Remedies/Meds for dog ear infection?

[RubySlippers]

I have a 9 month old yellow lab who tends to get ear infections. She's already had 2 or 3 since we've had her (we got her at 12 weeks), and she has another one now. I'm fairly certain that it's the same as before, and I really can't afford a whole vet visit just to confirm this so I get get a scrip for more ear drops (we've spent so much at the vet in the past 6 months or so - between the dog and our cat with newly diagnosed kidney disease, it's ridiculous!) . Does anyone know of anything that I can use either "over the counter" or natural remedy? They have generally been yeasty when she gets them.

Oh, and while I'm at it, anyone have any advice for managing to get the drops into her ears, or to even clean her ears with a minimum of upset and trauma for everyone involved? She had a bad infection the first time and I assume it hurt to put the drops in, so now she's terrified to even let us look at her ears, let alone hold her still and try to get anything in them. She's quite big and very strong and she gets so upset! Makes it hard to keep up the care her ears need to prevent more of these infections.

Thanks!

[Ola_]

Well first of all 2 to 3 ear infections in 6 months is a lot! I would strongly consider a diet change, eliminate grains from it completely. The food may be more expensive than what you're using now but it will save you money on vet costs, plus avoid potential complications that come from frequent ear infections.

Since it's happened so frequently you can ask your vet if they would just prescribe the medication and let you pick it up, without a full visit. But I don't think I'd be trying home remedies if the ears are infected already. Those things are painful! For getting her used to handling, does she enjoy gentle ear rubs? I'd start there and rub her ears, look into her ear, then keep rubbing. You'll have to do this frequently because it takes a lot of positive experiences to compensate for the times when her ears hurt.

Also, I've found having DH hold the dog while I need to do this kind of stuff really helps. I can get it done much faster, with less stumbling around, missing the ear, trying again, getting frustrated, etc. My dogs really pick up on our emotions also so me getting stressed makes it all worse. Of course have a treat ready to give the second you are done, soft treats work very well for this.

[Nicole915]

Hmm, I wonder if there is something going on other than just the ear infection. Does the dog have any GI signs? Does the dog swim a bunch?

As far as treating the otic infection with OTC meds, there isn't much to use. Because humans don't get ear infections in the same way that dogs do, there aren't products geared toward fixing the issue.

If you've been into your vet with that frequency, you should be able to get a refill on your meds, unless the vet wanted to see her if it got worse, to determine if there are other issues at work. For maintenance, many people have good luck with 2 parts water, 1 part vinegar on a soft gauze. This will not treat the infection, it is simply for the in between times in order to deter another infection.

You indicated that the infections are generally yeast, do you know if the other times it was gram positive or negative?

I know she's a big, strong and bouncy pup right now, but you'll want to get her as accustomed to having an ear flush as possible. This means getting her used to people examining and working on her ears, pairing the ear maintenance with good things (like super special treats).

(I'm not your vet, and this isn't medical advice)

[Edit: Ola, you're reading my mind, and you type faster!! =)]

[RubySlippers]

Thanks! We do give her very expensive, high end food, the only grains in it are steel cut oats and brown rice. (Actually, we were looking at downgrading it, unfortunately, once she's a year old, since we really can't afford it anymore...). I think it's actually been 2 ear infections (besides this one), but it feels like it's been such a long road. Both of the other times it was after she got her ears wet - the first time we didn't realize we should clean them after playing in water.

She doesn't like us touching her ears at all, but I will start to try to rub them gently when she's getting pats. My dh definitely has to hold her when we do drops, and I put them in, but it's still getting near impossible to hold her and get them in - she totally panics. It's to the extent that whe dh and I are standing together and we look at her a certain way (not even sure what way...) she will cower and go running to her crate because she thinks we're going to do the drops/cleaning!

[RubySlippers]

Oops! cross posted with Nicole! Gotta run right now, but will get back to you!

[Oubliette8]

with my last Lab we had repeat ear infections until I realized that I had to put ear drops in immediately after she got wet. That solved her problem. With our basset hound, we had to clean her ears once a week, every week, or she would get ear infections. More regular cleaning might help your pup.

As to how to do it with less trauma- none of my dogs LIKE getting their ears cleaned, but if she's truly terrified, you might try desensitizing her- it might start by simply holding the bottle of drops and feeding her treats, once you can hold it near her, you might hold it and play with her ears while giving treats, then hold it, keep the cap on and pretend to put drops in, then moving on to actually putting drops in. It might take a few weeks to get where you want her to be, and continued practice would probably be necessary. Don't start that until this infection is cleared up though- the idea is to do it gradually, and if she HAS to get ear drops, you lose the effect. For now, I'd give a great treat (liverwurst, cream cheese, something she loves), put the drops in, and give another treat as soon as your done. If her fear isn't too bad, it should help.

As far as home remedies, you can find various homemade ear washes n the internet. I've never used any of them, so proceed cautiously. There is one using gentian violet called "the blue stuff" or some variation, and I know some people use colloidal silver although I'm not sure how.

[Ola_]

I have to say I would still look for a food with no grains, regardless how high end your current food is. I did a quick google, are you using Acana? Depending on what sources you can find raw is actually cheaper than kibble but of course that is up to you.

I have heard great things about the genetian violet cleaner that PP mentioned from a friend with a cocker spaniel that had awful issues. Between that and switching to a grain-free raw diet things have really improved for them.

Just wanted to add that I'd definitely get her on some medication quickly. The worse the infection gets the more negative the ear drops will be for her because of pain.

