Hopefully, that will be the end of a 4 year battle of ear problems for him. I must add that his 3 year old brother licking his ear constantly has not helped matters. We have really been working on stopping that altogether as well.

My vet years ago told me to use isoprophyl rubbing alcohol. I put it into an ear medicine container which we previously had dog ear medicine in. It has a very tiny spray hole. About once every two weeks we spray some of the alcohol into her ears, making sure to massage the bottom of the ear canal on the side of her head for about 20 seconds (you can hear the alcohol squishing around) and then wipe out the excess with a cotton ball gently inserted into the ear as far as you can go while holding onto the cotton ball. Sometimes the reddish gunk is there, sometimes not. Just keep wiping till a cotton ball comes out clean. I think this kills ear mites and keeps the ears healthy. My dog has huge, floppy ears and no infections. I tried some of the store ear cleaners and this method is far better.

One of my dogs kept having trouble with yeast in her ears, but it cleared up when I switched the dogs' food to Canadae.
Jen

I had a Shepherd/Lab that had constant ear problems. At best all I could do was try and keep it under control. I did discover that the infection can get out of control very quickly.

I now use non scented baby wipes on all three of my present dogs to clean things out. I've had my pup since last April, and haven't had problems. The other two older dogs are doing fine also.

After spending much time and money trying to get my old girl's ears cleared up, I discovered some things.

First, there could be a food allergy involved. Tons of dogs are having this now, and ear infection is one of the symptoms, as well as scratching around the face area. Also, lots of vets simply don't recognize an allergy.

Second. You really need to stay on top of this. When dogs scratch their ears a lot, they can become inflamed or worse, hemorrhage. Dogs ear's are like an envelope, and the blood can fill the area, which requires lancing.

Third. If you have a dog that has constant ear infections, my experience and that of others that I talked to, is there probably going to be other issues you are going to have to deal with indirectly associated with ear infection.

Fourth. I really learned this the hard way, because I almost lost my old girl due to a misdiagnosis. If your pet has a skin issue of any kind, consider a qualified dermatology vet. The key word here is "qualified". There are those who are not. It may seem somewhat expensive in the beginning, but, a vet that knows what they are doing should be able to put their finger on what is going on, and tell you within a day or two how medications are going to work. If you initially go to the dermatologist, you save money. If you can't get the vet to specify a timing for the meds to kick in and improve things, look for someone else.

Good luck!

SG

most ear problems are caused by allergies, either atopic or food.
First make sure you get an ear culture of the debris in the ear. It can be bacterial, yeast or both. Each require a different medicine.
Than you need to pinpoint the reason the ear problems keep coming back. This requires a food elimination trial, usually a switch to a food free of wheat does the trick, including all treats. Canidae, Pinnacle, eagle pac holistic select, Back to basics, are all wheat free foods and a good choice to try.
Some times the dog is extremely bothered by any grains in general and for that a grainless diet would be the best choice.
The food switch should take care of the problem if it doesn't than most likely your talking atopy problems which would be adressed differently, but for now the best long term try at a fix for this is to remove any wheat from all dog foods including snacks.

More confused then ever. My mother told me about dogs needing to go for shots and being fixed and sometimes might get sick but now the ear thing over and over and I am still not sure what to do. I might have to get rid of cable and internet cuz I can't get rid of my dog but need money to take him again to the Vets!! If I could change his food or use alcohol in his ears that would be easy but I have put to much stuff in his ears already and it doesn't work. Do I go to the Vets first thing before doing any thing else?????

Iuse q tips and clean them every day when his ears are itching and I put the stuff in them and when they seem to be not itching for a while I don't do it every day just every few days. I clean all the little cubby holes but do not know how deep to stick the q tip so I am afraid to go to deep cuz I don't want to hurt him or bust his ear drum. And the flappy side of his ear inside is like rough and itching so I put some stuff for misquito bites to help it stop itching. His ear was red inside a long time ago but now it doesn't look red anymore but he was scratching it. O yeah spiritualgardner he uses his paw and rubs his face and rubs it on the floor also. I thought he was cleaning his face.

Yes.

Get the vet to look at the debris under a microscope.

It may be as simple as ear mites;
their "evidence" looks like gummy brown goo.

Just as some people are more attractive to mosquitoes, some animals are more delectable to ear mites, & their owners have to guard against them forever:

My friend Janie has a beautiful Ragdoll who's an ear mite magnet.

