Sydney suffers recurring ear infections

[Stac&Syd]

Our golden baby is 3 years old since she was 2 1/2 we have been treating constant ear infections and throat infections. She has a very weak immune system due to an allergic reaction she had at age 1 1/2. I discussed the immune system with our vet and he suggested we try echinacea. We started this treatment a week ago, she takes 300mg 3 times a day for 2 weeks, then in 2 months start the treatment again. She has always chewed her feet, rubs her face, scratches her chin and loves to have her back scratched and rubs her whole body on the couch and across the floor. I have had her to three different vets now and the one we see now seems to be the most helpful. However I am very frustrated :mad: with the constant ear infections, we get one cleared up and within a week she has another. I have started researching Atopy Allergies and really think this may be what the problem is. Does anyone have any suggestions? Any input is appreciated. :)

[theGoldenPup]

What are you feeding her?
Many goldens suffer from the ear problems, it's mostly thought to be because air can't get into the ears to dry them out (especially after swimming), like in the breeds with upright ears. A (proabbly more common) cause of ear problems is allergies. If you can, have your vet or find a vet (...drive if you have to, its really worth it for this....) who does allergy testing. If its a food allergy you will have a good idea of where to start helping her feel better.
On another note, have a groomer or a vet carefully clip out the hair in the ear to help it stay cleaner (if you haven't already).
I've heard of many people using that method of treatment successfully. You'll really want to keep looking into the allergy thing though. There are several commercial kibbles for dogs with allergies, and many people turn to a raw diet when their dog has severe allergies.
Let us know how it goes!

GoldenPup

[Stac&Syd]

Thank you for the input, we currently feed her Beneful healthy weight formula. We also clean her ears on a daily basis with oti-calm which works very well. I believe I will take her and have the ear hair clipped, I was not aware of this solution. :dogbark

[theGoldenPup]

I'm sure you'll be bombarded with posts about this, but I'd highly recommend switching her diet. Try to find a kibble without corn, wheat or soy. Innova, Wellness, Solid Gold, California Natural, there are many brands (and several 'flavors' that are good for dogs with allergies, but, I don't know if you'll need to go that far). Not all kibbles are what you think!

Once we were off of wheat, the ear problems cleared up almost completely for us. No longer do I need to clean them daily!

The ear clipping isn't really a solution, just one thing to help, and make it easier for you to clean them.

Hope this helps,

GoldenPup

[2airbuds]

Hi, I hope your able to find out what is bothering your Golden, it sounds frustrating. MY one Golden had sinilar probelms, ear infections constantly and always itchy on the back, where he would get little bumps or scabs. All the antibiotics made him sick, so they finally suggested a vet ear cleaner and we clean his ears every 3 days with it, a drying solution, but it prevents itching and any bacteria to grow in the ear, it is inexpensive. So maybe you can ask your vet about that. We did go to a specialist to determine his allergies, and they did a skin graft on his stomach, because it was getting so bad. It was expensive, but a one time deal to find out what is bothering her and making her uncomfortable. It doesn't hurt them. We cannot give ours any type of milk, wheat product etc. Well, hope a vet finds out what it is for you. Good luck!
Shelby

[SteveR]

The easiest thing to try is a food change. Food allergies are much more prevalent than you think. I have a cocker spaniel who started having serious skin rashes at about 2 yrs. We attended a pet expo in town that had quite a few dog food companies represented. Every one we talked to suggested a switch if not to theirs to one with no corn, wheat or soy. We started with Flint River Ranch, then to Wellness, Califronia Natural and finally settled on Evolve. (we switched around because she lost interest in all but the Evolve). It was incredible how after a few months her skin rashes disappeared. She remained that way up until recently (8yrs old now) when we got our golden. My wife thinks she's allergic to him. We switched her again to Natural Balance Venison to get her on a brand new protein source and wouldn't you know it's starting to work. This little girl is living proof of the benefits of better nutrition. You really should give it a try, what have you got to lose?

[BearBiskit]

Our first Golden suffered from continuous ear infections and our vet it is usually a symptom of another underlying problem. He was correct in our case. We lost our baby at age four due to a congenital disease. Be cautious and have your dog examined by a competent vet, also have some bloodwork done as well. I would suggest a complete CBC in terms of bloodwork.

