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Ear Problems

10K views 28 replies 24 participants last post by  frontier 
#1 ·
Our chocolate male at my parents house has had ear problems after swimming since he was a young dog, now 10, there would be a lot of brown junk and his ears would be very sensitive when being petted. Dog lives 99% of his life outside. Our vet told us that labs have deep ear canals and it is very easy for bacteria and stuff to get in there with water and thrive. He gave us some ointment and its worked over the years but its annoying. He's been feed a large variety of food nothing fancy mostly whatever was cheap, just a family pet. I now have a pup of my own and after hunting him last weekend I noticed the same thing, not the sensitivity but the brown junk. He is only 9 months old, and spends about 50% of his life outside (when no one is home and usually at night) been feed Pro Plan Large Breed Puppy until about a month ago and now is on PPP. None of my buddies have ever had this problem with their pet or performance labs. Have any of you had this problem and if so have you figured out what more specifically than swimming causes it? Both dog houses are wood if that could be a source of the problem.

Daren
 
#2 ·
I have a now 2 year old chocolate lab female that has the same problem she spends most of the time in the house tend to see more of the ear wax when she has been swimming or when the weather gets cold. My vet contributes it to the ears setting low on the head thus causing the ears to collect wax and not allowing for proper drainage. When my dog starts flapping her ears and scratching at them. I use Oti-Soothe ear cleaning solution has aloe vera in it to help moisturize. I just buy it straight from the vet as it is considerably cheaper and the bottle is larger than can be purchased at the pet store.
 
#4 ·
If your puppy is getting brown gunk or whatever you probably need to be cleaning the ears more often. Good ear cleaner with ketoconazole or anything ending in zole in the ingredients list would be a good. the zole stuff knocks out yeast most of the time. Smell your dogs ears often, if they stink clean them. Except for when wet if you see dog shake his head at all clean his ears that day. A shot of cleaner in ear, massage it in for a while and clen with cotton balls a few times. Dont use qtips or stick anything else in there. The Purple stuff is good to have and may be helpful. Use it outside and get away from dog when he shakes as the stuff stains.
 
#5 ·
I have a CLM that had chronic ear infections. He was about 6-7 years old when I got him three years ago. I was having to clean his ears daily to combat the infections. In his case, it was an allergy to poultry. He's now on poultry free, grain free kibble and hasn't had an infection for at least a year. And the daily ear cleaning is now once a month, if I remember it.
 
#7 ·
Another vote for food allergies. My guys ears cleaned up in a few days after I got rid of grains (wheat, soy, corn) from his food. Poultry is usually the first suspect. I still clean them up with a wee bit of toilet tissue every week or two and put a good squirt of Vet-Link cleaning solution in each ear at same interval. Swimming actually helps clean the ears as well in my case.
 
#8 ·
I'm surprised no one mentioned ear mites. I'd have them check for mites. I use Ivermectine for heart worms and it can be put in the ear to kill ear mites.

My vet suggested "swimmers ear drops" after every hunt to dry up the water. Only after you clear up any existing infection. I use it and haven't had a problem in a long time.
 
#9 ·
Years ago we had a lab with chronic ear infections. The tips of both ears were scabbed and bleeding from shaking his head and scratching, and he was really miserable. This was long before grain free food was an option, back in the 70's. At the vet's recommendation we had a surgery done on both ears, where she literally cut open the area below his natural ear openings, providing better drainage. Worked like a charm. I'd sure consider it a last resort today.
 