For years she used Miticide (something like that), which evidently gave the cat a bad taste in her mouth, judging from the tongue-sticking-out faces the cat made.

Janie would drip it into the ears, massage the ears, & then clean them with a cotton swab.

It became such an ordeal that her sweet cat would hide under the bed when she saw Janie with that small plastic bottle.

Janie said Revolution, a product in a tube similar to Advantage, has just done wonders & saved the day;
it kills fleas *&* ear mites, & her cat hasn't had mites since she began using it.

And it may be just yeast:

Dogs with pendulous or "flop-over" ears can be susceptible to yeast infections because their ears are ideal environments for yeast, warm, moist, & dark.

Yes I will go to the Vets on Monady but it is a holiday so do Vets close for the holidays? Its to late to call them now on Friday night. I don't wnat my dog to get sick and hemorrage.

lablover - i have heard of using rubbing alcohol to keep ears dry, but if your dog has an infection or has been scratching, then alcohol will burn.

You will have to visit your vet to determine if your dog has a fungal or yeast infection or if he has ear mites. Different things will need different medications. Until you know what the problem is, you would only be quessing with any treatment.

If and when you change his diet, just know that if his ear problems are due to allergies, it could take months to see any change. Also, those grain-free foods are going to cost quite a bit more than standard pet foods.

You should be careful with the Q-tips, too. You're right... you could hurt him, and you can also be pushing debris further down into his ear canal. Have your vet show you how to clean them properly.

I doubt your vet will close on Monday, and if you call they're probably open tomorrow as well. If you do have to wait until Monday, I would use whichever product you have to keep him from suffering too much over the weekend.

we found out that our labradoodle is alergic to her dog food and we have been fighting the ear infections for a year. She is now infection clear as she has to be on a fish based dog food. After three months of nothing but this dog food, we are allowed to introduce anything we want for a week at a time. We were told if she is alergic to, lets say milkbones that her ears will flair up within two days. it is nice to be infection and smelly clear.

When you said the ear flap is rough and itchy- it sounds like a sign of yeast. I see numerous dogs that have "yeasty" ears, most often it is related to allergies. I would make an appointment (most vets are open on MLK day) to have them looked at and discover the source of the problem.
When you clean the ear(s), use an ear flush and squirt the solution into the ear canal and let it fill the canal up. Massage the base of the ear and you will hear it squish. Clear the way and let your dog shake, this will loosen debris in the ear. Then use cotton balls and wipe the ear flap, the "cubby holes", and the upper part of the ear canal. Flush them again, wipe and then use your Q-tip to get all the nooks and crannies. You can use a q-tip in the canal but it is not necessary, when they shake their heads that will help loosen all of that, the second flush will help it come up. I would also use a drying powder in the ear to help it from staying moist.

Theuy made me very upset when I took my dog to the Vets yesterday so I am not sure what exactly is wrong and mebbe will not go back there again. All I know is that he has a yeast infection and they gave me medicine for that. I have a developmental disorder and they were frustrated by that and made me feel stupid. Do you go back when they upset you or go some place else cuz they are the ones that have given my dog all his shots and fixed him. I only want him better cuz he is my one true friend and my largest responsiblity.

I'm so sorry that your vet wasn't more patient. Perhaps you should give them another try and ask them to write everything down for you. If they won't do that - then it's off to another vet. Maybe you could get a recommendation from a friend.

Now that you know it's a yeast infection, one thing you can keep your dog on that will help immensely is acidophilus. You can get it at your drugstore it capsule form. Just add it to your dogs food every day and it will help keep the "good" bacteria in his system to keep yeast infections at bay.

lablover - that's terrible that you left the vet office feeling so badly. Treating you with disrespect isn't in the best interest of your dog. Personally, I would find a new vet. But....... sometimes we have a tendency to be stressed if our pets are sick, so ask yourself if maybe you didn't overreact from anxiety. It can happen!

Do you think you have a handle on how to treat your dog's ears? If not, give them a call and ask for step by step directions on how and when to use the meds.

Good luck!

This is what I did, went back there and they wrote it out for me so that is all good. I only could not remember cuz I was upset. I will use the acidophilus if everybody says that is a good thing. Please reply!!

