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Ear Problems

630 views 4 replies 4 participants last post by  Rottendog 
#1 ·
I have another question. Newlie has been very healthy since he came to live with us other than for his ears. He has been on probably at least 5 rounds of antibiotics in the 16 months we have had him and ear drops galore. I am religious about cleaning his ears. At one point, I was cleaning his ears every day (and getting a lot of gunk out every time) but my vet said to only clean them twice a week and so I have to restrain myself. It is not ear mites, I had the vet check. So, then I wondered if some of this was allergies so I put him on Earthborn Great Plains Feast which is grain-free and bison as somebody told me that a lot of dogs are allergic to chicken.

Newlie would not let anyone clean his ears when we first got him, but he lets me do it now as long as I do not put anything with a pointed end (any bottle with a nozzle) near his ears. I can put drops on my finger or on a cotton ball or soft piece of cloth and put that in his ear, but if he sees a nozzle, it is all over. (I have tried to hide it with my hand, but he always sees it.) I know this is part, if not all of the reason he is having trouble, no medicine can get deep enough to really help. He does not growl or nip or anything like that, he just is very strong and my husband is disabled and cannot help.

I am open to any suggestions or ideas.
 
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#2 ·
I started with this when Raina was a puppy. I wrap a kleenex around my finger and use that to clean her ears. When she was a pup she was a bit more wiggly but now she will just lie down and let me clean them. I always treat her for good behavior while cleaning is happening. She even accepts it when the vet puts the light in her ears to look now.
 
#3 ·
Its important to try and find out the cause of the infected ears. Whether an allergy or perhaps a medical problem.

I have a GSD that had infected ears constantly, they were always full of dark wax, when bad would go very red, inflamed and sore looking, she was always scratching at her ears and must have been a real irritation for her. I was always at the Vets, they constantly gave me antibiotics, ear cleaners and nothing worked. This went on for a couple of years, until I changed Vets and my new Vet diagnosed her with thyroid problem. She has been on medication for thyroid for close to 2 years now and not once has she had infected bad ears.

Talk to your Vet about possible thyroid issues.
 
#5 ·
My Flat Coated Retriever went thru maybe a year or more of ear infections right after I adopted her. The vet tried her over and over again on the same meds and the infection kept coming back. We finally got it knocked out after the Vet went to a more expensive, broad spectrum antibiotic drop for her ears combined with antibiotic pills. You may want to suggest a different med and see if the Vet is open to that. As for cleaning, I use the tissue around the finger technique on all my dogs. If I get an infection and need to use cotton balls and liquid, the vet taught me a trick on that. Put the medicine on the cotton ball, put that into pups ear (make sure it's not small enough to get lost in there) and rub the outside of the ear to clean. They usually love that and even the worst about their ears don't usually object too much. Good luck with Newlie's ears!
 
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