Flapping Dog Ears!!

[lorihadams]

Yep, Tonka gets the brown mucky stuff. I only have to do the cleaning 2 times a month now. In the beginning I cleaned every other day and applied ACV every other cleaning. The ACV swabbed on his ear with a q-tip is all I use now. Meds were useless. I keep an eye on it and clean more if necessary but it is at least in check now. Changing his diet helped too....he eats Diamond Lamb and Rice now.

 

[TanksHill]

I will have to check Toby's food. I know it's lamb and rice but I wonder what else they have in it. Hummmm!!!!

I told my dh last night it was a grain issue. He cracked me up. He said "first the kids now the dog geesh".

g

 

[sheaviance1]

I had a bloodhound who had a major problem with yeasty ears. That is, until three things happened. We changed her dog food, and that by itself helped a little. We started feeding her yogurt several times a week and that also helped a little. The thing that helped her the absolute most was purchasing a new dog bowl that was wide enough to get her face in, but narrow enough to keep her ears out. Her ears stayed cleaner at feeding time and that was the biggest key for her.

 

[TanksHill]

I'm sorry to laugh. I couldn't imagine having to deal with sloppy ears.

My Tobias is a 120 lb Rottie. I don't think his ears come anywhere near his bowl. He is on dry kibble alone so I don't think there is a problem there.

Thank you so much for the advice though. What type of food did you switch your dog to?

g

 

[lorihadams]

He cracked me up. He said "first the kids now the dog geesh".

 

[sheaviance1]

She was originally on Iams lamb & rice, and we switched her to a special canned dog food for dog's that are recovering from a digestive disorder, then to Diamond brand dog food per the vet. It most certainly helped, but I don't really know why. Oh, and yes, messy ears are a hoot, until of course, they flap their ears. Imagine a small explosion in the dog food bowl.....I had more on me than she had in her.

 

[MorelCabin]

crush some garlic and add to olive oil. use a cotton swab (drenched in the oil) to apply. don't get the garlic pieces in the ear

 

[TanksHill]

Between the garlic and the ACV this dogs gonna be smelling nice!!!!

 

[savingdogs]

You really can't tell just by smell. Yes, some people can identify the yeast smell, but how would you know if the yeast is secondary to a bacteria?

Yogurt in ears - bad idea! Vinegar solution washes should NOT be used if ears are bloody/broken skin (Yeouch!!). Ears should only be lceaned every 3 days max to avoid more irritation and creating a nice damp place for yeasties and beasties to grow.

Make sure you're flooding, massaging and cleaning the ear canal (right behind the edge of the dog's lower jaw) not just doing cosmetic cleaning in the ear flap.

Keepin mind that if there is a "plug" in the ear, no amount of cleaning at home is really going to help.

I'm with Tortise on this one. Some dogs are just prone to yeast infections. If you are going to clean their ears, make sure that it has some sort of drying agent in the cleaner so it helps the ear dry out, yogurt would make it too wet. I would use a product designed for cleaning dogs ears ( meaning it probably has a little alcohol in it) if I were going to clean more often. Some dogs get a gunky plug thing deep down in the ears and it takes a little doing to get it out. It is important to know what you are doing however and be looking inside the ear as you do it, so it would be good to let the vet check the ears for you first and then when they have them under control, maintain them.

Dogs shaking their head continually are going to be prone to a new problem, ear hematomas. The whole flap swells up big and it requires further treatment. You really want to avoid that.....it becomes a lot more trouble, mess, expense and then will tend to recur. So I'd take the dog in to let the vet get it cleared up.

Then, at home, change food to something more compatible to your dog, and get on a regular ear cleaning program. Adding yogurt to the food would be a better way of using that product, if you asked for my opinion. But I've had dogs prone to this problem and the only way to clear it up was to be religious about cleaning the ears every week with a drying ear cleaner (I use Epi-Otic).

 

[MorelCabin]

Between the garlic and the ACV this dogs gonna be smelling nice!!!!

We use garlic and onions in our ears anytime we get an infection or an earache. Works every time, and works with yeast as well. It should be cleared up within a couple of days with this remedy...and really, you don't smell it unless you're smoochy