Ear Infections
I read with great interest Carls positng on ears and follow most of his recommendation (except for the flushing, we tried that and it immediately resulted in an ear infection). Does anyone else have a sheepie with ears this bad? Suggestions?? Sympathy???  |
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| Hi Taskers Mom,
Lots of sympathy from me and a hug while I'm at it!! Yup, Panda, the rescue, has awful ears...and from my previous post you know getting even close to this boys ears is like fighting a ferocious Tazmanian devil! I have to have him sedated to have it done...cost 200 the previous time and just 2 wks ago, had it done again when he was being sedated for grooming. Ha!!! Last time they sent me home with his ear drops and I managed to get one drop in and that was it! Hopefull now with his new hair cut as he's been allowing me to touch his ears...the outside ..but that's a step!! So yes I can relate and offer sympathy! I don't want to give you the wrong info but one of my kids was had numerous operations as an infant and toddler (not for ears). I read in a book that those given lots of antibiotics will have an over abundance of yeast in their bodies- which cause all sorts of problems- One is ear infections. Sounds kinda funny as you treat with antibiotics for the very same thing but as the yeast multiplies quickly it's a never ending circle. One holistic approach is to feed them yogurt to compensate for this. Women are often told to eat lots too after a round of antibiotics..so maybe there is something to this. Ironically, I remembered this bit of info and only two days ago, started adding a bit of yogurt to Panda's food. Too soon to see results as with anything takes a couple weeks..but I'll keep you posted. I wonder if anyone else has suggestions regarding things to do? I wish I could pin Panda's ears up occasionally to let some air in, as with floppy eared dogs they are prone to getting yeast infections as air is unable to circulate as much as a dog with upright ears. Something to think about too. Arg! Long winded post as usual but thought I'd mention this, (again 2 days ago) I dug up two books which I had many years ago for Shaggy. Both books give holistic approaches to treating ailments. I'm currently rereading them again as it was really successful with Shaggy where conventional medicine didn't work. I'll keep you posted if I find out anything there too. Marianne and the boys |
| I would also try to the yogurt, with all those anti biotics it's killing the good bacteria as well as the bad, and the good bacteria helps keep the bad bacteria to manageable levels. I would aos suspect ear mites not just infection if it is black goop. |
| Thanks for the tips. It's not mites, the vet took a swab. I didn't ask about yeast, I should call. It is sooooooooooo frustrating. I take exceptionally good care of his ears and thank goodness he is pretty good about letting me clean them . Poor Marianne, I'd be in deep trouble if he were like Panda.
The yuck is reddish brown and has no paticular odor to it. The funny thing is it is only one ear always. The vet thought for a while that it might be allergies but he said if it were allergies that it would be both ears not just one. I know that bacteria can become resistant to antibiotics over time and wonder if he doesn't have some kind of "super infection" going. I've been threatening to take him to the Cornell small animal clinic for years (I only live 10 miles away from it), maybe it's time. |
| Merck vet manual might be something to read. OK, you won't know all the terms, but it helps understand why the vets have a time with this.
http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/30900.htm If the URL doesn't take you there, then got to merckvetmanural.com, to the ear section and look at the listings, it's about 4 or 5 down....Otis something 
My dear Crumpt had a chronic ear problem, oh what we tried on her 
Paige is a good candidate for trouble as she always has dirty ears! One canal is a lot more narrow than the other, that doesn't help. Did someone here mention shaving the hair at the bottom so more air can get into the canal when the ear is down? I've even been tempted to braid the hair on their ears together so they remain open..........I'm sure that would not be well received. [/url] |
| Started about 13 years ago. I think she got a little water in them, got infection, and got it cleared up.
The infections kept coming back. Antibiotics galore. Peroxide cleansing. Ear drops/ointments. Pulled the ears up. Tried everything............. I found an over the counter medicated ear powder that was working! Couple months later they took it off the market. Sorry, can't remember the name. She's allergic to fleas. One bite and wham! Rubs up against everything, ears get infected, crusty looking, and had a thickening appearance. My vet suggested surgery years ago to somehow open the ear so it would always get air. But, was told that with age (6-8)it would be risky. I opted not to do the surgery because of the risk, and other complications. She didn't seem to have pain unless she had a bad infection. My old girl is 14 1/2 now, and went deaf a few years ago. I believe it was due to the infections. I stopped putting stuff in her ears, but continued with antibiotics, and tried to prevent the unpreventable infections. With my husbands illness, he was given some very potent antibiotics in the hospital that caused a yeast infection in his throat. The doctor had him continue taking a milder form when he came home, but he also gave him pills for the yeast infection, and told him to eat yogurt with the antibiotic. I figured if it'd work for him, I'd try it on her too. So they shared a yogurt every day.  I can't say whether its working or not, but I'm going to continue to give it to her, along with aspirin for pain, and skip the anitbiotics for awhile. But, I can say it did work for my husband.
