Ear Problems?

[hawaiiman41]

Hi, I am not really familiar with these forums so please forgive me if I am posting to the wrong room. 
I have a question that I am hoping someone can help with.   
I know that poodles in general have problems with ear wax / infections etc.   Our mini-poodle has a constant problem with her left ear.  She has a dark waxy material that I have to constantly work at.  I have a perscription from the vet which only helps a little and then it comes right back and never really seems to completely clear it up. Of course she hates me fussing at her ear anyway but likes "treat time" which she always get afterwards.  As a matter of fact she "demands" it. haha
  I do not think that her ear has ever been totally clear despite many trips to the vet and hours of trying to clean it out. grrrr!!!  This little girl is the love of my life and it just kills me that I cannot do anything to give her PERMANENT relief from this. I also worry about her being able to hear as well.  Any and all suggestions are appreciated as the vets do not really seem to be able to offer much on this.

[Helen]

Hi hawaiiman!  Glad you joined us!

I'm no expert.  But I've noticed that Chula's ears get bad when I give her food she's allergic to.  Namely, when she has something with wheat (or wheat byproducts) in it.  I really think allergies can contribute to bad ears.

Our first Standard, Teddy, had terrible ear problems just like you described.  We cleaned and cleaned them, but it never went completely away and was always terrible.  Later on he seemed to be losing his hearing.  Now that we are aware of how food allergies affect Chula, my husband and I feel SO bad about Teddy.  Perhaps if we had only changed his diet, he would have been fine!  But it simply never occurred to us!

[zefi]

Welcome to the PR Hawaiiman!

The best way to start a new discussion would be to start a new topic. You get that option when you read a thread, at the bottom. I think.  I'm pretty new to this type of board too!

Michael, can you separate this into a new topic? I'm sure there are tons of people with ear problem dogs who'll want to participate in this discussion.

I agree with Helen on the food allergies thing. Go that route first and see how it goes. The other thing I've heard from people is that switching their dogs to a raw diet can make the world of difference. Katherine (who is on PR but very silent) was considering a surgery to cut open the ear canal to let air in and the ears improved so much she didnt need it when she switched to raw feeding. I'll let Katherine tell that story herself.

Montana has one ear that is constantly producing a waxy substance. She eats mainly raw food so its not that. Its not sore, its just dirty. I clean it out and I think its improving but its still not as pink as the other ear. Pagan had a few ear infections growing up but never serious. Now she's cut off I have put her ears into a tassel type of trim and I think that helps keep the flow of air going. You might want to try that for a while. It might not be as pretty but the hair will grow back if the problem isnt sorted.

Good luck!!!

[Paula]

Welcome Hawaiian!

Ear problems can be an uphill battle.

Diet can be a huge factor. But so can genetics. Dogs who inherited a smaller than should be ear canal will get more infections. I have even heard of pups born with ear infections already.
Sad but true.

Tasseling or shaving down the entire ear helps with air circulation. And can aide in preventing future infections.

But to treat an exisiting ear infection there are several things you can try.
First have you tried the vet route? Any infection should be brought to the vets attention.
Of course some of us have been revolving door customers with ear infections, done a full course of treatment and had the infection still be present. If this is the case and the vet is charging outragous sums of $$$ and giving you no good results then try some of the following (note: try one not all at the same time, not every treatment works on every case):

Flushing (low pressure only) the ear with a warm (not HOT) douce solution, like massingil. Or you can use distilled water (1 quart) and hydroden peroxide (1 cup) and make your own ear flush.

Cleaning ear daily with a solution either 1/2 hydrogen peroxide and 1/2 vinegar (either apple cider or distilled) or 1/2 rubbing alcohol and 1/2 vinegar (hydrogen peroxide will discolor black coats by the ears and neck into a brown). I use a cotton ball and swab out ear well if ears are not infected and just dump a cap full in an infected ear.

Anti fungal cream. A golden breeder told me this trick golden people use for wet ear infections. They buy anti fungal cream over the counter. Like jock itch or athlete's foot cream. This cream also works for ringworms if you ever get any. I buy the brand Tinactin when needed. That cream causes all the icky black waxy stuff to just melt out of the ear and does the deep cleaning for you instead of flushing the ear.

If there is a big infection I do the anti fungal cream first. It takes a week to use the tube up. Then I flush the rest from the ears with a douce product (I do not make my own as I like the convience). Afterwards I clean with the peroxide/vinegar solution daily.

And when the ears are all clean and clear I get lazy and stop doing the daily washing and if I go about a month without a cleaning the infection will creep back.

So it is not a permenant fix but a temporary one.

