Chronic Ear Infection

[CrappiesNCats]

I have a 4 year old golden retriever and for the past 2 years I have been battling ear infection. What works? I have been through difft Tri-otic ointments, otibiotics, ear wash and the second I run out it comes back worse than ever. Its getting to be expensive. I have asked my vet if it could be her food but he says its not. Is he feeding me [PoorWordUsage] to keep me buying the ointments and earwashes?

what works? are there any cheaper OTC type stuff that helps?

[PikeBayCommanche]

Had the same issue with my lab. It was food allergies. I switched to a raw meat diet along with a Rolled Oat Base mix from SOJO's. They are based out of the Minnesota so should be easy to find.

Have had zero issues in 1.5 years since I switched. Tried everything possible before that.

Plain and simple your vet is wrong. He for sure makes money to keep you coming back.

[Ralph Wiggum]

We had ear infection problems with our Dane. Like you said--ointments, vet visits, ear cleaning solutions--it gets expensive.

Eventually, I found a DIY recipe for an ear cleaner--I'll be darned if he hasn't had an ear infection since we started using it (about 1.5 years now). I can't 100% say that is responsible for it, but the price is right! Important thing--don't use this if your dog has any open sores in his/her ears or it will burn like hell.

¾ cup isopropyl alcohol or witch hazel (I've used the alcohol, but will probably use witch hazel next time)

½ tablespoon boric acid powder (found it at Ace Hardware-insecticide)

¼ cup white vinegar

1 teaspoon Betadine

Combine ¾ cup isopropyl alcohol and ½ tablespoon of boric acid powder. Mix well, until the boric acid is completely dissolved. Add ¼ cup white vinegar. Mix well. Add 1 teaspoon of Betadine. Mix well.

[pushbutton]

was thinking the same thing.....unless there is a polyp embedded deep in the ear canal(would assume the vet has looked for that)... have always fed my dogs a meat, rice/oats, vegetable diet and had very little issues with considerably longer than expected life spans. would probably have a different vet look at the ear and try different food. good luck.

[Crm7290]

My girlfriends parents dog has this issue really bad. He lives outside and in the winter there are blood trails from him shaking his head. He scratches them until they bleed and no amount of medicine will get rid of it. He doesnt seem to mind all that much.

[Ralph Wiggum]

My girlfriends parents dog has this issue really bad. He lives outside and in the winter there are blood trails from him shaking his head. He scratches them until they bleed and no amount of medicine will get rid of it. He doesnt seem to mind all that much.

...till his ear drums rupture. An ear infection seems pretty minor, but they can get serious if not attended to.

[McGurk]

We recently adopted a 3-yr old Spaniel mix (Springer/King Charles?) and has had a couple of ear infections, all in the same ear. The vet said it is due to the spaniel family's ear canal and that they drain poorly. I'm tackling this as best I can, and will try some of the home remedies that were mentioned.

[Ralph Wiggum]

The recipe I posted I found on the HSOforum of a cocker spaniel breeder--with those dangly ears, I figured the guy would have some good suggestions!

[setterguy]

FYI - My old viszla suffered from chronic ear infections. I felt so bad for him. We treated constantly and there was almost no relief for the poor guy. I went from vet to vet looking for an answer to get the poor guy some comfort. Finally I found a vet that listened to my story, and said well that just isn't right. He investigated further and What he found was an ulcer inside the ear, once that was treated once and for all he never had another ear infection. Sometimes it pays to get a second opinion even on the pups.

[McGurk]

I've been cleaning and treating his ears, and it seems to be helping. I am looking into a diet change, too, bacause of paw licking/chewing (related?). He's on Iams Proactive (green bag) and I think I'm going to try their Lamb meal and rice for his next bag.

If it keeps up in his same ear, I'll have to have the vet look a little deeper into the issue, and maybe they can find a problem. Thanks for the advice!