My dog has recurring ear infection in one ear.

[dawnrb45]

Originally Posted by Sam I Am

Rich, I have a Rottweiler who also has had chronic ear infections in only one ear. We have spent HUNDREDS of dollars trying to get it cleared up. I can't think of the name of the med Hopes is talking about, but we've done multiple rounds of that with no long-lasting effect. I believe it is a combo of 3 antibiotics to pretty much cover anything that is festering in the ear.

Is it an actual infection? The only reason I ask is we found with Holt that he only got infected when the wax buildup in his ear kept air from circulating well. I use some pads I found at Petsmart and we have only visited the vet one time in the last 8 months, and then we were able to treat the tiny amount of infection with oral cephalexin. I do have to clean his ear every single day and am amazed at the amount of black wax that comes out, but only out of the right ear. I had a Rottie with very floppy ears that I washed out with Otomax about once a week and that held her infection down; however, the current boy is blind and flips out with fluid going into his ears. He's not happy about the pads but will tolerate them. Win. Floppy eared dogs are more likely to develop infections.

Food allergies are often the cause of infections that never quite resolve. Newman's is a good brand of food - perhaps it is the protein source that is bothersome? If you're feeding chicken, you might try switching to beef. I don't think they make a lamb or fish-based food, but those are supposedly better in terms of causing allergies. However, I do think it's important that you find out what kind of infection it is - yeast and bacterial are the most common. If it's recurrent, insist on a culture. Your dog might be outside the norm and you could spend even more money trying to cure something it doesn't even have. I have heard some great things about Zymox, which I believe Amazon.com handles. You might try that with a regular cleaning regimen.

Good luck and let us know what you find out.

Zymox is the best!!! You DO NOT NEED A SCRIPT to get it....I once picked it up at a ladies dog grooming shop where she also sells dog food , and supplies!!! I absolutely love this stuff. ...it's a Lil pricey , about 40$ for a tiny bottle , but by the time you use up the bottle , your dogs ear should be cleared up!! The best thing about Zymox , is it actually works with the existing bacteria that exists in the ear....part of the process that makes it work is to NOT CLEAN YOUR DOGS EAR PRIOR TO APPLYING THE PRODUCT!! EASY PEASY!! SQUIRT Zymox in , massage your dogs ear canal to distribute the medication around in the ear canal , and voila!! No prescription needed , no cleaning .....works stupendously! !! Take it from a person who has a lab with chronic ear infections! My dog is 11!!

[Normashirley]

Originally Posted by Rich Cabeza

I've been rincing his ear out with water and vinegar and it helps. As soon as I stop it gets painful again. It's only been happening for a year about the time I sold my house and moved to an apt. The medicine worked for a while then, like the vinegar, it comes back again shortly. A vet on line said wash the dog all over with an antifungal. Would that help his ear? I feed him Newman's Own and he looks good for an older dog. He's a terrier about 11 or 12 and very active. Could the apt be moldy?

My barn cat had a recurring ear infection that wouldn't clear up.

The cat had cancerous tumors down inside the ear, where I couldn't see them. The tumors were removed and while cancerous, the vet felt she got everything.

Get your dog to the vet for evaluation and meds, and hope ear medicine is all you need.

[john rio]

my dog recently had bad ear infection the vet suggested bcp ear infusion, which we had done, but now the dog has lost his hearing the vet said it should come back that she wasn't concerned but it has been 3 weeks now and the dog still can't hear the door bell. has anybody else experienced this and if so how long before hearing came back

[CALGUY]

Originally Posted by Rich Cabeza

Thanks, Sam, this only happened since we moved to an apt. The apt is 40 years old and we vacuum up a ton of stuff every day--my wife is a cleanaholic too. I'm wondering if it something in the air or carpet. I'm going to trim the fur around his ears, give him a good anti-fungal bath and vinegar rince and maybe call my vet about that one-time treatment. Thanks all for the reply.

When my shepherd had an ear infection, I got "expert care ear care" from amazon, and it cleared up the infection quickly. It is made by Bayer, the same company that makes the aspirins.
It has not returned since.
Naturally. I clean his ears once a week with this.
He was also getting a heavy wax build up, and since using this product, that too is nothing like what it was.

As others mentioned, food has a lot to do with it.
I switched to whole earth farms beef, and got away from giving him chicken.
I have noticed a big change in my shepherd since i got away from feeding him chicken.

He is eight years, and seems more active, and just generally more healthy.
His skin rash has disappeared since he no longer eats chicken,and that in itself was a big, and long battle to clear his recurring skin problems.

As for using vinegar in the ears, I wouldn't.
I think you get better results with the product I mentioned above.

Bob.