I have a 7 year old Basset Hound who has had chronic ear infection for the majority of his adult doggy life. I have taken him to the vet every time and they give me antibiotics and drops. Every time I have to take him it cost well over $200 for all the cultures they run and the medicine and they keep coming back.
I would really love some help or some direction to go other than another $200 vet bill. The medicine never works completely and I know that in a few weeks we just have the same thing to look forward to. I feel so bad for him because he acts so miserable and I can only imagine how miserable he really is. If anyone knows a good solution to my problem I would love any advice that can be given.
Kimmy from Wichita Falls, TX
We have a Cocker Spaniel who always seems to have ear infections. Our vet gives us "MalOtic",
By suzanne
My German Short hair has had this chronic issue, this summer was the first we did not. Anyway, the option was to use the ear solution from the vet, or to use a little bit of white vinegar in each ear, a couple times a day, followed by regular triple antibiotic ointment from the cheapest place or drug store. It is a fungus that gets in there and sets up the mess.
Eventually, antibiotics will be needed if you don't take care of it. You need to pay attention to the time of the year it is most apt to happen. When they flip their ears up or back, high humidity and allergy days for humans, sometimes a Benadryl will help. Check with your vet or local pharmacist to figure dose against the dogs weight. Allie has such allergies, but by washing her face often as well as warm showers(which she loves), keeping her clean and dust free helps too (she loves to be vacuumed). (10/31/2007)
By Grandma J
There is a product for treating chronic inflammation in the ears called Zymox Otic (with hydrocortizone). You don't need a prescription for it. There are 49 reviews for it on Amazon dot com, and every single one of them is extremely positive. I am going to be buying this product for my little flop-eared dog, because she gets an ear infection every so often. I urge you to look up this product and get it for your dogs, too. (11/12/2007)
By Lysander
Mix equal parts of vinegar and alcohol put drops in the ear until clear. (11/16/2007)
By Crystal
I have a Yorkie mix and she kept getting ear infections. My vet said she has allergies. She put her on Hills Brand Ultra Z/D ( prescription and very expensive). That is the only food she can eat, you can only give her allergen free treats and Heart Guard medicine. As long as I follow this strict diet she is fine.
By Sheryl
Kim, find yourself a good holistic veterinarian. They will help you pinpoint the reason why the problem is occurring, help you correct it while providing you with something that helps alleviate the current symptoms (02/22/2008)
By The cat lady
Before you put anything in your dog's ears go to the vet and get an ear exam to make sure the eardrum is intact and see if the skin is broken or irritated inside the ear. If your vet just wants to give you some antibiotics without doing an ear exam with an otoscope find another vet.
Try the 50/50 water/white vinegar rinse. Warm it up to 100 deg F (should feel warm, not hot on your wrist), squirt it in there and massage the base of the ear to help it run into the canal. Don't let it get in the dog's eyes, it will burn them. It will also burn in the ear if the skin is broken/irritated from a lot of scratching. I've read this can also be used for preventive cleaning, but I'd leave them alone if they look clean.
You could also try coconut oil by itself (if the skin of the ear is abraded from scratching) or after the vinegar rinse. Coconut oil will displace moisture and kills fungus (great for foot fungus), dissolves ear wax and can sooth skin irritated from scratching. It won't harden at body temp so there is no danger of it clogging up the dog's ears.
Long term, don't feed grain (most commercial dog food) to your dog. (02/24/2008)
By LD
Hi there. I have a 7 year old Wheaten Terrier who started suffering with ear infections in his 2nd year. Although I love our vet and trust him, I've found that limiting his only food to his non-wheat dog food and no human treats or outside food helps tremendously. Also, if I notice him starting to shake his head, he gets a tablespoon full of generic children's Benadryl twice a day. The vet okayed it and it really works. Have to really maintain this during the spring and summer allergy season, not so much during the cold winters. Good luck.
Lisa (02/27/2008)
By Lisa J.
RE: Dog with Chronic Ear Infection
This is what my pet food delivery girl gave me and it works. "Blue Power Ear Treatment"
INGREDIENTS:
Mix together in alcohol bottle and shake well. You also will need to shake solution every time you use it to disperse the Boric Acid Powder. To use, purchase the "Clairol" type plastic bottle to dispense solution to affected ears.
TREATMENT: Evaluate condition of ears before treating and if very inflamed and sore do not attempt to pull hair or clean out ear at all. Wait until inflammation has subsided which will be about 2 days. Shake the bottle each time before using. Flood the ear with solution (gently squirt bottle), massage gently to the count of 60, wipe with a tissue. Flood again on first treatment, wipe with a tissue and leave alone without massage. The dog will shake out the excess, which can be wiped with a tissue. Best done outside wearing old clothes, as the Gentian Violet does stain fabrics.
The SCHEDULE of treatment is as follows: Treat 2x per day for the first week to two weeks depending upon severity of ears. Treat 1x per day for the next 1-2 weeks. Treat 1x per month (or even less frequently, depending on the dog). All of these ingredients should be available at a pharmacy. Despite the alcohol, most dogs will not object to even the first treatment. The Boric Acid Powder soothes the ear. The Gentian Violet Solution is an anti-infection agent. The solution appears to work well on any and all ear problems from mites to wax to canker. After the 2nd or 3rd day you can clean out the ear with a Q-tip or cotton balls. Their success rate for this treatment is 95-99%. Those who do not succeed have usually not done the treatment long enough or have not been regular about it.
