Dog with recurrent ear infections.

Susannahmia

My 8 month old Bichon x Jack Russell dog came to us with a bad ear infection at 12 weeks old and has had one ever since for 70% of the time. We have had him in the vet constantly and they have been treating with an injection of antibiotics, prednistlone and surolan ear drops.

We complete the course each time and the infection clears up. However about a week or two later he ends up with another one.

The poor thing is miserable and my bank account is suffering too!

Any ideas on what could be causing this? The vet says its not ear mites.

kc83

My Bichon is the same...paid an amount for vet but in the end a guy in the chemist said that its a life time problem, that, and her eczema on her paws...my vet told me that EVENING PRIMROSE mixed in with food EVRY DAY for the rest of her life will help both problems , I have noticed after a few weeks it has made a difference....I always have ear dops on hand too just in case. Ill post name of drops up later as dont have them to hand they are cheap enough at 7e and my vet told me to have a few tubes as the lubricant treats ear infections, mites, dry skin and most bichon problems.

Mo60

My vet prescribed Epi-Otic ear cleanser for my dogs, and I have found it great at helping to keep their ears clean and free from infection. I check their ears regularly, and clean when necessary.

Zapperzy

I would be looking at what food she is on, some foods just don't agree with some dogs and can cause what your describing. What brand are you feeding at the moment?

Susannahmia

Zapperzy wrote: »

I would be looking at what food she is on, some foods just don't agree with some dogs and can cause what your describing. What brand are you feeding at the moment?

My other dog used to be prone to hotspots so I feed them both Royal Canin Dermacomfort Mini.

meoklmrk91

Hi just wondering if you get your dog groomed regularly and if so they pluck the hairs from around the inner ear?

Zapperzy

Susannahmia wrote: »

My other dog used to be prone to hotspots so I feed them both Royal Canin Dermacomfort Mini.

Has he always been on this? I would inclined to try something like burns or james wellbeloved for a few weeks (I would say at least 6 to allow the changeover and time to see does it make any difference) or even just a plain chicken and brown rice diet with no treats or scraps. It's worth a try and better than constantly being on meds.
Looking at the ingredients for the food your feeding it looks to have quite a high amount of cereals that commonly cause allergies and are just generally not good for or needed by a dog. Which I find a bit odd for a food that is supposed to help with skin problems.

Susannahmia

meoklmrk91 wrote: »

Hi just wondering if you get your dog groomed regularly and if so they pluck the hairs from around the inner ear?

I have never had him professionally groomed, however I have actually started plucking his ears myself only this week.

I'm by no means an expert, I've just looked at a few instructional videos on youtube. Money is tight at the mo

He doesn't mind me doing it at all but its too soon to tell if it is making any difference.

Susannahmia

Zapperzy wrote: »

Has he always been on this? I would inclined to try something like burns or james wellbeloved for a few weeks (I would say at least 6 to allow the changeover and time to see does it make any difference) or even just a plain chicken and brown rice diet with no treats or scraps. It's worth a try and better than constantly being on meds.
Looking at the ingredients for the food your feeding it looks to have quite a high amount of cereals that commonly cause allergies and are just generally not good for or needed by a dog. Which I find a bit odd for a food that is supposed to help with skin problems.

He was on royal canin puppy before that. The dermacomfort worked wonders for my other dog, her skin cleared up as soon as we changed so I would hate to change her food.

I might try feeding them seperatly for a while and see if it makes any difference. The thing is they tend to eat small amounts stretched out through the day so I usually just leave a bowl out in the morning for them to pick at as they wish.

meoklmrk91

Susannahmia wrote: »

meoklmrk91 wrote: »

Hi just wondering if you get your dog groomed regularly and if so they pluck the hairs from around the inner ear?

I have never had him professionally groomed, however I have actually started plucking his ears myself only this week.

I'm by no means an expert, I've just looked at a few instructional videos on youtube. Money is tight at the mo

He doesn't mind me doing it at all but its too soon to tell if it is making any difference.

This is definately important, if you are unsure it is probably best to get a professional to do it. I'm sure you know that these hairs can trap dirt and such meaning that when the dog shakes it's head to remove debris they just get caught on these hairs and end up going back into the eat canal which could be the cause of these infections. Whatever happens I wish you the best of luck.

kc83

My vet said that plucking when dog has infection is fine but when no infection not to pluck but actually try pin dogs ears back for hour a day to let air at them

meoklmrk91

kc83 wrote: »

My vet said that plucking when dog has infection is fine but when no infection not to pluck but actually try pin dogs ears back for hour a day to let air at them

The plucking the hairs is a preventative mesure so Im not sure why you would only do it when the dog actually has an infection.

DBB

kc83 wrote: »

My vet said that plucking when dog has infection is fine but when no infection not to pluck but actually try pin dogs ears back for hour a day to let air at them

But pointy-eared dogs get ear infections too, which kinda contradicts the belief that lack of air causes ear infections!
I wouldn't dream of plucking hair from already sore and infected ears... To do so will likely make the dog resent you touching his ears, and could result in a bite for your troubles.
Sigh. Vets really do come out with some peaches of advice!
OP, have a serious look at diet... Even the well-known "good" foods are contributing, if not causing, ear infections, itchy feet, poor skin health and impaired digestion.
It sounds like a recurrent yeast infection your dog is getting. The treatments used are reducing the overgrowth of yeast, but not eliminating it, and it's always sitting there waiting for another chance to proliferate into yet another infection.
A well thought-out diet can seriously reduce this eventuality.

cora2

Hi, My dog was so bad with her ears,Had her at 3vets time to time,it would go away & then come back! Had her on lots of foods No good!
Put her on whites hands up it works! i had about 300e on vets..
Thats as much that i can tell ye! Hope you will get something thats works!
Poor dog i know how she feels!!

teacherspet

OP, do you wash your dog much ? One of the reasons dogs get ear infections is because their owners get water in the dogs ears when washing them. This will cause infection as the water gets lodged there. I would suggest putting cotton wool in her ears before washing her head or hold her ears closed.
Also when people are putting drops in their dogs ears, they forget to wash the nozzle (warm soapy water) in between inserting in each ear, result cross infection.

Mo60

To add to my previous post two of my dogs are Bichons and tend to need their ears cleaned frequently. I rehomed them at the same time and both had a lot of debris in their ears and one had an infection. After the infection cleared I continued to just clean their ears with the ear cleanser and have had no problems since.

I do not pluck the hair in their ears because they did not like me doing it, so I just trim the hairs to keep the ear clear.

DBB

Mo60 wrote: »

I do not pluck the hair in their ears because they did not like me doing it, so I just trim the hairs to keep the ear clear.

I'm with you on this one, I don't think it's particularly necessary to pluck the ears, I wonder indeed if it can in itself cause infection?
Unless the dog has been really well conditioned to ear plucking, I think the potential behavioural problems it could cause far outweighs any potential benefits.
So yes, a good ear cleaner like epi-otic, coupled with investigation into dietary effects, is a far better option I think.