Ears -wwyd

Asha

Asha

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Stirling started having itchy ears/ slightly runny eyes over the summer. So took him to the vets and they prescribed ears and eye drops. It helped a little. Then a few weeks ago he started itching his ears again, basically rubbing his ears on the floor , whether thats the carpet or the stone / concrete floor. So whizzed him back to the vets. This time they gave him steroid tablets, and said his left ear was quite warm, red and 'closed' . The steroids worked a treat, the course finished a couple of weeks ago and this morning hes started rubbing his left ear on the concrete again. Vet said if it restarted then he will have to go on steroids for the rest of his life. Hes only 3, it sounds like an awful long time to be on steroids. Has anyone any other ideas / alternatives i could try
 
Tawny couldn’t tolerate beet pulp, it gave her yeasty and infected ears. She had a single protein diet on the whole and only flared up if she ate a lot of something she shouldn’t have. So I think probably it’s an allergy.
Has the vet tested to see what sort of bacteria? When T’s was bad it was found that the normal ear stuff didn’t work so she she had something else. I can’t remember the details tbh.
 
Clodagh said:
Tawny couldn’t tolerate beet pulp, it gave her yeasty and infected ears. She had a single protein diet on the whole and only flared up if she ate a lot of something she shouldn’t have. So I think probably it’s an allergy.
Has the vet tested to see what sort of bacteria? When T’s was bad it was found that the normal ear stuff didn’t work so she she had something else. I can’t remember the details tbh.
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The ears are clean, no pus or dirt etc. Hes fed on Canagan lamb, which has always suited him. he has been munching on the horses feed again. They get dodson and horrell safe and sound. Maybe its that ?
 
Think about anything in your household that might have an impact...carpet (mites) or floor surface, washing detergent, cleaning product, a type of plant or tree.
(As an aside I know a couple of people who douse everything in air freshener and perfume, their clothes and cars reek of it, I don't know how their dogs cope, it must be like chemical warfare!!)

Exclusion diet or think about an allergy medication, my female is on the Cytopoint jabs.

Have you the luxury of a second opinion? Some vets are better at firefighting allergies than others.
 
Maybe ask your vet about trialing antihistamines? Cheap and worth a shot.

I also used some non-vet ear drops when my terrier had an itchy ear (probably from Amazon) and that cleared it up. She hated me for a week though
 
We were also told our 2 year old, Dalmatian x Beagle would need to be on steroids for life after 3 ear infections.
One ear infection cleared up relatively easily and then 6 months later we had steroids to clear one that was noticeably worse. Got over that (we thought) and back after a couple of weeks to which the vet said they'll just keep coming back and worse. I honestly think it just hadn't completely cleared, so it 'came back'.

That was 8 months ago and no problems since. I'd think the infection hadn't completely gone when we thought it had. Could that be the case with your dog?

She has also had two cytopoint injections after flare ups with itchy skin so we know she has sensitive skin but not what sets it off. The cytopoint is fantastic for itching but obviously won't clear up an infection.

Personally I'd see if you can get away with one more course of steroids.
 
Daisy's had the odd ear problem. The vet has used a long acting solution down her ears which has worked well. Thankfully they administered it (she's a complete bugger). It's pricey, around £50 I think. But definitely helped sort out the issue on the two occasions she's needed it.
 
CorvusCorax said:
Think about anything in your household that might have an impact...carpet (mites) or floor surface, washing detergent, cleaning product, a type of plant or tree.
(As an aside I know a couple of people who douse everything in air freshener and perfume, their clothes and cars reek of it, I don't know how their dogs cope, it must be like chemical warfare!!)

Exclusion diet or think about an allergy medication, my female is on the Cytopoint jabs.

Have you the luxury of a second opinion? Some vets are better at firefighting allergies than others.
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Thanks for the above . I’ve made a start on cutting things out tonight . Told husband no air fresheners and Stirling is now banned from the stables .
So we will see if that helps
 
Amymay Again said:
Daisy's had the odd ear problem. The vet has used a long acting solution down her ears which has worked well. Thankfully they administered it (she's a complete bugger). It's pricey, around £50 I think. But definitely helped sort out the issue on the two occasions she's needed it.
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Thats interesting , do you know what it’s called ?
 
His food might have undergone a recipe change but I’d be looking hard at the horse feed. Turns out one of mine has stopped chewing a paw since removing raw chicken from his diet.

The runny eyes make me think yes, it could be environmental: did you change anything over summer? I’d start him on anti-histamine as @HopOnTrot says.
 
