Please help! My Lucy (Kelpie X) is 3 years old and has had ear infections for the past 2 years. We have been to the vet 10/12 times and Lucy has just finished her 8th course of antibiotics. Her ears have fluid in them and it comes out brown and smelly. She constantly itches and holds her head on the side. Now her ears are red from scratching. It is nearly impossible to put her antibacterial wash in there now as she hates it so much. She is on a diet of roo mince, veggies, and yogurt. We tried diluted vinegar, but it makes her cry and scratch even worse. Please help!
By Stacey from Victoria, Australia
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My son has a black lab and for years she has also had chronic ear infections. Countless trips to the vet, antibiotics and cleaning her ears constantly still didn't help. I did some research and found this medicine (bought it from Amazon) and it really did the trick. It is called Zymox Otic Pet Ear Treatment with Hydrocortisone. Under $20 from Amazon best thing we ever did for her. If you go to Amazon read the reviews, that's what I did. This is a miracle for the poor dogs who suffer continuously.
I need to know if you can put the Zymox topical cream with Hydrocortisone directly into my dogs ear canal - where the infection is? Is it safe ?
Sometimes chronic yeast infections can be cured by feeding yogurt. Just feed a spoonful with every meal. Use the plain low fat version. If your dog is not suffering from a yeast infection this will not hurt it.
Has your vet checked for yeast infections? Totally different from bacterial infections. Also...she may have an allergy to some of the foods she is eating.
I got this stuff called ZYMOXtic enzymatic solution-helps with bacterial yeast infections, helps treat acute and chronic otitis externa. Maybe you already tried this since you have been to vet's office so many times!
I get a bottle of the stuff you squeeze into their ears from the vet and I always have it on hand so I can stay on top of the situation. As soon as Milo starts rubbing his ears or he gets that smell, I immediately put a doze of it in his ears and I rub it in and just massage it for a couple of minutes. It usually takes two applications, but I do it as soon as it appears. Now I only have to do it every couple of weeks, but I always have the stuff so I can apply it. Good luck!
My Westie had a chronic ear "'itch" that the vet said was a yeast infection but didn't seem concerned about it. She was really bothered with it so he said to clean it out with white vinegar and water droplets but that didn't seem to work. Then I read on this website about using vaginal yeast suppositories so I thought it was worth a try.
Hi Stacy, A raw diet would be beneficial for the dog. You can find out from Dr, Pitcairn's diet and book. As I understand, the underlying cause of any illness is their diet. Unfortunately, that may take a bit of time to do to get the dog's health up to par with a diet change. I had a dog years ago who had chronic ear problems. I made a recipe to cleanse his ears with this:
35% food grade hydrogen peroxide-drug stores may sell-or you can get it online. (Do not use the typical hydrogen peroxide sold in every store.)
Aloe Vera
Distilled water
Mix 6 drops 35% food grade hydrogen peroxide to 66 drops Distilled water and add to 2 oz aloe vera. Put the mixture in a container. I don't know how long it keeps, so I would not make a lot in advance. I would warm the mixture up a tad, my dog never liked cold drops in his ears-neither would I. (I put it in a warm bowl of water and warmed it that way) Put several I-droppers full in her ears, massage gently and let her shake it out.
Use daily until it clears up. If her ears are bad, you could use 2x day for several days then decrease to 1x day until cleared.
Good Luck. Life hurts when our animals hurt.
Hi Stacy, I have the World's Most Handsome Yellow Lab and he suffered for years with ear yeast infections. We made numerous trips to the vet and bought expensive ear wash/medications. The final straw for me was when I used the vet medication and blood was on the gauze that I used to clean the canal. I found the follow solution on this website: equal parts of apple cider vinegar, alcohol, and water. I bought eye droppers and put it in his ears, rubbed the ear canal a bit, and put gauze down his ears to clean as best I could. I took a cotton pad, dipped it in the same solution and gently cleaned the rest of his ears. I did this routine twice a day for a week, then once a day for a couple of weeks, now maybe once a week. I noticed great improvement in two days! Maybe give his ears a rest for a day or two and try the above. I bet it will work. By the way, my dog still does not like me to mess with his ears but he doesn't object nearly as much as he did with the vet meds. Good luck! Tricia P.S. What is "roo mince?"
I'm not sure if my last reply went through so any way. I was wondering if you have been taking Lucy to the same vet for the last 2 years? Reason I ask is because I took my animals to the same vet for years. I switched when he misdiagnosed my cat and I lost her during emergency surgery. And I got to thinking he misdiagnosed another animal of mine too. It just seems odd that two years of antibiotics and no improvement. The point I'm making is that u might want to consider switching vets. As far as home remedies, I do not know any and I wish I did. But something can be done for poor Lucy, you just need to find the right vet. I just know it. I hope she gets better soon and I will pray for her.
I had the same problem with my dachshund at one time. Like you, she went through several rounds of vet visits and antibiotic treatments with no help. Finally I went to Wal Mart and picked up some people type over-the-counter people medicine for drying up water in the ears (as in "swimmer's ear"). I put it in her ears according to the directions and within a few days she was doing lots better. Within a week, she was totally better and hasn't had the problem again since (5 years now).
If you have been to the same Vet for the past two years with no result get another opinion or ask this one have they ever heard of cleaning then stitching inner ear? something they should have learned at University. Good luck.
What you're describing your poor pup is going through almost sounds like an ear mite infestation. Here in the States there are a few over-the-counter meds for that--am guessing you've got 'em there Down Under, too. Before trying anything else as a home remedy on your gal, I think I'd take her to another vet first, though.
I had a min pin with the exact same problem. Nothing the vet ever gave her helped. She scratched at them so much they were actually bloody inside and scarred from all the scratching. A friend of mine gave me a recipe for a home remedy which I immediately started using. The infection disappeared almost immediately. The red scaly stuff on the ears cleared up and we never had another ear infection. She loved having it put in her ears......she would see me get the bottle out and come sit in front of me so I could put it in. Here's the recipe:
1 16oz bottle isopropyl alcohol
2 Tblsp. Boric Acid
16 drops Gentian Violet.
Make sure you shake it up before each use. I used an eye dropper to put 2 drops in her ears once a day for the first week. After everything cleared up I would put the drops in her ears once a month. I've heard the gentian violet is soothing to their ears....maybe that's why she like it so much. Most drug stores carry the gentian violet and boric acid but you have to ask for it. Last time I got it I had to order it online. It's very inexpensive and works like a charm. Good luck to you.
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