Inner ear yeast infection.

[Gruper]

Our 4 year old Lab Bella has an inner ear yeast problem. We have been to many Vets, many medicines and many dollars. We may be at the point of the dreaded ear canal removal. As that is a last and worst case scenario I thought it prudent to seek more advice before committing to this. We are on Atopica, with Ketoconazole every other day....concerned with long term usage of this and side effects...along with daily cleaning of the ears with a prescribed cleanser called Trizultra + Keto. Has any of you been through this surgery or have any holistic ideas we can try? We have a great Vet that we trust but we may be at the end of traditional medical solutions. Looking for any ideas. It is hard to determine if Bella is that uncomfortable or not. She will groan and lean into you when rubbing the ear. We live in Florida if that helps from an allergy stand point.

[lisa]

My prayers go out to you. My first lab Casey suffered from terrible ear infeections her entire life, they started at the age of about 1 1/2 and kept going until she was 13. Like you, we tried everything, spent thousands of dollars and nothing really ever healed in completely. I had not discovered this board at the time, but wished I had. I was never told to try a grain free food...maybe that would have helped. What kind of fodd is Bella on??

At the age of 10, my vet had recommended having the surgery to remove her ear canals, but she was getting old at that point and I did not want to put her through that. Benadryl did seem to help. When Casey went deaf and blind about 6 months before she died, she could no longer go outside in the yard... my deck became her potty spot for the last 6 months of her life...no grass. She stopped itching her feet and her ears never bothered her.

I can not offer any advice on the surgery, but I will send my thought and prayers to your girl, I know how frustrating this situation is. Please keep me posted.

Lisa

[Gruper]

Bella is on a Royal Canine Potatoe and Venisen for hypoallergenic treatment. I appreciate the kind thoughts.

[dek]

I can sympathize with you on the climate here, it certainly doesn't make keeping their ears clean any easier.
Luckily, I've only had one ear infection with Koivu so far. The vet gave me an ear wash that seems similar to yours and I haven't been using it as often as I should, but haven't had anymore problems so far.
I add Solid Gold Seameal to every meal for mine. It's seemed to help with his allergies. I ran out at one point and decided maybe we didn't need it, but then came the itchies and the ear infection, so I put him back on it and he seems to do better. I have no idea whether it would be any help to Bella or not, especially if the infection appears to be more chronic.
I hope you find a solution for Bella! Sending good thoughts your way....

[amazongold]

You might want to try another type of grain-free food. Just about anything would be cheaper than what you are feeding! We feed Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream (salmon and sweet potato).

Also, I give my boys Missing Link Plus, and they have not had gunky ears or itchy skin in years.

[Gruper]

We will try this advice on the food. Any thoughts on saltwater as a healing property?

[bett]

are her ears getting wet from swimming?
have you tired the "purple solution"?

and before i'd do the surgery i'd investigate different foods and allergies. has she ever taken any allergy pills?

[Gruper]

So we have done more research and have ordered Acana Grain Free dry food. Please checkout Dog Food Reviews | Dog Food Ratings that is where I did my food comparisons. Also purchased Gentian Violet (purple stuff) after reading the information at Woodhaven Labs. Again it is most impoartant to insure that we have exhausted all options prior to the surgery. I believe the Atopica is an allegy pill but need to research that better as well.

[lisa]

So we have done more research and have ordered Acana Grain Free dry food. Please checkout Dog Food Reviews | Dog Food Ratings that is where I did my food comparisons. Also purchased Gentian Violet (purple stuff) after reading the information at Woodhaven Labs. Again it is most impoartant to insure that we have exhausted all options prior to the surgery. I believe the Atopica is an allegy pill but need to research that better as well.

Atopica is an allergy pill, we have a dog with skin issues at the shelter I volunteer at on it.

[BauersMom]

Bauer gets gunky ears in the spring and fall. He has some environmental allergies, and allergy shots help. He doesn't get shots repeatedly, just a couple and it gets him through. Winter and summer he is fine. I also make the purple stuff (the same recipe you mentioned), and it seems to work really well too. Be careful with the Gentian Violet, it stains (sometimes even the inside of the dog's ears). It doesn't hurt them, but it looks funny . I always do it outside, and wear clothes that I don't mind getting wrecked. Good luck!