Kyna Posted April 8, 2011 Report Share Posted April 8, 2011 Hi. Since moving from Alberta to BC, our girl Isla has recurring ear infections. We live in a relatively dry area. She got spear grass in her ear right when we moved here (3.5 years ago). The removal and subsequent infection seems to have caused permanent deafness in her left ear. The infections are usually in her left (deaf) ear but are often also in her right ear. We see the vet, on average, every 3 months. The vet prescribes Surolan and I clean her ears regularly with Oti-cleanse and/or Derma Pet Malacetic HC Otic. Isla is doing great for her age but the ear infections and then the week of treatment really take a toll on her. If she has an infection in her good ear, the liquid Surolan causes her to be deaf for the week of the treatment. She is also a stoic dog but when her ears are bad she yelps at getting an ear scratch. What else can we do??? Thanks, Kyna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rushdoggie Posted April 8, 2011 Report Share Posted April 8, 2011 I wonder if the infections could be unrelated to the initial issue. I had a dog with a mild food allergy who had chronic ear infections...once I addressed the food allergy they went away for good. Maybe she has a grass or food allergy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted April 9, 2011 Report Share Posted April 9, 2011 ^^ I agree. Allergies can often be a root cause of repeated ear infections. It may be worth trying an elimination diet and talking with your vet about possible course of action for dealing with an environmental allergen or three (including perhaps allergy testing). J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maralynn Posted April 9, 2011 Report Share Posted April 9, 2011 Agree ^^ Chronic ear infections often point toward a food allergy. FWIW, the latest issue of Whole Dog Journal has a very comprehensive article on allergies. If you subscribe to it you can read the article online right away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2 Devils Posted April 10, 2011 Report Share Posted April 10, 2011 Food allergies are a root case for ear infections. My toy poodle can't have food with gluten and my borderjack can't have grains. Depending on what you are feeding you may want to see about switching foods. At the same time, I would also ask the vet to put Isla on an anti-fungal for a month. The recurring ear infection could be happening because it has never really cleared up hence the anti-fungal which is just a pill. We changed Riot's food, ear meds for 2 weeks and an anti-fungal for a month and his ears finally improved and he has maybe had 2 ear infections in the last 4 yrs and those were my fault for not paying attention to what folks were feeding him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyna Posted April 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 13, 2011 Wow. Thanks for the info. The vet graphed her episodes and they don't seem to follow a seasonal allergy pattern. My brilliant husband deduced that her ear infections actually started 4.5 years ago (a year before we moved) but right when she changed from Adult food to Senior (Lamb to Chicken). Here ears actually looked clear this time. So we are going to: 1. Change her slowly back to Lamb, and 2. Culture her ears the next time an ear bothers her. Of course an elimination diet may be in the future. Thanks for helping us work through this. Kyna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Root Beer Posted June 3, 2011 Report Share Posted June 3, 2011 Sorry to bring back an old topic, but I wanted to let you know about something that helped my oldest dog. He has had chronic ear infections, and a lot of black ear gunk, his whole life. Switching him to a grain free diet helped a lot, but it didn't quite take care of the problem. I use a product called Zymox Otic with him. It's an enzymic product, so it's different from ear cleaning products. You might want to check into it and check with your vet about it. I use it about once a month of so to maintain his ears and he hasn't had a single infection since we started using it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodenlion Posted June 3, 2011 Report Share Posted June 3, 2011 Kyna, George came to me with severe chronic ear infections. A raw diet took care of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyleek9 Posted January 13, 2019 Report Share Posted January 13, 2019 Has anyone had any experience with using Claro Otic Solution. Vet packed it into both of my BCs ears because of ear infection and it seems to be having a negative effect on her. My BC is also on a very strong dose of Cephalexin which is also new to her, so I am not sure which is causing the reaction. Will call vet when open, but I have never had this experience with her ears before. No new diet , so I kinda ruled out food allergies and we have lived in the same area since she came to us 5 years ago. I m at a loss and open to suggestions from the group. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GentleLake Posted January 13, 2019 Report Share Posted January 13, 2019 I can't help with much of this but you should know that allergies can develop at any time. For most of my life the only thing I was allergic to was cats, but now I'm allergic to a whole bunch of things, including dogs, that I wasn't before. So it may make sense not to rule out the possibility that she's developed an allergy to the food. Maybe try something new for a while to see if it makes a difference? Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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