Chronic Ear Problems - Page 2

One more thing.. someone else mentioned regarding your dogs food. DEFINATLEY SOMETHING TO LOOK AT! If your dog is being fed a diet that is corn/wheat based he may be allergic and hence triggering chronic ear infections, and you may need to change foods. Also recommend asking your veterinarian for the right food for your dog. They may have you go on a very strict diet (i.e. with no treats either) to see if that helps clear up the issue.

Some have suggested merely using a mix of vinegar and water, and for ear maintenance that is certainly an excellent solution, and works on we humans as well. Some may suggest colloidal silver (a heavy metal known to be retained by the body) but after much reading about this material I decided to never use it. I did not mention this in my earlier post, but it should be apparenet that the most important thing is to obtain a true veterinary diagnosis of the root cause of the problem, as a mite infestation has certain characteristics that to a trained eye presents itself to be very different from either bacterial or yeast infestations; and yes, one can have a mite infestation at the same time that either a bacterial or fungal (but never both) is present. Bob-O

The problem with consulting a vet on ear infections is the fact that vets add an anesthesia to the initial treatment, for convenience purpose. I have interviewed many vets over the past few years ever since the AVMA/CVMA changed course. I refuse to place a puppy or dog with an owner if I cannot approve a vet in the area of the home. I cancel all guaranties if I find out that an owner visits an unapproved vet, a vet I did not approve. Any responsible breeder and dog owner can easily invest in a few hundred dollars of a good veterinary medical book and in a year or two learn the basics about veterinary medicine as it applies to his breed. With this knowledge, every responsible breeder can check a vet’s diagnosis before accepting medication or treatment. Vet does not let you into the back with your dog then it’s a good policy to pack up the dog and walk out. With so few good vets left on the American continent, and all forced to work under the guidelines of the AVMA/CVMA or risk loosing their license, we have to acquire veterinary medical knowledge if we want to keep our dogs healthy.

dont ask a vet what to feed ur germans...thats a big mistake...and the motto at my place is "Corn is for Hogs not for dogs" ask a reputable german breeder and do research......on the bloodline of ur dog ,,,vets sell and promote one brand,,,,,,

I have one dog whose ears I have to watch closely and clean regularly or he winds up with an ear infection. I use Epi-Otic with good success once a week, but am considering trying one of the home remedies such as the vinegar and water solution. Getting a good veterinary book is a great idea and will save you alot of headaches and money. I had a post yesterday about hot spots. I had to take my pup to an unfamiliar vet because it was after hours. The vet wanted, at first, to give my 9 month old puppy Baytril. What is wrong with that picture? Good thing I knew better. The point ...educated yourself as much as you can. I don't have myself a good vet manual yet, but when I find one I like I will buy it.

I will be trying a few of the recommendations here and see if they work for me. thanks all

If there are wounds from scratching the ears, vinegar will hurt and sting. Just fyi.

Many of these suggestions are very good suggestions to resolve certain problems. The fact remains, until one knows what is causing the problem, one often cannot permanently fix it. It is no different that many other types of problems. Without that knowledge, one is shooting in the dark and the problem may well return. It is my opinion that when someone has a consistent problem with ear infections etc., that often they have missed the REAL cause of the problem and that is why I asked the questions I did above.

I can go to the vet and he clears it up with medication, don't have the name with me. He says it is a yeast/bacterial infection caused by some dogs that have a trait of having "moist ears". After I get my pooch off the medication usually about a month later the problem is back. I have kept her on the medication for several months at a time or sometimes just a few weeks. Same results everytime, month later it's back. So far the only thing that works is keeping her ears cleaned weekly as noted in my first post. I keep hoping I will try something else that works better..thanks

DesertRangers By definition, GSDS and other breeds with large ears often have "moist ears". A solution that contains isopropyl alcohol and apple cider vinegar, in a 50/50 ratio will keep the pH down and the ear drier. Certainly, you will not want to use this if there are any open wounds or irritated spots because it would sting like hell. Simply wiping them out after putting in a few drops might be a simple solution. Good luck.