Cinnamontoast said:
His food might have undergone a recipe change but I’d be looking hard at the horse feed. Turns out one of mine has stopped chewing a paw since removing raw chicken from his diet.

The runny eyes make me think yes, it could be environmental: did you change anything over summer? I’d start him on anti-histamine as @HopOnTrot says.
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in the summer while i was away my daughter switched his feed, but i switched it back. Thats when it started. He hasnt gone back on that food since. Hes allergic to chicken so we always check ingredients.
We have had the builders in , but theyve finished now and we are just waiting for flooring to go down. So concrete dust could still be an issue. New floor goes down Dec8th so hopefully that will sort that out.
His eyes are fine now, its just his left ear. Ive got some anti-histamine in, i got loads for the horses . Im assuming they are ok to use ? I will check with the vet. Thanks
 
Any possibility that the builders have been feeding him scraps. My old white boxer had a huge skin flare up when builders were in. Turned out that it wasn't a dust allergy but it was his wheat allergy flaring up due to sandwich crusts. Also check that postmen and dustmen haven't been giving biscuits as I've had that problem too.
 
Thistle said:
Any possibility that the builders have been feeding him scraps. My old white boxer had a huge skin flare up when builders were in. Turned out that it wasn't a dust allergy but it was his wheat allergy flaring up due to sandwich crusts. Also check that postmen and dustmen haven't been giving biscuits as I've had that problem too.
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Thats a distinct possibility. Did you test him for allergies ? Hes due for his booster next week, so i could ask them to test for allergies. Just not sure if there are different methods etc
 
Asha said:
Thats a distinct possibility. Did you test him for allergies ? Hes due for his booster next week, so i could ask them to test for allergies. Just not sure if there are different methods etc
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We didn't need to test him, it was so obvious, cut out wheat and everything was great, ate wheat and he was red and inflamed. Being white and short coated made it easy to see.
 
My old JRT became very allergic and ears and eyes were worst affected. She eventually went onto aproquel as it seemed to be an environmental allergy not food or shampoos etc. It worked well. One ear had recurrent infections due to the thickened scared skin. This had a small op to open up the canal once she was under control. This was also successful.
 
Just a little update. I took Stirling for his booster on Tuesday. vet had a look in his left ear and said its infected. So prescribed some ear drops. I was a bit surprised as he wasnt scratching it as much, but im not a vet. So he started on Tuesday with the drops. Last night about 9pm he started shaking his head and rubbing his ear the worst ive seen, he was quite upset with it. i tried everything to soothe it for him. So ive called back this morning and they agree with me to stop putting the drops in. So i have to take him back in today for them to have another look and take swobs to see whats going on. Hes very tired this morning.
Im wondering if hes scratched it and its got infected that way, as it didnt appear to be infected before. It doesnt smell, theres a bit of brown stuff when you look down and its a bit red. Hoping this doesnt morph into another blooming drama for him.
 
Heck has had a load of ear infections. The daily washes and drops do nothing. The only thing to clear them up was the one hit wonder liquid that the vet had to put in. That cleared it up completely a few times, for it to return a year later. Last time but one was two treatments to get rid, but with the ear swabs and lab exam too, it was around £900. This last time, it was only around £600 including ear swabs.

Then, my BF asked the very reasonable question as to why it kept happening, and the vet said allergy and we could probably prevent them with steroid drops, twice a week. I wish they'd suggested that years ago! He is obviously more comfortable.
 
I had an ongoing ear problem that steroids and antibiotics didn't totally fix. Turned out to be thrush and one dose of thrush treatment fixed it.
 
Red-1 said:
Heck has had a load of ear infections. The daily washes and drops do nothing. The only thing to clear them up was the one hit wonder liquid that the vet had to put in. That cleared it up completely a few times, for it to return a year later. Last time but one was two treatments to get rid, but with the ear swabs and lab exam too, it was around £900. This last time, it was only around £600 including ear swabs.

Then, my BF asked the very reasonable question as to why it kept happening, and the vet said allergy and we could probably prevent them with steroid drops, twice a week. I wish they'd suggested that years ago! He is obviously more comfortable.
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Just back from the vets. They swobbed it and said its a yeast bacterial infection. So have given him the one hit wonder liquid you mentioned. Plus some steroids. Bless him he screamed and yelped, it was awful. Ive just paid £139 for everything, so think we got a bargain then.
I asked about allergies, he said choc labs are prone to issues, but he hasnt any other rashes and his right ear is fine, so hoping its just a stubborn infection. If it continues i will ask about the steroid drops.
 
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