#14 ·
I am a huge believer in an allergy symptom from a food ingredient/s. Wheat, Corn, Soy, Glutens, Chicken, Beef, by-products etc. can all cause some type of allergy symptom to different degrees. "Been there Done that" as they say... with Golden’s (pets not hunters) in the late 70's & early 80's. One big issue for my dogs was brewers yeast. I live in So. California where fleas were a problem due to the humidity. Battled the ear yeast infection problem for years till I figured it was from a supplement I used Brewers Yeast and Garlic for fleas. I stopped the supplement in fall & winter and started up again in spring and as soon as I started feeding the BY&G the dogs ears got bright red. Stopped the supplement and the ears cleared up. Never used anything like it again. Nutritional yeast is much different and not the same. Found a food back then that didn't use brewers yeast also. Natures Recipe Lamb & Barley formula. I tested a lot of different foods over the years on those dogs and many more dogs since and as long as I stayed away from the grains, glutens, by-products I have never seen another ear issue of any kind ever. Long before grain free foods there were manufactures that use other grains that seem to not cause any problems with ears. Keep in mind every dog is different.
I am a huge believer every dog needs a digestive enzyme like Prozyme or other like it to keep the gut healthy. Especially if you have used antibiotics for ear infections. Antibiotics kill good and bad bacteria in the gut and the enzymes add in the good bacteria.
There are many good supplements on the market all of which will help most health problems. You can Google for more info. PROZYME Products, Total-Zymes, Nzymes.com, Animal Naturals, NUPRO All Natural Dog Supplement, Kelp Products of Florida, and for serious flea allergy issues is Body Guard by Protech Pet Health http://www.protec-pet-health.com/body_guard.html

Hope this helps those who need it. Welcome E-mails at thedogtrainer@yahoo.com with any questions or comments.
 
#15 ·
I just feed a couple of tablespoons of high quality yogurt every day for the young dog and every other day for the older. I never clean the ears and they have no problems! Haven't had any in years. And, you can't keep them out of the water!

BHB
 
#19 ·
You can keep cleaning the ears but that doesn't solve the problem of why it's there in the first place. That's what you need to figure out. Usually if a dog is licking his feet or scratching his ears it's a food allergy. Put him on a limited ingredient food. Buy a good higher end food that is grain free. One with a meat protein he has never had (lamb, duck, venison etc) A limited ingredient is the key. It will take a few weeks but if he does well you know you are on the right track. He isn't allergic to anything you're feeding at that point. You can then reintroduce another protein and wait again to see if he is okay with it. If he has a reaction you need to omit that from his diet. Might want to add coconut oil or salmon oil. Just a spoonful/squirt a few times a week will help with general well being, digestion, skin and coat. Hope this helps.
 
#22 ·
You can keep cleaning the ears but that doesn't solve the problem of why it's there in the first place. That's what you need to figure out. Usually if a dog is licking his feet or scratching his ears it's a food allergy. Put him on a limited ingredient food. Buy a good higher end food that is grain free. One with a meat protein he has never had (lamb, duck, venison etc) A limited ingredient is the key. It will take a few weeks but if he does well you know you are on the right track. He isn't allergic to anything you're feeding at that point. You can then reintroduce another protein and wait again to see if he is okay with it. If he has a reaction you need to omit that from his diet. Might want to add coconut oil or salmon oil. Just a spoonful/squirt a few times a week will help with general well being, digestion, skin and coat. Hope this helps.
Daren,

Many have suggested the possibility of a food alergy. If you treat the symptoms conventionally and they return, I'd take Julie's good advice (Nice post Julie!). Remember, when you switch to a food with a novel protein and limited ingredients you must also stop feeding your dog treats as they could be a source of a food alergen.

I think ear problems are commonly blamed on a retrievers "drop-ears" and/or swimming when that may not be the problem. My first Lab had a propensity for gooey ears. When I took him off of Hill's Science Diet his ears cleared up and we had few problems the rest of his life. All dogs are different, just got to find out what's up with yours.

Good Luck!

Swack
 
#20 ·
What are you using for bedding in his outside doghouse? If you are using straw, especially old straw ,get rid of it and buy wood chips.

I had problems with ear mites when I had beagles several years ago and my vet told me that mites of any kind will lay eggs in the hollow center of the straw, I changed to cedar bedding and the problem went away.

Might help IDK
 
#23 ·
Sorry down in Puerto Rico for work, not as much fun as you might think. He has no bedding, inside in his crate or outside in his wooden house, nothing in it. Thanks for the help. The problem went away in a couple days and I haven't been home but the girlfriend says he hasn't been bothering them. He's been getting the ****s and puking both very infrequent but annoying. Vet said he had a small fever and had some sort of infection. Possible food related deal?? He gets no treats either. PPP only.
 