Dogs on the verge of ear canal surgery have been returned to normal with only the regular follow-up treatment to keep the ear healthy. If an infection seems to be remaining in the treated ear after the above course of treatment, you may also have some Pseudomonas bacteria in the site. This can be eradicated by using a gentle flush of raw apple cider vinegar and water (warm). Use 2 tablespoons of vinegar to one cup of water, 2 x per week. They have found the Blue Power Solution to be effective for treating fungus-type infections on the feet and elsewhere on the dog, for cuts on dogs or people and for hot spots. You may find other uses for this simple anti-infective agent. Remember it is for external use only and be careful not to get into the eyes. (04/13/2005)
By cj1617
I have a Boarder Collie Lab mix and her right ear is the only one that gets infected. When this happens I use the following and it works miracles (found it in my book "Secret Food Cures and Doctor-Approved Folk Remedies").
Mix 4 TBS olive oil and 4 TBS milk and heat in a non aluminum pan (I just put it in a small shot glass type container and set it in a bowl of hot water). DOSE: Once the mixture has cooled off, put 4 drops into the inflamed ear every hour. "Be sure the drops are not hot." (That is the printed directions as stated in the book) What I do is this. First I lightly wet a cotton ball with the mixture and wipe her ear with it and then I put a dropper full into her ear, massage her ear so most of it goes into the canal before she shakes her head. I also might give her K-9 aspirin for pain on her worst days. I usually see marked improvement within a full day and full recovery within a few days.
I also had a problem with my Chinese Crested Powder Puff with pinkeye. For this I steeped 2 chamomile tea bags (no other ingredients) and once "completely" cooled and left at room temperature, I flushed his eye with it every two hours. I swear his pinkeye was completely gone in two days. (This remedy was from that same book, it is written for humans but many home remedies work on our pets as well). (06/09/2008)
By Brenda
Neem OilL is a rapid cure for ear infections. I used it with my Cockapoo and it worked in a couple of days, where three weeks of using other treatments failed (olive oil, mineral oil, olive oil with garlic, water/vinegar all failed). The effectiveness of Neem Oil was impressive and I recommend it highly.
Start by warming the Neem Oil by sitting the closed bottle in a bowl of hot water for about 10 minutes. This is important because Neem Oil becomes viscous or solid when cold and you must warm it up so that it flows easily into the ear.
Then, using a dropper, fill the ear canal with pure Neem Oil, then massage the ear canal for about a minute, then wipe off the excess with a cotton ball. Do this once a day at bedtime for a few days so the dog sleeps with the oil in its ear. Neem Oil seems to be absorbed into the tissues so do not use it for more than a few days. (09/08/2008)
By Steven
My dog had ear infections for many years, but now I wipe out her ears once a week with virgin coconut oil and she hasn't had one since. I also give her probiotics, because hers seem to come from to much yeast.
This is the best way to get rid of ear infections. Coconut oil is anti fungal, anti bacterial, and it kills mites. As a bonus, it does not hurt at all and your dog or cat will not mind you cleaning their ears. It is all natural and it is very cost effective. Try it, you and your pet will love it. (09/27/2008)
By Eveline
You received a great deal of friendly helpful suggestions for your dog's ear problem. Some told you to go back to the vet. Some recommended a home remedy. Some gave you info on an existing product that worked for them and some told you what may be the "ROOT" cause of the infections. This is my suggestion. Got back to the vet and insist on the vet telling you why he has recurring ear infections. What is the ROOT cause? Then ask him how to prevent the problem from happening again.
I found a web site that seems to know what they are talking about and they have an ear cleaning, maintenance Patented product "Earkleen", that works. It cleans out infected ears so that the medication can get to the infected tissue. It also is a great infection preventive cleaning solutions. Get educated, check the site Petearkleen.com. (09/30/2008)
By Dudley
My Chesapeake Bay Retriever also gets frequent ear infections. They are yeast infections caused by dampness in the ear. The vet gave me T8 Keto an antifungal-antibacterial flush and Mometamax a daily ear drop. It seems to work fairly well. Also, I agree with a fellow dog owner who posted do not give your dog Rimadyl. I almost lost my other Chesapeake due to this drug. $2000 of treatments later she finally pulled through. (01/18/2009)
By Katherine
I have been reading about all the dogs with chronic ear infections and I have a Cockapoo who has also been suffering as well from constant yeast infections. The last time the vet suggested it could be a grain based allergy and we would need to try grain free dog food. He had been eating only IAMS, but I was supplementing with Purina Little Bits. I removed the Purina from his diet several weeks ago and that has seemed to do the trick. I do have medicine that the vet said we should use once or twice a week. There is grain free food out there but it is a bit pricey. All of his treats are grain free, chicken strips and his favorite, dried sweet potato. (06/15/2009)
By Jeanne
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