I tried vinegar and water and it hasn't helped much. Is there any other suggestion for topical treatments?
By Vince
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Many long-eared dogs are prone to yeast infections. If this is the case with your dog, you could try over-the counter products used to treat women's vaginal yeast infections, such as Monistat (I buy the generic version). Just squeeze some of the cream on to a soft cloth and thoroughly wipe it in the ear, and then massage the ear to make sure the cream gets down into the ear canal. You can do this several times a day.
I would offer the following advice: Stop feeding soy, wheat and corn. Diamond makes a good line of foods that have none of these items in them. You can buy in bulk and save money.
I found a web site that Iams dog food had posted (unfortun-ately I haven't been able to find it again), but it explained how the grains effect the mucosa or lining of the stomach and rids the stomach of the natural bacteria necessary in their digestion. (Humans also need this.) Antibiotics also kill the natural "flora" or the healthful bacteria dogs need. According to this article, this causes what veterinarians call "allergies". I was surprised after reading this article that Aims and Science Diet contained grains. Most of you may already know this.
I buy 4Health dog food at Tractor Supply Company (TSC). I think they are the only ones who carry this brand. 4Health has no grains and the price is less than those dog foods without grain in pet stores. The puppy formulas and some of the adult choices have probiotics, the bacteria needed for digestion. (I was talking to a clerk one day at a Thrift Store about the problems I was having with my dog and his ears, and a customer just leaving told me to go to TSC for dog food. You don't know how happy I was to get this "inside" information.) But you can find good alternatives at other feed stores, like Diamond. TSC also carries another brand that's name is Wild Nature?? that is very good too, just more expensive than 4Health, but still less than the brands sold at pet stores or veterinary offices. You can find these brands at TSC, too. I have been told Diamond is a good dog food, but I can't get it here in the Panhandle of Florida. I have bought a bag of Diamond dog food once in Atlanta when visiting my daughter who was living there at the time, but there wasn't so much interest in grains in dog food, then.
I recommend to look at the ingredients on the bag of dog food you are about to buy. If meat is not the first listed then that dog food is not good for your dog. Corn or any grain should not be fed to your dog. I have a German Shepard that will vomit from time to time when I give him the cheaper food. Also, I have been told that your dog will eat less on a diet without grains. I haven't seen that with my German Shepard or Boxer.
Right now my German Shepherd has been rubbing his ears along the furniture and yes, he has black debris in his ears. I am going to try a solution of Mineral Spirits, Boric Acid, and Gentian Violet solution 1%, but I have not been able to find this Violet Gentian solution, anywhere. The pharmacies I went to told me that solution is not available anymore. This is an antibiotic solution and if you have any ear or eye drops that have an antibiotic in it, this can be used. That is what I have used in the past for my Boxer. It worked quickly when she had problems with her ears. But now I have a German Shepherd, my son's actually, who I know has had continuous problems with his ears. My son has used a solution he bought at Walmart for mites. This worked only a temporarily.
I will post the information to this web site as soon as my son emails me the document.
By Diane
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