Dog with problem ears HELP

[tashwilson]

My four year old pointer collie cross Jack has had problems with his ears now for just over a year. He shakes his head constantly and scratches them to the point of yelping. There is a very strong smell from them. They are red and it is just making him miserable. He has been to the vets numerous times every time the vet comes up with another guess as to what it is. From food allergy, yeast infection to built up 'gunk'. Each time he is given a new treatment but nothing seems to be working. I was very hopefull after putting him on a gluten free diet but seems to have helped him in other ways apart from his ears. Just wanted to know if anyone else has any similar experiences or if anyone could give any insight as it is getting too much watching my dog in pain.

 

[CorvusCorax]

My dog was tortured with his ears, same as yours, green gunk, crispy skin, scabs, lots of shrugging from vet, changed vet, switched to lower protein food, was prescribed Epi-Otic ear wash and he has been grand ever since. Good luck

 

[Bosworth]

sounds like an infection has set in, but that might be the secondary cause. Has the vet done skin scrapings? You need a referral from your vets to one who specialises in dogs.

 

[Toffee44]

Teal is the same. I think its a grain allergy now, I have gone kibble to raw back to kibble for a month when my freezer packed in and now back on raw again.

Whenever he was on kibble they flared up. The kibble was Skinners duck and rice, and for a week harringtons (I had to take him to the vet the end of that week with stonking ear infection) My vet has also pointed out that Teal has very narrow ear canels, I wish I could have used this when he bogged off beating the other day. lol


I clean with epiotic as per CC recommendation but only do so once a week for procautions sake as with raw they dont even gunk up.

 

[smiffyimp]

Hi, if they stink and have black gunk it will be ear mites - I know them well My setter gets them all the time and can scratch until blood is drawn. The smell can also be a yeast infection

If really bad, a steroid shot from the vet will calm things down, then get some ear medicated cleaner - get from the vet, not the Bob Martin stuff its crap. Youll need to apply a couple of times a day for a week or so. This will clear it all up. To maintain use something like Clean Aural, or Thornit powder https://canineconcepts.co.uk/en/search?orderby=position&orderway=desc&search_query=thornit

This stuff is super to keep the bugs away, put a small amount in each lug once a week. If your dog is prone, like my Setter, youll get used to it!

 

[CorvusCorax]

My dog was not ear mites, the first vet was adamant, despite my protestations but the second decided not and it has cleared up a treat with the correct treatment.
I also used Thornit for a while but beware, it is very strong and can cause further irritation.
As Toffee, EpiOtic is only needed once a week as opposed to hoking in the dog's ears every day with Canaural or Cleanaural or Surolan or.....
Not disagreeing Smiffy, just in case the OP's dog is just a very sensitive flower like mine

 

[smiffyimp]

My dog was not ear mites, the first vet was adamant, despite my protestations but the second decided not and it has cleared up a treat with the correct treatment.
I also used Thornit for a while but beware, it is very strong and can cause further irritation.
As Toffee, EpiOtic is only needed once a week as opposed to hoking in the dog's ears every day with Canaural or Cleanaural or Surolan or.....
Not disagreeing Smiffy, just in case the OP's dog is just a very sensitive flower like mine

My poor Setter has been prodded and poked so much she's not allowed to be delicate I agree I hate putting too much glug in her ears - thankfully at the mo they are OK, dogs with ears like hers are prone to bugs, so we do the best we can on a minimalist scale.

 

[Boulty]

Hey there my personal opinion if you are following your vets instructions to the letter and making no headway would be to request a referral to a vet specializing in these types of problems (maybe to a veterinary dermatologist, esp if he has had other skin issues) as they see these kinds of problems every day and often get sent the cases that nobody else has had any luck getting to the bottom of so are very thorough. Downside of this of course would be the cost and where your closest vet offering referral for these kinds of problems is located. If you can't afford a specialist referral / closest vet you could be referred to is blooming miles away then getting a second opinion from another local vet may be an option if you aren't happy with the progress your vets are making. Also, not for one minute suggesting that you don't, make sure you follow any instructions given to the letter and make sure to complete any courses of treatment, even if you think the problem looks to have cleared up. Finally if this is a longstanding problem it may be that due to the damage all that inflammation will have done to the poor boy's ear canal he could always need a bit of help with ear cleaning maybe once a week as Toffee & CC say. Fingers crossed someone can come up with a way forwards for you to help Jack be a bit more comfortable!

 

[FMM]

Watch out with the steroid shot - my poodle went to my ex when I went to live in rented. He had an ear infection and they simply gave in a steroid jab.

If they had plucked his ears and put drops in he would have been fine.

As a result of the steroids (they admitted it was due to that) the dog became diabetic, is now blind as a result of the diabetes and has cost my ex a small fortune in medication over the past 2 years. And a perfectly healthy dog with itchy ears had his life ruined.

 

[GinaB]

Beastie dog had the same issue, the skin in the ear canal has thickened to such an extent that the vet was discussing giving her a new ear hole (which wouldn't have helped the issue, the skin was still thick and sore)

Soooo, I changed vet's within the first consultation with my new vet, he said she had a protein intolerance, her food was switched to a low protein food and now the dog is grand Skin is the ears has healed up well and although the ear canal isn't as wide as it should be (her excuse for her selective hearing ) I have a happy little dog

 

[ladyt25]

Our oldie is like this with his ears, in fact he seems hyper-sensitive all over his body and seems to be constantly itchy (although he doesn't scratch a lot) if you touch him on his back or something. He will also shove his head under your legs if you're on a chair etc and seems to want to rub his head/ears. If you rub his ears his back leg will start going as well. He is rather hard of hearing now too but i am suspicious this hearing issue is to do with the problem with his ears as opposed to actually deafness if you know what I mean. We have seen the vet and they said he had a fair bit of gunk in there but the liquid we were prescribed to drop in and rub etc did not seem to have much effect.

 

[tashwilson]

Hi just to say thanks alot for all your advice and stories. I am liking the sound of the epi-otic ear wash as he has allready had steroid jags and other ear creams. Jack is back to the vet on friday so will keep updated on how that goes.

 

[Cinnamontoast]

I use Thornit with great success but if it's longterm, do as you're doing re vet visit. Let us know how he gets on.

 

[tashwilson]

Jack has been given a new treatment which after years of torture seems to be working. Its still early days but have allready seen an improvement.

Apparantly it is as simple as that he has alot of excess wax and gunk deep down in his ear which is causing him discomfort. Regular cleaning does not get to it so we have been given "Clean Aural". This brings the gunk further up his ear so we can clean it out. He is to get this done every day for a week and so far it seems to be working so i am very glad. Jack seems to be alot happier.