I did not react Moonie57. What it was a girl that went to my school works there and she was teh one that took me and my dog back and took his temperature and checked his ears. She said why was his ears hurting on Friday and I was coming in on Monday. She said I probably did not know how to give the medicine right the first time and I just let them get bad instead of using the medicine the right way. I was happy when I saw her working there cuz its nice to recognize somebody when you go to a strange place but I forgot how crappy she is. And then when the Vet came in she asked him if my dogs nails were cut to short and I told him that I don't cut them we just walk all the time on the sidewalk and he said that was the right thing to do and the smartest way. Well you know when somebody is being crappy to you and she was!! Moonie I have handle on my dogs ear now. It is just one ear that is infected and I probably will not go back there again cuz I don't want that girl to be crappy to me again. I like the Vet tho and how can it be that he gave me the same thing I was using before that people gave me to use accept a different kind of powder and the other stuff is in a different color bottle? I hope that its right and my dogs ear gets better.

What I also messed up was getting new food. The man at the store told me to get some that had venison in it and then I accidently grabbed lamb and rice. I did not know it til I was showing my brother and he said it was lamb and rice but my dog was already eating it. He is suppose to get me the right kind but hasn't yet. I did not tell the Vet that cuz it was a stupid mistake and I did not want to make things worse but he said venison is good. I don't care if you all judge me cuz I am only trying to find the right thing for my dog and I don't have to look at your face. I just want your advice to help my dog. Thank you!!

lablover - About the acidophilus... some women that are prone to yeast infections use it, and some with success. Maybe other posters that have experience using it will chime in. Anyway, I can't see where it would hurt.

Concerning the food you bought, what's the brand and ingredients? Did you get some corn-free treats for your dog, too?

Also, I wouldn't worry overly much about that girl at the vet's office. Obviously she wasn't wise enough to see the difference in neatly clipped nails and worn-down nails, right? And if any of us were to judge you, we'd judge you as a conscientious pet owner seeking the proper care for a dog's ear problem. Sounds to me like you're doing everything you can.

My two labs were just like that...every month one of them had an ear infection. More antibiotics, more creams, antihistimines, plus one had gas really bad and needed Pepcid daily. Yes they had overgrowht of yeast too. Daily cleansing with the EpiOtic. Nothing worked...they would keep coming back.

Finally my vet mentioned it might be grain allegies. Switched them to Urban WOlf and no more ear infections!!

And I only use the Epi-Otic occassionally not daily. Its more pricey than SD or Iams but it will save you money and time and a happy dog.

SD ran me about $90 per month for my dogs, Wellness $110 and Urban Wolf(plus meat) $175.00, but I have only the yearly vet visit, so actually I am saving money. These costs are for 1 -100lb lab and 1 - 85lb lab, so my guess is your costs would be half.

Or if you want kibble Innova Evo is grain free and Wellness SImple has alternative grain.

If you decide you want to use Urban Wolf and have questions on how to feed it feel free to e-mail me at laura AT gleasonroad dot com --- just put Urban Wolf in the subject line.

Thanx very much patches123. I have chosen Natural Balance to switch my dog to cuz I live 50 miles outside the city and I wanted to be able to get the food in at least two different places here where I live. I started my dog on the new food last weekend, giving him a handful a day as treats. On Valentines Day I will begin the real switch giving him half and half for two weeks. I had done a quick switch to Nature's Recipe and thought that was a good food for him only to find out it was not and that I made the switch too fast. Now I feel pleased with the decision I have made with Natural Balance. Dixie's ears are all better, cuz of the meds right now, but I do think the new diet will keep his ears from infection again. Moonie57, I have not gotten my dog any treats yet but there are treats with about the same ingredients as the food. I will hold off for now until I am sure they are the exact same ingredients.

lablover-My Goldendoodle Murphy had gunk in his left ear all the time and I had to clean it everyday or so. It even got sore and infected a couple of times. The Vet gave me drops to make it better. He never mentioned changing his food to make his ears better. But one day I decided to change his food to something that had better ingredients so maybe he would have better poops and he did. Then after a week or two his ear cleared up and I don't have to do any more special cleaning or medicine. All three of my dogs eat Natural Balance Venison and are doing great on it. I also buy the Natural Balance Venison jerky treats.

Sometimes for a treat I will put a couple of tablespoons of plain yogurt (that has acidophilus cultures in it) on his dog food. Some people might say that yogurt isn't good for dogs but I know alot of people who give it without any problems.