Ear yeast infections in labs

[Violet2]

Our big yellow lab has annual problems with yeast infections in his ears. Each summer we spent $400-$500 on vet visits and medicine. ($200 last week alone!)

We regularly clean his ears and keep an eye on them.

Oddly our black lab is not as susceptible.

Is there anything else we can do to prevent this? It's costing too much $$$$ that we don't have right now.

Are there any natural remedies for this kind of infection or DIY stuff we can do?

V

[Ola_]

What are you feeding him? It could very likely be a symptom of a food allergy or intolerance (grains are a common culprit).

While you try to figure out the diet angle, I would start using the "power blue" ear treatment (as a treatment and preventative). Here's a link: linky. I'd definitely find the root cause though because recurring infections can cause problems in the ear canal, like scarring.

[luv-my-boys]

our neighbors had labs and it seems that labs are prone to ear problems, maybe because of their ear shape? anyway they swore by using gentillian violet (the purple stuff) it does stain so your dogs will have purplish ears but it really seemed to help theirs. We have german shepherds (who can also have ear problems) and we routinely clean them out with a wash we got at our vets (its basically a alcohol type wash) and our vet recommended a few otc ones that are carried at petsmart/petco. We clean them out with a cotton ball at least 1x a week or more if they seem dirty.

[greenmagick]

cleaning them frequently with acv can help.

what is he eating...many many ear infections are diet related.

[Violet2]

I doubt it's diet b/c it's only in the warm weather. Winter and Fall he's fine.

And we are changing dog foods anyway b/c there was a dead mouse in the last bag and the company never responded to my complaints.

ACV and Genetian Violet. Anything else? It's yeast. What about probiotics somehow?

V

[greenmagick]

it could still be diet....the warm weather exacerbates the problem. If its a yeast overgrowth, it all starts in the gut.

Does he go swimming a lot?

[Ola_]

Gentian violet is one of the key ingredients in the "blue power" ear solution. I actually had a look at our local drug store and they had all of the ingredients needed for it (and could order the GV). None of it was particularly expensive either.

I do use a 50/50 ACV/water mixture for my dogs' ears but they don't need any special treatment usually, just maintenance. They do get noticeably more gunked up during allergy season though.

[Oubliette8]

Does he swim a lot? My lab had recurring ear infections until we started using ear cleaner every time she got wet. After baths, swimming etc Once I started using ear cleaner every single time she went in water, the ear infections mostly stopped.

[Violet2]

Nope, no swimming this year.

Our yellow labby is uh...'special'. He's afraid of water. We did get him to where he will swim, but it's not his passion. Neither is fetching. Or eating.

Yes, we have the only food averse non-swimming lab on the planet.

So not hearing much in the way of ideas beyond ACV and Genetian Violet. I will look into them, but I am not hopeful. Kind of bummed, I thought there would be something we could do beyond what we already do (cleaning the ears all.the.time. with ear wash).

V

[greenmagick]

Until you find out the cause of the ear infection, there is not really much else you can do but manage and treat.

From my experience, the majority are allergy related, usually food. Summer amps them up because you add in heat and humidity and the yeast grows faster. But you said it wasnt food. Possibly look into environmental allergies? Other than that, sorry, I really dont know what else to say?

(garlic oil or garlic/mullein oil is another option for treating)

[Arduinna]

Our dog gets them too we use the enzyme stuff, can't remember what it's called.

[ShadowMoon]

My APBT/Staffordshire mix gets ear yeast infection all of the time. I spend a lot of money at the vet for medicated ear drops that work for a bit but the infection always comes back. (Plus it's great fun wrestling my dog to the ground 2x a day to get the drops into her )

She is prone to seasonal allergies as well and this always amps up the infections. I'm trying everything....food changes as well. I feel awful for her. I'm going back to the vet next week and hopefully she'll try something new instead of the same old ear drops that don't work for long.

I'm going to try the ACV/water solution as rinse. We'll see how that goes. Good luck OP. I feel your (and your pup's), pain.

[stephienoodle]

Our foxhound has primarily seasonal yeasty ear infections. His were impacted by diet. Once we took him off of kibble and put him on raw, the infections drastically reduced. We went from constant infection in the warmer months, to only having problems if we went too long without cleaning his ears. They've been a little bit worse this year... but I think that's because his diet is now raw and toddler leftovers.

[buttercup784ever]

Are you sure it's yeast? The rescue told us our dog had this problem, and the vet we took him to gave us eardrops. We've changed foods four times in the last two years. But when he got an infection on a foot pad they gave us a strong oral antibiotic, and we haven't had a problem since! I thought the antibiotic would make his ears worse, but it's all cleared up now. I just clean his ears once a week with the ket flush stuff the vet gave us. His ears are spanky clean.

[ChristyMarie]

I have had success with cleaning with a 50/50 water/vinegar mix. I figured I would try that before moving on to the purple stuff which I would have needed to special order. The vinegar worked for us.

Good luck!