[Stac&Syd]

We went shopping tonight and are changing foods to a no wheat, corn or soy food that is for dogs with allergies and immuune system problems. It is by Iams. I want to thank everyone, you have all helped me immensly. The vet is going to refer us to a dermatologist where I would imagine we will be doing some allergy testing. I am also kind of wondering about the milk thing too, this puppy loves ice cream and I wonder if maybe that is adding to the problem. Guess we will take that away too. She is such a happy lovable dog, it is hard to believe she has all these health problems. :dogbark

[SteveR]

I'm glad you decided to try a food change. Hopefully it will work and your pup will be free from all the troublesome health issues. One thing you have to keep in mind is that the allergies , if they are food based, will be from everything she ingests. This will include biscuits and any people food. We are trying to get my cocker back to where she was just a few months ago so cutting out all of the extras has been very hard on her and on us. Tough love. I've done quite a bit of research on pet nutrition because of her allergies and have learned a great deal that I otherwise wouldn't even consider. I mention this because Iams even their specialty products aren't on my preferred list. When choosing a quality food, there are a few things to look for and to avoid. Skipping the corn, wheat and soy are great beginnings but you also want to avoid all by-products and artificial preservatives. All protein sources should be listed and should be specific, like Chicken and chicken meal rather than poultry or meat meal or meat by-products. These are mystery meats and every piece of trash they can scrape off the floor goes into them. Another sickening practice from these major conglomerate food companies like IAMS & Purina is to spray the food with the discard oil that was obtained from fast food restaurants. This is for flavoring and I personally wouldn't want my dog eating it. The smaller food manufacturers (you'll find the super premium ones mentioned quite a bit in the food forum) are very explicit in the manufacture and ingredients of their foods. Initially you pay more but in the end they often wind up costing less because much less is needed to meet the nutrition requirements. Feeding less will help keep the dogs weight down, their output down and will wind up offsetting the initial higher price tag. I didn't mean to put a damper on things but I really do believe that so many of these health issues that we have to deal with can be helped or even avoided by giving our dogs the best foods available.

[Stac&Syd]

I need some names and brands of food to give Sydney. Also suggestions for biscuits. I am considering making our own biscuits but have not found any recipes that don't consist of wheat flour. And after a food change approximately how long does it take until you will see a difference if the food is the problem? :rolleyes:

[theGoldenPup]

Usually it takes about three months for changes, but when we switched, it was more of a matter of weeks, and only days to notice some things.
You can substitute garbonzo bean flour (sp?) for the wheat flour. From what I've heard, that works quite well...not that the dogs really care.
For treats you can just use pieces of meat, yogurt, etc. There are a few brands who do make wheat-free treats. Next time I'm in I'll try to remember to look.

GoldenPup

[Rocky's Mom]

My first Golden, Joshua, had one ear infection in 10 years...and he swam all the time. He had allergies to pollen and that kind of thing though. Rocky has had more ear infections than my kids!! For us, keeping the ears hair free has helped a lot. I trim the hair and also buzz cut it. If his ears get wet , he gets an ear infection...he gets them rubbing in the snow!! He gets inner ear and swimmers ear type. He also has allergies and keeping him on an antihistimine has made a big difference too. He also has to have cotton in his ears when ever he gets a bath. He has to use special hypoallergenic shampoo when he gets a bath too cause the regular hypoallergenic stuff made him itchy and I give him brewers yeast tablets and coat conditioner in his food that seems to really help with the itchy skin. The ear infections are frustrating, expensive and he would be miserable with all the meds he had to have....especially that dreaded ointment in the ears!!!

[SteveR]

Results from a food change will take at least 6 to 8 weeks if the allergy is food based. Even if it so not, changing to a better quality food will have longer range health benefits over the life of your pet. The favorites on this board are Canidae, Wellness, Innova, Chicken Soup For the Dog Lover's Soul, Natural Balance and a few others. More are mentioned in the food forum. All of these brands can be found in smaller pet supply stores and on the web. You won't find them in the supermarket. Natural Balance is probably the only one above that you'll find at Petco and the Chicken Soup is probably the lowest price though not lowest quality of the bunch. You don't have to stick to this list just check the ingredients. It's helpful if the company mentions "human grade" ingredients. Just make sure there are at least 2 protein sources in the top 5 ingredients, no by-products of any kind, the protein sources are specific i.e chicken, lamb, turkey etc. Meals are fine such as chicken meal, lamb meal. The food should be naturally preserved, no artificial preservatives. As for treats, we give the dogs small carrots, apples, dried cranberries and venison treats. I also found biscuits at Petco, Buddy Biscuits - Veggie Madness which have no wheat or corn.

