Author Topic: The Ear the ear the itchy itchy ear  (Read 9323 times)

lins_saving_grace

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The Ear the ear the itchy itchy ear
« on: September 12, 2008, 10:14:24 am »
So, the recheck of Grace's ear was not a good thing.  It's been chronically ridden by yeast infections this year.  The dog nazi tried to get the looker inner machine in her ear and around the bend in the canal today and she yelped and would have nothing to do with it.  His idea is that there is a major build up of wax in there and he wants to put her under and flush it out. 
I've cleaned it out and rinsed it with the ear wash he put us on it earlier this year and still nothing.  He told me to keep cleaning it and washing it out till we have the proceedure.  he also said that the ear drum can rupture because of build up and chronic infections, but once the flush is done it'll heal up and be back to normal.  not that he knows the ear drum ruptured because he can't get in far enough to see.
It'll be about $250 - $300. 

lins_saving_grace

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Re: The Ear the ear the itchy itchy ear
« Reply #1 on: September 12, 2008, 01:49:55 pm »
the good news is that he didn't see any change in her ACL.

lins_saving_grace

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Re: The Ear the ear the itchy itchy ear
« Reply #2 on: September 12, 2008, 03:52:01 pm »
me too.  I sprayed it real good tonight with the ear wash.  I hope i loosened some of that gunk up.  I'm not sure when we'll do this...I have to wait a little bit just because I'm still recovering from last month's $300 vet bill from the UTI and the yeast infection.  I'm sure it will be soon and I'll break down and charge this on the Visa.  She's not uncomfortable or upset. 

Offline marinafb

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Re: The Ear the ear the itchy itchy ear
« Reply #3 on: September 13, 2008, 09:35:35 am »
 :'( :'( :'( :'(

Sorry to hear about Miss Grace's ear Bryce and Milo are going to the samething Milo has never had ear problems and now he does. Bryce has them every other month. Milo will not let me touch his ears he lifts his lip at me. So i have to take him to the vet every other day fun wow! Bryce would let me do anything to him he is so trusting.
Hope she heals fast Marina
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lins_saving_grace

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Re: The Ear the ear the itchy itchy ear
« Reply #4 on: September 13, 2008, 11:22:13 am »
I got that bottle of ear wash in her ear real deep 2 times since yesterday.  she's not shaking her head as much.  the vet thinks it's just a wax build up.  he says it's common and a tough place to clear up since it's dark, cool and covered up.  it can be allergies even. 
I hope your ear problems clear up soon too.  that's a sensitive little place for them since it turns at the back of the ear canal.

Offline sc.trojans

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Re: The Ear the ear the itchy itchy ear
« Reply #5 on: September 13, 2008, 06:54:23 pm »

I see these ear infections all the time in my foster dogs. My golden rescue also came home to me with the yeastiest ears I had ever seen and vets just wanted to keep putting her under to flush them.  This isn't the best place to start since you want to address the cause FIRST, otherwise, you will be flushing all the time and chasing it - you want to get in front of it.  And putting a dog under is not a benign event - it takes a health toll each time so not to be done lightly.

Ear infections - especially the just one ear, recurring thing is allergy. It frustrates me when vets don't test the ear material since it can be either yeast, or bacteria or even both.  They are treated very differently and many vets just presume and send customers home with solutions that then never cure (an antibiotic will do nothing on yeast for example). 

One foster boy I had was 2 years old and his owners had been buying these solutions and antibiotics for his entire life....all I had to do was test, see it was both yeast and bacteria and realize that to cure the yeast, I had to find the cause first (bacteria can be treated, but yeast must be prevented first).  Usually the allergy is diet related so I put him on a homemade elimination diet and immediately found the allergy - chicken - once I rid his diet of the offending food, his ears cleared up and have been completely clean since (over a year).

In the case of my golden, I had her on a raw diet from the start so I started evaluating the diet one ingredient at a time, starting with starches (sugars can exacerbate yeast). It turned out that the starches were her problem, specifically carrots, and just removing these from her diet and her ears cleared and have been squeaky clean for the past 7 years.

What sets up the yeast imbalance in the system is another issue - I believe over-stimulating the immune system is the root cause.

So I encourage you to find the root of the ear problem - the medications are just symptom suppressive and will keep you in a "chasing" mode - you will rather prevent these infections in the first place.


