Dog has a problem. (1 Viewer)

[brett76]

im with others could just be an ear infection. my dog gets them from allergies. if its allergies it will be accompanied with lots of rubbing of the face and paw licking. just hit up your vet and get some drops for it and start cleaning the ears regular

 

[CruisinMT]

I'm taking her in today all the vets I've called seem to think that it is an infection.

 

[saint60]

is your dog in the water a lot? dogs with floppy ears can easily get infections because moisture can't drain out of their ears. their ear canal goes down into their skull vertically then turns and goes in horizontally, so it acts as a sink p trap for moisture. then the floppy ears act as little incubators for infection.

my labs are in the water everyday for field trial training and my one dog used to have a perpetual ear infection, so i just make sure to clean their ears with cotton balls and a little mixture known in the field trial circuit as "purple stuff" once per week.

the purple stuff is homemade. here is the recipe. since starting to use this, i haven't had one dog with an ear infection.

16 oz. bottle isopropyl alcohol (or witch hazel)
4 tablespoons Boric Acid Powder
16 drops Gentian Violet 1% Solution

 

[CruisinMT]

Saint thanks for the recipe, where would i find the bottom two ingredients?

 

[saint60]

Saint thanks for the recipe, where would i find the bottom two ingredients?

i got mine at walgreens. the violet stuff is what is used to treat thrush in babies and to die beef with the inspection numbers. kills yeast. boric acid powder kills bacteria and bugs.

 

[BOUNDER]

CruisinMT -

You need to take your dog to the vet and let him/her look in the ear to rule out ear mites or confirm they are there.

He/She can also look at cytology of the ear discharge to determine what ointment might be indicated for treating your dog's ear.

I do not recommend you treat your dog for "mites" with an OTC medication without a vet telling you to.
Why??
mites usually involve BOTH ears... uncommon for dogs to have mites and even moreso for dogs older than puppies... so mites would be the LAST thing I would think of... unless I saw them with my own eyes.

The pictures do NOT look like this ear has developed a hematoma - although that can happen.

Nothing will make your vet happier than to hear the suggestion that all this started the last time he was at the vets - should go a long way to engendering good will to be utilized on future visits.

Specific cause of ear inflammation is often elusive - unless there are mites. Sometimes you just have to treat the symptoms such as the inflammation or the secondary infections - like yeast or bacteria.

Good luck.

Yup, yeast infection. My Lab gets them when she doesn't lounge in the sunshine. White vinegar & Isopropyl alchohol mix using soaked cottonballs works - also feeding a couple tblsns of yogurt to keep the dog regular helps too. There's hard core meds but they are expensive and severe imo.

 

[scottm]

My golden has been getting the same symptoms, we treated and treated, finally got him on special allergy-free food and everything cleared up. Interesting mention of lounging in sunshine, hadn't thought of that, he's mostly an inside dog. Not that Michigan has much sunshine this time of year, but he doesn't get out a lot. Perhaps I'll get him a tanning package...