Good luck!!
Paula

[Helen]

I use the 1/2 rubbing alcohol and 1/2 vinegar like Paula mentioned.  It's so much better than anything the vet ever gave us.  I put it into one of those pointy plastic bottles (like ketchup bottles).  I shake it well.  Then, first I take a large cotton ball and squirt some of the mix onto it, and set it aside (to be ready).  I take my bottle, and squirt some of the mix down the ear canal, and immediately grab my wet cotton ball, and poke it down into the ear.  (I use large cotton balls so it won't slip too far down the canal where it's hard to get it out again.)  So I poke that in there, and squish the ear from the outside,  underneath there where the pocket is.  Then scoop out the cotton ball, wiping up as I go.  Then I get a new ball, squirt the mixture on it, and continue to clean the outside of the ear.   Then I let Chula go, and she jumps up and shakes and shakes her head.  She come back to me, and I help rub the itchies out of her ear. 

If I do this every day on a bad ear infection, it clears up in just a few days. 

Keeping the hair plucked out of the ears also makes a huge difference.  I have Chula lay down with her head on my lap (while we sit on the floor).  It helps if I show her that she'll get a treat after we're done.  She lays quietly and lets me pluck and pluck.  (I use the flat tweezers that have looped handles like scissors).  I talk to her the whole time and tell her what a good girl she is.  Then she's so happy and proud of herself when I let her up to shake and bounce around a bit, and give her a little treat after each ear is done.

[zefi]

I swear by the 1/2 vinegar 1/2 alcohol solution. My vet in Melbourne recommended it! I use it to clean out my kids ears all the time.

[Bookend]

I have to chip in on this one.

Dougal, my old 17 year old rescue poo has had bad ears ever since he came to live with our family almost 10 years ago. Mum tried all the vets remedies, I've had him nearly 7 years now, I tried all the usual cleaning things and he's gone to a BARF diet, no grains, but still his ears were yucky, brown gunk even with weekly cleaning.

Saba my SP also had a bit of gunk in her ears.

I finally listened to the Poodle Groups who swear by the "Blue Powder" treatment. Its not easy to get all the ingredients in Australia, especially Perth, but a friend who had a young gunky eared poodle too finally found a chemist who could access all the stuff and make it up for us. Meant we had to buy about 20 bottles of it as he could only get the ingredients in bulk (I don't believe you have that problem in the USA and the ingredients are readily accessible)

Anyway, the upshot is, after 2 weeks of treating Dougals ears were clean as a whistle, no inflammation, no gunk, Saba's are lovely too. I even forget to clean them now and its been nearly 5 months.

You can get the original recipe at

http://itsfortheanimals.com/BLUE.HTM

My vet is amazed and impressed but says I often do that to him LOL, you've just reminded me that I had to send him the web site too:)

I really wish I had listened to people and tried it years ago as Dougal is deaf now, I think he hears a little more since all the gunk has gone but his life could have been so much better.

[zefi]

I've never tried to get/make Blue Lightning Pam, but how is it on white dogs? Thats one thing that always worried me. Can you imagine using it on Montana's ears and then entering a blue striped dog at a show? 

[Lesly]

I've had great success using 50% Witch Hazel (in place of alcohol) and 50% white distilled vinegar as a weekly cleanser for my Poodles ears.  I don't pluck much hair, but do some.  I've found the "plucked clean" ear causes more problems.  I always pour the solution onto the cotton ball, place the cotton ball into the ear, then gently massage.  If I see anything on the cotton ball, I saturate another and do so until clean.

Rabies vaccinations created ear infections in Maddy, and it would be worse in one ear than the other, or, just in the one ear.  When the black gunk is present, I don't use the alcohol/vinegar solution, because both will burn an already irritated ear.  This is when I use the Blue Powder solution.  It really works to clear up both yeast and bacterial infections when used as directed, AND, far better than the medications my vet gave me!   Bo had food allergies which created ear problems, but now that he's on the EVO, no more problems.  I still clean their ears every week with the Witch Hazel and vinegar for prevention.

Zefi - the Blue Powder formula will stain the hair - and whatever else it gets on!  Bo, my male, is a light cream, and his ear hair did get a little stained, but found that it came out easily by first putting in a leave-on conditioner in the hair.  I always treat outdoors for this reason - because when using this formula you flush the ear by placing directly into the ear canal rather than on a cotton ball, and the dog will shake his/her head - so, watch out!  LOL

Lesly

[hawaiiman41]

Thank you all for all the helpful information. I have been really busy the last few weeks so have not been on here much. I will keep you posted as to which method(s) we try. I suspect that the gentian violet treatment is the way to go.  We used it as kids for everything from poison ivy to chigger bites.
Thanks,
h-man

[pwdohio]

I have used Gynelotrimin (female vaginal cream) for this type of problem with huge success.

I also use the Purple/Gentian solution and have no problems keeping it in the ear and on the kleenex only.  It is all in how well you hold the head, and probably in how well the dog behaves!

Barb