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lins_saving_grace

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Re: The Ear the ear the itchy itchy ear
« Reply #6 on: September 14, 2008, 01:43:43 am »
they tested  the stuff on the swab.  it was a small amount of yeast.  Grace wouldn't let him get in any farther to look or swab more.  that's why he suggests the flushing out under anesthesia.

Offline shangrila

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Re: The Ear the ear the itchy itchy ear
« Reply #7 on: September 14, 2008, 04:42:23 am »
Holly has a good point. Grace could deffinately be getting these infections from an allergy to her food. What is she eating now? If it has corn in it, you should deffinately try and switch to a a food that at least doesn't have corn in it, since that is the one food ingredient most notorious for causing allergies and yeast infections
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Offline vmimom2006

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Re: The Ear the ear the itchy itchy ear
« Reply #8 on: September 14, 2008, 04:58:33 am »
OK guys what do you all reccommend for a grain-free diet? Athena has 1 ear that is always rather gunky. I'm all for preventing problems before they start.
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Offline shangrila

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Re: The Ear the ear the itchy itchy ear
« Reply #9 on: September 14, 2008, 05:55:40 am »
vmimom2006, the most popular grain free is probably EVO http://www.evopet.com/ Some other ones that come to mind are wellness core, nature's variety instinct, and solid gold barking at the moon.

The dog food project also has a list of grain free dog foods http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=grain_free

If your dog is having ear issues you should deffinately try grain free. If you don't want to go grain free, you should at least look for a good quality food with no corn in it
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lins_saving_grace

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Re: The Ear the ear the itchy itchy ear
« Reply #10 on: September 14, 2008, 07:25:42 am »
Grace is on Fit and Trim per the vet's recommendation s.  I asked Friday if it could be an allergy to something and he said no and he knows what food she's on. 

lins_saving_grace

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Re: The Ear the ear the itchy itchy ear
« Reply #11 on: September 14, 2008, 07:58:01 am »
well i guess i look for a different food.  she's got to stay on a weight healthy food since she gains weight so much.   she's not itching the ear, so it's possibly just a wax build up.  maybe I should go to a different vet and ask the same questions.
« Last Edit: September 14, 2008, 07:58:46 am by Lin »

lins_saving_grace

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Re: The Ear the ear the itchy itchy ear
« Reply #12 on: September 14, 2008, 08:17:24 am »
thanks.  i never thought to doubt my vet's opinion.  the dog nazi isn't the one who got me started on it.  Dr. Whitthof told me about it.  the dog nazi is ok with her being on it. 
I've cleaned her ear every day this weekend and it's not red inside.  the yeast they found Friday was a very low amount.  i'll look around at other vets and maybe call the one i go to and ask again more pointedly about the food allergy.  i was also concerned about allergies because of other people and dogs in the area so close.  I hope she's not allergic to her boyfriend.  I hate to avoid people and dogs in general, but it's almost like getting an STD for dogs and staying away from them keeps you from contracting tummy issues and ticks or fleas and all kinds of things.  not everyone takes good care of their dogs.  and who knows, maybe there is mold or something in someone else's apartment.  I just changed my shower curtain because I saw a small amount of mildew on it.  that's just not good for anyone.  I clean and clean and stay so aware of everything around us.  I'm almost paranoid about keeping other people's germs away from us. 

Offline sc.trojans

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Re: The Ear the ear the itchy itchy ear
« Reply #13 on: September 14, 2008, 05:51:47 pm »

Holly has said it all as well as it can be stated.....gra in free is critical here, and adding a probiotic invaluable.  These two steps can readily be tried without ever having to head to a new vet.

And heading to vets with this question will likely just cause you more frustration.  Given how bad the advice is that you have already received from your vet (holy crap that is an awful food and that fact that he doesn't know about yeast = diet connection - scary!) you can appreciate how little vets know about nutrition.  They only know the little they do from the ONE nutrition class they took, from Hills so it is truly like asking a car dealer about your transmission.  In the car business yes - but knowledgeable about how to repair your transmission - no!  Vets can't discuss nutrition because in their defense, never trained in the subject at all.

So, if you want opinion beyond layman here, then please consider contacting a vet nutritionist or vet with added nutrition training.

Or, just try a grain free food and add a broad based probiotic without dairy or soy, such as Primal Defense (Garden of Life).  As Holly said, you really need to replenish the beneficial flora in the system (antibiotics strip the entire system) and re-balance it - a probiotic is key.
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