[RubySlippers]

Originally Posted by Nicole915

Hmm, I wonder if there is something going on other than just the ear infection. Does the dog have any GI signs? Does the dog swim a bunch?

As far as treating the otic infection with OTC meds, there isn't much to use. Because humans don't get ear infections in the same way that dogs do, there aren't products geared toward fixing the issue.

If you've been into your vet with that frequency, you should be able to get a refill on your meds, unless the vet wanted to see her if it got worse, to determine if there are other issues at work.

She has had some GI issues on and off, also since we've had her. We narrowed it down the the Milkbones we had been giving her and since we switched to a better biscuit treat from the vet's things have been just fine (so glad to have figured it out!). A friend mentioned wheat in relation to the Milkbones, I wonder if that's part of the problem...

I was actually considering a product I had heard of called "blue coat" that a friend had used with great success on her dog's ear infection - she had it for her horses, apparently it's an all purpose cures-what-ails-them sort of treatment. I am hesitant, though, both because it's not "from the vet" and because it will dye her and everything that touches it until it dries blue, and being that she's almost white, and she struggles and fights when we go near her ears, that's sort of a big deal.

We asked if we could get some more ear drops for this infection, and they told us that the vet would need to see us again to write a new scrip for them.

Originally Posted by Oubliette8

with my last Lab we had repeat ear infections until I realized that I had to put ear drops in immediately after she got wet. That solved her problem. With our basset hound, we had to clean her ears once a week, every week, or she would get ear infections. More regular cleaning might help your pup.

As to how to do it with less trauma- none of my dogs LIKE getting their ears cleaned, but if she's truly terrified, you might try desensitizing her-(snip)

As far as home remedies, you can find various homemade ear washes n the internet. I've never used any of them, so proceed cautiously. There is one using gentian violet called "the blue stuff" or some variation, and I know some people use colloidal silver although I'm not sure how.

Yup, that's the stuff - the gentian violet "blue coat" I'd been considering. Funny, since we dealt with thrush for 3 mos when ds was born and are intimately aquainted with gentian violet because of it!

She doesn't swim much, but she does like to sniff around in the wading pool, buckets, etc. that the kids are playing with, and probably gets her ears wet more than we had realized. The cleaning has become such a procedure that we admittedly did let it slip, though her ear that's not bothering her looks good (clear, pink, not red, and no brown gunk). Even the ear that's bothering her doesn't look too bad, really.

I will definitely get some really good treats (we've just always used her normal ones) and work on desensitizing her to the ear drops/cleaning once we get this figured out.

Originally Posted by Ola_

I have to say I would still look for a food with no grains, regardless how high end your current food is. I did a quick google, are you using Acana? Depending on what sources you can find raw is actually cheaper than kibble but of course that is up to you.

I have heard great things about the genetian violet cleaner that PP mentioned from a friend with a cocker spaniel that had awful issues. Between that and switching to a grain-free raw diet things have really improved for them.

We are using Acana - do you have any resources on feeding raw/grain free? I'd definitely look into it, but I don't have the first clue about how to go about it!

I'm feeling a bit more confident about the gentian violet stuff - dh really wants to try it, but I've been more hesitant.


Thanks so much, all of you, for all of your input! This is both dh's and my first dog and it's a lot to take in when there are issues!

[Ola_]

For grain free you'd probably look for a kibble, just keep in mind that these foods usually have a different carb source in there. So although they are grain free they're not carb free. Typically it's the grains that dogs have issues with, but I wanted to mention that.

I've been feeding my dogs raw for a few years now and really it's not difficult once you know the "rules". The key items in a raw diet are meat, bones, and organs. If this is what you're interested in I can talk more about it but I don't want to overwhelm you with info if it's not. Here are some other good sites with info about raw:
http://rawlearning.com/
http://rawfeddogs.net/ (check out the Recipes section for pictures)
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/rawfeeding (this is a discussion group on Yahoo)

I hear you on the first dog challenges - it was a bit of a shock to me when we got ours, even though we had dogs when I was little.

[Nicole915]

Originally Posted by RubySlippers

I am hesitant, though, both because it's not "from the vet" and because it will dye her and everything that touches it until it dries blue, and being that she's almost white, and she struggles and fights when we go near her ears, that's sort of a big deal.

Please don't let the fact that your vet doesn't carry it deter you. I am a vet, and there are lots of things I'd love to carry, but can't due to contracts and limits on shelf space.

I saw a patient this morning who was on Taste of the Wild, and the owners were really happy with her skin. Solid Gold is another fantastic food. I'm personally anti-raw, but that is my own bias, due to having to open up so many of the raw food dogs to remove obstructions (I have some catholic guilt over how much money I'm making off owners who are clearly very invested in their dogs wellness.). Talk to your vet, see what she thinks for your dog. Nobody here is going to be able to give you that same quality input.

I saw that you called your vet, and they indicated that you'd need to come in again. That is pretty much the response our reception team gives, but leaving a message for for a call back can be far more effective. That will mean that the vet will pull your chart, determine if its chronic and decide on her own if she's comfortable with a refill. Would also be a good time to confirm using the gentian violet and letting her know you're considering going grain free.

[RubySlippers]

Thanks, Ola, for the raw info! I'll check it out!

Nicole, thanks for all your advice. I will look more closely at the gentian violet stuff, and I'll also look into those foods (I hope I can find them where I am!). I will also check back in with our vet and see if we can get a call back.

Thanks again, all! I'm not feeling nearly as alone or stressed about the situation as I was!