Infected Ears

[huski]

I found putting Daisy on a BARF diet helped her ear infections but they still smell a bit yeasty sometimes.

sorry to highjack but I was wondering what everyone recommends for a good general cleaning solution?

Have you tried PAW (Pure Animal Wellbeing) Gentle Ear Cleaner? Our vet put us onto it, we found it did a good job of getting rid of junk. And someone from the poodle thread just recommened it too.

Hmm, don't think I've tried that one, MM. Will give it a shot, thanks

[Golden Rules]

My first dog came to me with a multitude of health problems from years of neglect, the worst one would have been his chronic ear infections.

I too would recommend as natural a diet as possible with as few grains as possible.

Ear infections I believe are a symptom of a lowered immunity therefore anything you can do to increase their immunity will be a good thing.

What I used with great success was the following:

Isopropyl alcohol (this comes in a small bottle from the chemist)

Water

Betadine liquid

Mix 30% Isopropyl Alcohol and 70% water. Add a few drops of Betadine.

This is an excellent, effective and very inexpensive ear cleaner which can be used on a daily basis if need be.

You do need to make sure the dogs ear drum isn't perforated before using anything - chronic ear infections may have perforated the ear drum but you don't say if this is a new thing or an ongoing thing.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

[felix]

Surolan and Dermotic are the two "antibiotic" drop thingys that I've been given to use on dogs with ear infections. These are a coctail of antibiotics, micocide/fungicide, and steroid drugs if I'm reading the labels right.

You just answered my question. Mixture of antibiotics and antifungals. So antifungals and antibiotics are not the same thing.

Wikipedia

Medline Plus

Medical encyclopaedia

[felix]

I must look like a nerd. Forget the whole thing.

[ChristineX]

Hi to everyone that replied - I have been reading, but from my work computer where I can't really reply. I've tried the suggestion of not using enough solution (yes, he was on dermotic as well as the antibiotic), and this seems to have worked, to the pleasure of the vets. Mind you, now that the infection has been cleared, NOW he is scratching his ears! And depending on the time of day/night, his ears are either a normal skin colour, or bright cherry pink, which is not doing great things for my peace of mind.

Kate probably does not have normal allergies, they seem more related to her episode of infective endocarditis (courtesy of a really rotten pigeon carcass), which also resulted in a heart murmer. Her coat also suffered, and only now, about five years after this episode, is it starting to actually develop the normal irish terrior coat. The 'windows' where she had her echocardiogram done took 2 years for the hair to grow back. It is also clear that her reactions to meat are now beginning to subside, so I am hopeful that eventually we could get back to a more natural diet in some years to come, although I think that chicken may always be off our diet plan. Her food allergies were identified with exclusion diets (fortunately, she quite likes vegetable based diets, we have even done training using pumpkin for rewards).

I will do my best to avoid grain based products, and will check out the substances that someone highlighted in ZD. Of course, ear problems cleared up, and now they both have kennel cough, so more antibiotics as the strain running through South Perth seems to respond well to them. And best wishes from our vet surgery that they dont see us any time soon! (Isn't that nice of them?)

Thank you again, everyone, I have learnt a great deal that I can apply to both Kate and Duke.

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

I had a rescued foster dog with two burst ear drums, filled with pus. Poor baby. She had 3 surgeries and permanent antibiotic ear drops which had to be changed to keep them working.

I tried a number of diets but my vet could not believe the improvement after she ate a particular dog food for 2 months - it was purchased online from www.pricelesspets.com.au. It's a dried food specially formulated for ear/eye/skin probs and it certainly worked wonders for my girl who would have been possibly euthanased due to severity of problems.

[Animal House]

Dogmad, would that be the one thats around $85 for 18 kilo bag? How did you find it went value wise?

[RubyStar]

Is that the Natural Balance? One of my girls keeps getting repeat ear infections so I'm keen to try a change of kibble if it might help, and the price is comparable to the premium brands.

[RubyStar]

I used canestan cream diluted with saline (as recommended by Peibe) on a cotton bud and in his ear every day at first.

That sounds like a fantastic idea! We're on our 3rd try of Dermotic and Ruby keeps getting the problem coming back, and it keeps changing ears! I'm tired of going to the vet each time just to get another lot of Dermotic, so a DIY solution would be a great help. Approx how much Canestan to saline would I use? Do you need to clean the ears out first before doing this or is this part of the cleaning process? At the moment we clean out with cotton balls and an ear cleaning solution (home made, 80% saline/20% white vinegar) then apply the Dermotic once the ear dries. Would love some further info on the Canestan thing please!

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

Natural Balance is the name of the food I'm referring to.

As for value, I found it was excellent and have continued to buy it. Storage is more of a problem for me as it's a large bag but I break it up into containers so bag size shrinks for storage.

I have had many foster dogs and I have tried many foods. Hand on heart - NB is the only food that no dog has ever refused to eat!! It's a really nice size for small dogs and the dog I was referring to didn't have many teeth either.

My vet could only put the improvement down to the food. Her ears never got better as such but we managed to maintain them for 2.5 years until she passed away. She'd been in such terrible pain for so long when I got her, I could still cry just thinking about it. I was glad that we found a way to make her life more bearable.

[laffi]

My cat and my golden retriever also had constant ear infections until I totally eliminated the grains from their diet

So now they are on mostly raw with Artemis Maximal dog (no grains one).