Why Do Some Dogs Get Ear Infections And Others Have No Ear Problems?

[BlacksheepCardigans]

The fact that he's got all those problems screams yeast to me. I would bet he's got systemic yeast throughout.

What kills yeast is going low-carb. TOTW is actually not low-carb, because it's based on potatoes. It's not that much higher in meat than a standard kibble; it just replaces the usual rice/oats/barley/corn (whatever the brand uses) with potato.

Putting him on a real raw diet will do the most. If you can't do that, I'd use Orijen over TOTW if possible. Orijen is not perfect but it's less carby than TOTW. http://www.greatdanelady.com/articles/systemic_yeast_mini_course.htm is a good explanation of what's happening, but TOTALLY ignore her recommended foods. She gets hired by foods to promote them and she picks some real doozies. Don't waste your money on n-zymes or oxy-drops. I do agree with her recommendation to get Micro-Tek in the ears, I do agree with Bene-Bac or a similar probiotic, I think giving something like grapeseed extract or olive leaf extract is a good idea (that's all her "Tincture of Black Leaf" is) and I agree that any dog with skin and coat problems needs a thyroid test.

 

[Lorije1]

My Lab has yeasty skin. Anytime there is warm weather his ears get disgusting. In fact I have to get some meds for him this week. You can use normal yeast infection meds on general skin areas, I am hesitant to put it in the ear canal. I just go to teh vet and spend the few dollars to be sure I am giving the right meds.

 

[Brindlebtch]

Got all this stuff at the vet

Ear cleaner: Epi-Otic Advanced

ear drops: Mometamax

shampoo: Duoxo but Malaseb is also good - trick is to wash them and make sure to leave it on for at least 10 min before you rinse it off, and then suds them up and do it again. I always just take Maggie into the tub/shower with me

Hydroxizine is like a super strong benedryl

I agree a thyroid test is in order. Also a lot of dogs have staph instead of yeast.

 

[BlacksheepCardigans]

It's not out of the question, but usually a dog with staph will have pustules (icky boils) or scabbiness rather than itchy skin. I've seen a heck of a lot of skin staph and it always bothers the human more than the dog (not to say that it shouldn't be treated, but typically it looks horrid and the dog is running around ignoring it).

 

[Tala]

Quote:
I think the correct sentence would be staph BECAUSE of yeast.
They get yeast, they itch, they scratch, and staph lives on the skin or in the dirt that's on their nails, which gets into the scratches, which turns into hot spots which is usually a topical staph infection.....

My other dog has environmental allergies, not food related that I can tell, because they only occur in the spring/summer when the plants bloom so much....I use a spray on fungicide that's at the feedstore, says it's for horses, dogs, sheep, goats, etc. but anything that is for horse "rain rot" is usually the same thing. Kills the fungus on their skin which can be caused by the allergies themselves or the secondary scratching/licking. Really seems to stop it from festering into a full blown hot spot.

 

[Brindlebtch]

My dog dog not have yeast. She has been tested and cultured for it and does not have an abnormal amount of yeast. She has staph. It is very common in bull breeds. She will get itchy hives topped with a staph pustule.

 

[Tala]

Quote:
Well I'm glad you had it tested then!! My vet just LOOKED at my dog and prescribed some abx for the staph. Ok fine, it worked, but the allergy pills didn't do much. When she had a real hot spot she had puss and the whole 9 yards.

So this year I treated the yeast myself BEFORE it got out of hand, and it worked. For considerably cheaper. Fungicides won't kill staph (that I know of) so if she had staph it wouldn't have helped her any and we'd have been back at the vet again

It sounds like the OP is battling ear problems though, unless it's mites or something else and Red said that they were switching feeds and suspected allergies, so it does sound an awful lot like the usual yeasty ears.

 

[redhen]

Great info guys! Thanks! I'll be sure when i bring him in to have them run a sample to see what exactly is in his ears..
Last time we took him in they tested him... i forget what came back though..

They gave us Mometamex 15g ... it didnt seem to touch it though...

Will that handle staph and yeast?

 

[chickenzoo]

Just got my dog back from the vet last night, out of 4 dogs I only have one Great Pyr that gets chronic ear infections. They had to knock him out and clean out & shave his ears after putting him on predisone for a week. Sent tests to the lab to see what we are dealing with and some special ear drops until we know for sure. He has no other skin issues but his ears. Took a long time for him to come out of anesthesia all the way, poor boy.

 

[dutchhollow]

Bottom line on most of this stuff is bad genetics (immune system issues).