Ear Issues

[laramier]

My dog Gwen, who is a pit-lab mix, keeps getting this black/brown stuff in her ear. It's always the same ear and no matter what I do it always comes back. I take her to the vet all the time and they always say the same thing, it's both bacteria and yeast. I get meds for both, follow the directions, don't miss any doses, and do my best to keep an eye on what she does. The ear will be fine for a few days, sometimes up to about 3 weeks, and then the substance comes back. I've tried cleaning the ear out daily, putting peroxide in it, using the meds the vet gives me, oral and liquid antibiotics, liquid cleaning solutions from the vet, and nothing works. I know that water in the ear can make this type of thing happen, but she doesn't go swimming, she has long ears so rain doesn't get in them, when I bathe her I put stuff in her ears to prevent water or soap from getting into them, I just don't know what's going on.  Does anyone have any ideas about what I should be doing or what is going on in her ear?

[laramier]

Thanks for the help you two. We stopped giving her the biscuits that we were feeding her about 2 weeks ago after reading what you said. Her ear looks so much better so I think that was the problem. Now we're treating her with ice cubes made of water and some made of chicken broth. She loves them and they're pretty healthy so I figure it's a good thing.

[ddeiman]

We see a lot of pit lab mixes at our derm clinic for yeast/bacteria ears and these infections are always secondary to an allergy. Controlling your pups allergy could be the key to this not returning. I would try an elimination diet meaning feed your pup a food with a limited protein source like Nature's Recipe venison/potato or duck/pot or fish potato and feed nothing else no treats etc for about 10 weeks and see if this makes a difference. You can offer banana, marshmallow, carrots, green beans, plain rice cakes no salt or flavor on them or canned pumpkin as treats during this time. Canned pumpkin mixed with dry kibble can help with a dog who is used to canned food and canned pumpkin in a kkong and put in the freezer makes a fun frozen treat for a pup. In the meantime see if you can find in the pharmacy dept of like a Walmart or try CVS etc. for Domeboro. They are powder packets and used in humans for poison ivy so look in that area but in dogs you can use it to dry they ear and change the ph making it harder for yeast to grow. Mix 1 packet per 6-8 oz of water and put some in an oral syringe and squirt gently in the ear, massage the ear and canal and then wipe clean all the gunk with some gauze. Do this twice a day faithfully and make sure to mix fresh Domeboro solution everyday. If your pup is on drops then wait till the ear is dry before applying any ear drops. Try this for a week and after any meds are done continue to clean the ear once daily and then cut to twice a week. Allergies are tough on owners because they require a lot of maintenance but the up keep can help keep vet visits and costs down. Also be sure your vet treats with oral meds too to really knock out the infections. We recommend fluconazole for bad yeast and you can get a prescription for $4 at Walmart with their generic program. Also cephalexin is a great antibiotic they carry for $4 too. Ask you vet to call in the script or write one for you. Your dog should also be on these for AT LEAST 4 weeks maybe longer (6-8) to be sure the infections clears. Lately we have notified lots of regular vets by letters advising to not under treat dogs and cats. We are seeing strains of resistant bacteria in animals which can be harmful to humans too so ask your vet for a long course of pills or have them consult with a vet dermatologist in your area to confirm my info. Your can locate a vet derm at acvd (dot) org . Good luck! Click my profile to leave me a message if you have any ?s

[laramier]

The last time I went to see the vet they offered to have a culture sent out to a lab but it would cost more than I can spare at the moment. If it gets worse then I'll figure out how to come up with the money. Thanks.

[Jaybay]

You're doing everything I would do, so hopefully someone else will come along with more ideas.  The only other thing I can think of is to have your vet (or a different one) do a culture on that substance to see if it's a bacteria or fungus, and exact what the bug is.  You may need a referral to a specialist to get this one under control.