Ear problems?

[fishinchicks]

Our 10 year old female yellow lab has been shaking her head a lot lately, and has a smelly odor about her ears. Since it is the weekend, I will ask the question here...ear infection?

What do you all do for ear trouble?

[B-man715]

It sounds like a yeast infection. My dogs will get it now and again. I use some stuff from the vet called MalOtic to cure it. Before putting the MalOtic in you must first clean their ears well with something like VET Solutions Ear Cleansing Solution or similar.

You may be able to but this stuff online, not sure if either is a prescription.

[jeffreyd]

Our lab had the same issue, he had a "black" colored crud on the inside of his ear when you lifted it up. Make sure it is dry, wipe it with a cloth and clean the outside of the ear with q tip (dont put in ear). The vet gave us a drop to put in and also antibiotic. Good luck.

[Ralph Wiggum]

Gotta make a trip to the vet. Could be a bacterial or yeast infection. Our dog is very prone to them...it sucks.

[fishinchicks]

The "crud" is as you described. We use baby wipes on the horse's ears and nose before a show, so I would think they should work to clean up the gunk?

She was on a heavy dose of antibiotics earlier this summer following a major uterine infection and emergency spaying. That wouldn't cause a yeast growth, would it?

[gatorhunter]

Yeast infection for sure. Easy to treat with a little help from the vet. My lab has had 2 already and he's not even 3 years old.

[fishinchicks]

I took some baby wipes and cleaned her ears. That was nasty!

When we scratch her behind her ears vigorously, you can hear liquid. We'll try getting her into see the vet soon, and get this nasty cleared up.

[bobbymalone]

Could be ear mites too. Probably should take her to the vet, whatever it is, if it's left unchecked for too long permanent hearing damage can result.

[Lunker]

Our labs get this from time to time. As mentioned above, the vet can provide something for it. But in the future, it is always good to clean out/dry out the dogs ears after being in the water. It's that moist environment that breeds bad things...

[ironrangegemneye]

My dog dunked his head under water a month ago. Soon after he started itching at it and shaking his head. I called the vet and they suggested picking up some of the liquid for drying out the ear. I have done that multiple times and he still shakes his head and scratches at it. There is still that same odor and he has wimpered a couple times when I have went to pet him. I just made an appointment for the vet for this Thursday. I will post on here after that appointment to say what it was found to be.

[fishinchicks]

Our dog doesn't like the water, so she doesn't swim, or go anywhere to get her ears that wet. We gave her one bath this summer, but stayed away from her head with the hose. Other than that the only dampness would be from a little rain.

[MuleShack]

I was just in the vets office last week looking at a brochure for this disease but cant for the life of me think of what it is. It does need medication and to keep the ears clean.

Our previous chocolate lab had this quite a bit and she never went in the water either. Her ears hugged her head so there was not much air movement getting in the ear and that was a factor i believe.

[fishinchicks]

Thanks for the info MuleShack. She has only had an issue with her ears one other time in her 10 years and that was a mite problem. A few drops for her ears and she was good to go.

[SapperACE]

My lab had an ear infection a few months ago. I got the ear wash and the infection atibiotic cream from the vet. It cleared it right up.

A reputable breeder/boarder told me to use the same type of feminine hygene cream used for yeast infections next time. He said that it was what he always did. It worked for him just as good, and it was alot cheaper. I don't know if it really works because I have not personally tried it, but I don't know why it wouldn't. I'm not sure how much cheaper it would be either.

[Ralph Wiggum]

A reputable breeder/boarder told me to use the same type of feminine hygene cream used for yeast infections next time.

That might work if it's a yeast ear infection, but not if it's bacterial. Can't really tell without a swab at the vet.

It's weird how some dogs are more prone to infections than others. Sounds like a lot of you rarely clean your dogs' ears. We clean ours 1-2x a week and still get infections too frequently.

[ironrangegemneye]

I know after this bout, I will definately be cleaning my lab's ears much more often.

[CrazyLabs]

It's weird how some dogs are more prone to infections than others. Sounds like a lot of you rarely clean your dogs' ears. We clean ours 1-2x a week and still get infections too frequently.

Very true.

Our 8 yr old chocolate has dirty ears all the time, and infections at least once a year. Our 2 year old chocolate's ears are spotless. The older dog is also prone to allergies and skin issues every spring since he was a pup.

Most likely related?

[ironrangegemneye]

My dog had a bacterial infection and we got a liquid solution to put in his ear twice per day. It was crazy to see how much gunk the vet was able to clean out of his ear canal. This was his first infection and I think he got it when he dunked his head in some water that he had churned up pretty good....who knows what kind of junk was in the sediment that he got in there.