#24 ·
I have read an article that suggested that chronic ear problems are one of the first signs of a food allergy. I would suggest that you switch to a grain free food as grains are the most common Lab food allergy and see if that helps. You should also take every opportunity to dry your dogs ears after swimming. Your dog does not have to exhibit hair loss or itchy skin. I had a female lab that I fought to clear up her ear infection until she was 8 and then I found out that the grains were indeed the culprit. Another usual suspect is yeast. Brewers yeast is an ingredient in most prepared foods but some have gone to using yogurt for it's pro-biotic properties. You can even have some success by adding yogurt to your dogs die. If your dog has a yeast infection of the ears

The first thing you need to know is How to detect a dogs' ear yeast infection. The dog should display signs that are easily recognized like, shaking his head repeatedly and scratching his ear/ears excessively. You may also notice a foul kind of sour smell coming from his ears and if you look inside you may see a discharge that looks a little like slime. This indicates that this is probably a yeast infection and not something else.
2

Once you've ascertained that it is a yeast infection you need to begin treatment by gently cleaning your dogs ears. Clean the inside with a soft cloth or tissue. Gently clean out any pus or wax{ear wax in dogs will be brown or black in color}.Try to keep your dog calm to keep from injuring him or causing any more pain.
3

Next you will need to get about 1/16 of a cup of warm water and add an 1/16 of a cup of white vinegar to it. Then take your q-tips and soak them with the prepared solution. Carefully insert these into the ear and wipe the inside of the ear ,allowing the solution to drip down into the ear canal. Next massage the outside of the ear to maneuver the solution to all parts of the ear. Now you can wipe some of the excess solution off with a tissue or just let your dog shake the rest out. Do this twice to three times a day for a week or until your dog stops worrying his ears and the foul smell is gone.
 
#29 ·
...Then take your q-tips and soak them with the prepared solution. Carefully insert these into the ear and wipe the inside of the ear ,allowing the solution to drip down into the ear canal...
My vets have told me to NEVER stick a Q-tip into the Dog's EAR Canal! This can cause serious injury.
 
#25 ·
How can we be sure the dog is not suffering from a chronic ear infection?

I had an 11 year old labrador, finally cured of a severe infection. Gosh it took a few vet visits, washouts and medications. Been good for about a month.
 
#26 ·
The new miracle ear med is called zymox. Much better than the old routine of cleaning out the ears with cloth first, then squirt in the medicine. This stuff is enzyme based and requires you to NOT clean the ear first, because that changes the "environment in the ear and irritates the ear tissue". With Zymox, you just squirt it in twice a day and wipe off any excess. It works faster than the old way.

In our case, I feel the issue is both food allergy and frequent exposure to marsh water. Though I feed a high quality grain free food, I am guilty of allowing junk treats at the coffee shop, etc. The waitresses will put a treat right in their face while asking me if they can have a treat. What am I going to say at that point?
 
#27 ·
The new miracle ear med is called zymox. Much better than the old routine of cleaning out the ears with cloth first, then squirt in the medicine. This stuff is enzyme based and requires you to NOT clean the ear first, because that changes the "environment in the ear and irritates the ear tissue". With Zymox, you just squirt it in twice a day and wipe off any excess. It works faster than the old way.

In our case, I feel the issue is both food allergy and frequent exposure to marsh water. Though I feed a high quality grain free food, I am guilty of allowing junk treats at the coffee shop, etc. The waitresses will put a treat right in their face while asking me if they can have a treat. What am I going to say at that point?
Jennifer,

Tell them what I tell my vet (and/or the techs) when they ask if my dog can have a treat. I tell them "NO, my dogs don't eat JUNK!" With puppies I started taking a handfull of kibble with me to give to the vet and techs so they could have fun helping me socialize my pups without feeding them crap!

If you can train a dog you should be able to train a waitress!

Swack
 
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