My Dogs Have Ear Infection All The Time - Page 3

SL-
 
A friend of mine who breeds and shows Golden Retrievers says this stuff is the best for ear infections: You make it yourself and it is called Blue Power Solution. Here is the website that will give you the ingredients and instructions: http://www.ehow.com/way_5663441_blue-homemade-dog-ear-cleaner.html  As soon as you see the slightest bit of redness or a rash, use at once. Keep using blue stuff after ear is clear for a week. One word of caution- don't use this if your dog has deveolped raw areas in the ears. This solution has alcohol  and it will really burn. I have used this stuff only once, but  it worked great.

As for ear maintenance, squeeze a cotton ball with the blue stuff in ears once a week or every ten days. Alway be sure to shake well before using.

BTW, really do your homework on the raw diet before you start feeding it. It's important to feed the correct ratio of meat, bones and organs. A good place to get info is: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/rawfeeding/  I hope this helps.

Char

 Thank you kindly mam.  I want to thank all of you for all of your great advice.  I appreciate your help and so do my dogs.

SL......I had the same problem with one of my dogs. I changed his diet for 6 months, didn't help, got medicine from vet which worked for about 2-3 weeks. I used drops and kept them clean. My friend advised me to get the ears flushed out because he thought maybe a little bit was left deep enough that wasn't seen and it would just rebuild back up. After 2 flushes, I haven't had a problem. Might not work for your dog but its an idea.

beet pulp is another thing in dog food that causes ear infections, i stay away from corn,wheat,soy,beet pulp..

Sorry for the repost....stupid smart phones...

SL- I forgot to mention that the Blue Powder Solution is used as a wash. You flood the ear with it, massage for a bit and then wipe it out with cotton balls. As I said, my friend with the Goldens says that he's never found anything better and the cost is minimal which is a plus.

I also should mention that I feed my dogs a raw diet and am thrilled with the results. My female had awful allergies when I adopted her two years ago and now she is doing fantastic. It took a little time, along with some other supplements before she stopped the itching, but I'll never go back to feeding kibble. My son and his wife adopted a Border Collie in October and the dog would not stop itching and chewing and was making himself raw. My son and his wife tried Taste of the Wild kibble for about two months, but nothing changed.  After one month on the raw diet he did a complete turn around. I know there is a lot of controversy regarding raw feeding, but my personal experience has been a good one and I am completely sold on it.

Good luck with your pups.

Char

A dog may be allergic to a variety of different things, both what it eats and things in it's environment.
May also be a weak immune system adding to the problem.
Constant flushing of the ears can cause more problems than it cures.

Moons, I agree that constant flushing can cause problems, but is usually necessary when treating an ear infection, from what I understand. This particular blue powder solution will dry quickly and does not create a moist environment like some of the other ear cleaners I have seen. It has alcohol (can be subsituted with witch hazel), boric acid powder and gentain violet solution in it. Regardless, flushing the ears is definitely something that should not be done for an indefinite period of time though. Also, it is my understanding that if you clean the ears (not flush) out weekly with this Blue Powder Solution that the likelyhood of an infection occuring is greatly minimized. Again, my dogs don't have chronic ear problems, but  this information I provided comes from someone who I consider to be extremely knowledgeable. He has bred and shown Goldens for decades. Of course, Goldens are much more prone to ear problems than our GSDs due to their ear structure. All of that said, of course it is best to find the root cause of the problem. Anyone who has dealt with an allergic or immune compromised dog knows that can be quite a challenge, not to mention a huge expense. I personally would try a  raw diet or at least a grain free before doing anything else.
Char

Southerm Love
Sorry to here of the problem with your Dogs that is a really miserable thing for a Dog to have i feel sorry for them
However if all your dogs have this Problem i would bet it is food related
Buy a Kibble which does not contain Soy, Wheat, or  Corn, Steamed Oats is okay
Better still buy and feed them a Kibble which does not contain Grains at all, To clear this up will take 3 weeks Go to your Vet and ask him for a bottle of SUROLAN made by the firm Janssen
What you do first is to get some tissues and clean out as much gunk as you can reach they put several drops of SUROLAN in each ear, and smear it around the skins on the flap, Do this twice a day each time cleaning out the Gunk before you put in the drops very important as i said it will take 3 weeks
The cost is about 15 dollars a small bottle no more you will need two bottles for your dogs for 3 weeks, Once the problem has cleared up then put in drops once a week and clean the ears out one a week, But change that Kibble for a No Grain one or you will forever have the problem
The problem occurs because the Fungus likes Damp dark places back in the ear Canal, but you can clear it up if you do as above
Best
Steve1