Good luck to all those with ear problems. I sympathize with you!!! If you discover the cure, please let me know!!!  |
| Remy had one really bad ear ifection...also in one ear. After a couple rounds of antiobiotic oitments and me trying to clean it...we had the vet completely flush it while she was under sedation. Now I use ear wash/dry, and it really helped her. So I've completely left alone, and cross your fingers we are done.
But I totally sympathize, the smell was enough to knock you over, and she got to the point pf avoiding me if she saw anything resembling a tube or a small bottle. Now Marshmallow is going through this treatment. Cats are harder to hold still long enough to get to their ears. |
Daisie wrote: But I totally sympathize, the smell was enough to knock you over, and she got to the point pf avoiding me if she saw anything resembling a tube or a small bottle.
Tasker's ears never smell too much but i know what you mean about the tube or bottle. If he sees me with the 4x4's and ear cleaner he runs the other way. |
| ITs seems to be a constant with Bunker. SHe just had one in May and she was scratching this morning so I grabbed her and took a look. Sure enough, her ear is full of blood. Off to the vet again. I'm going to ask her abnout the yogurt thing. She gets them in both ears though. |
| Hi,
Just thought I'd let everyone know if I've seen results with feeding my furballs Yogurt. It's been 10 days and I do see a difference..no more smell! I've been giving 1/2 - 1 cup per feeding on top of their kibbles to both Panda and Blue. I just cut back a tiny bit on the amount of kibbles I normally give when I added the yogurt. No problem at all with them eating it!! I just bought a big container of plain white natural yogurt and pour over the kibbles. Ta Da!!! I'm now going to start giving it to Merlin this week and it will just be part of our daily routine..but may cut it back to a couple spoonfulls on top of their food. Marianne and the boys |
| My first sheep dog Toby was as big as Uncle Pete's Bentley and had constant infections for the first few years I had him. Cleaning his ears was difficult if not impossible. The infections gradually stopped although I had to resort to the vet more than once. Bently faired much better as a new vet prescribed somthing called "Epiotic" a liquid in a white bottle. All I did was soak a large cotton ball in the solution, hold it in his ear for a minute while the liquid dripped in and then take the cotton ball away.
It worked like a charm. I made a game of treating Bentley's ears and he went along with it. He remained infection free for the rest of his life. Any minor problems were quickly cleared with Epiotic. The yogurt idea looks good to me. I will add it to my list of remedies! Lynda |
| My Shepherd has chronic ear infections. We use Maleseb Rinse (not sure of the spelling) to keep them clean. And Panalog for the infection... It's the only thing that works When we first moved to the Desert he seemed great for a few months...then back the infection came... His vet said it was from allergies.
He mostly has yeast infections in his ear...smelly. I was told to use Monostat....yes for humans and it does work. The seven day treatment works best. It is for treating yeast infections. Marianne, I give all my dogs Yogurt at least once a month. It is also very good for the digestive system. |
| I don't know if this would work for a dog but since I have frequent infections in one ear I use sweet oil. Put some on a cotton ball and put it just inside the ear, no need to push it in. I have no idea why it works but it does. It costs about $1 at any drugstore. |
| Jil,
My deepest sympathy goes out to you and Kaylie. You gave Belle the best 9 months any sheepie could have. You had such patience and love for her and it was quite easy to see that she adored you. Beau and I enjoyed the trip to Philly with you and Belle. Belle is at the Rainbow Bridge now, running like the wind. Karen and Beaumont |
| My vet is just an old country vet, he told me to use equal portions of alcohol (to dry things up) Vinegar(to kill the bacteria) and water, you put a few drops in, massage the ear. Not sure how good that is, but it worked for Tuc, and really quickly too. |
| Morgan had a very bad ear infection also. Brought her to the vet and found out shes alleregic to corn.. and he said its very common for dogs.
So I had to switch her food to lamb & rice, and treats with no corn. Ever since then she hasnt got one.  |
Reading this is making my ears itchy.  |
| We were back last week with yet another ear infection. It is only one ear that gets infected so chances are it is not an allergy. The Vet wants to put him to sleep and flush out his ears. At this point I'm not quite ready to do that....... |
| Ginny,
They used to take Harley in the back room at the vet and flushed his ears out. They never had to put him out for that and his ears were BAD!!!! They put a muzzle on him but he actually enjoyed it. I would request they try it without putting him out. Anisthesia can cause all sorts of problems Elissa |
| Elissa, That is why I said no, Tasker is 9 going on 10. We have a follow up at the VET tonight, I'll ask about the awake flush tonight. Thanks. |
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