[GoldenFrost]

Tara gets ear problems too if I don't put stuff in her ears before she swims.
Also it seem that sleeping too long on one side bothers her ears as well.
I just keep sniffing and cleaning and that seems to help them

[Hankpuppies]

Our golden baby is 3 years old since she was 2 1/2 we have been treating constant ear infections and throat infections. She has a very weak immune system due to an allergic reaction she had at age 1 1/2. I discussed the immune system with our vet and he suggested we try echinacea. We started this treatment a week ago, she takes 300mg 3 times a day for 2 weeks, then in 2 months start the treatment again. She has always chewed her feet, rubs her face, scratches her chin and loves to have her back scratched and rubs her whole body on the couch and across the floor. I have had her to three different vets now and the one we see now seems to be the most helpful. However I am very frustrated :mad: with the constant ear infections, we get one cleared up and within a week she has another. I have started researching Atopy Allergies and really think this may be what the problem is. Does anyone have any suggestions? Any input is appreciated. :)
Keep the hair in the inner ear cut very short you can do this yourself just be careful. There is also a homemade ear cleaner that I swear by, it includes alcohol, gentian violet and boric acid. All can be bought at a pharmacy. Never stick anything into the ear to clean, use warm soapy water and flush the ear with a kitchen sprayer or something simular

[SuGaR]

Hi guys,

Since we are on the topic of ears and infection, can I check if it's normal for one side to be dirtier than the other? Coz I've been cleaning my girl's ear out with some alcohol solution meant for dogs, and I notice one side is very much dirtier than the other, and I can't think of a reason why :confused:

Also, she likes to shake her head alot recently. Checked with her groomer, and he says her ears are fine, it's just a habit she has. Should we be getting a second opinion? :o

[Stac&Syd]

It has been 4 days since we changed foods and I notice a difference in how she is acting already, she just seems much more chipper than before, I also don't think she is chewing her feet quite as much. She has also been on VitaCaps for a week w/biotin. I just hope we continue to see improvement. I am much happier when she is happy and playful. She is our baby girl. :029

[Stac&Syd]

We had Sydney back to the vet one week ago tonight. We spent a very lengthy time discussing her problems with the Dr. He agrees with me that it appears she has Atopy Allergies. He gave her a shot of depo-medrol and said he wants to see us back in 4 weeks. If we notice improvement then that is exactly what she has, if not we will take anouther route. He indicated he would only give her one shot of this a year due to some potential health risks if given to frequently( he said some vets will give it 3-6 times a year). I am noticing some difference in her as well, she doesn't seem to be chewing her feet as much and doesnt seem to be digging at her ears. He mentioned that if we did see improvement then she will be treated with antihistimines and/or steroids. I indicated to him I will not give her steroids and prefer not to give her something that will make her sleepy. She took predisone once before it did nothing for her except make her drink an excessive amount of water. She is also taking vitacaps daily and is eating a new type of food. Were keeping our fingers crossed that we continue to see good results. She also seems to be more energetic. Thanks everyone for all your input, this forum is so helpful. banana :dogbark

[Brandy and Charlie's Mom]

Our Reyna also suffered terribly from ear infections -- her left ear in particular. A vet once prescribed ketoconizole and it almost killed her! He had warned us to discontinue it if she vomited or had diarrhea. She didn't have those symptoms. Instead, she just stopped eating and her liver enzymes skyrocketed.

One month, and almost $900 in vet bills later, she was back to normal. She's gone now, but I wish I had known about this site a long time ago. Perhaps it was food allergies all along that caused her such constant misery.

[CaynCher]

Hi, I read a few of the posts above. I agree with Steve about the Iams. I have two goldens (12years & l7mths). I have been feeding the premium foods & my dogs have nice coats. I feed Chicken Soup FTDLS, Natural Balance, & Nutro Ultra (does contain Sunflower Oil though) I usually make a gravy with a spoon or two of canned food over their kibble and add veggies. Mine love this. On occasion I also feed Solid Gold or some other premium food. I too try to stay away from corn, soy, wheat. :604

[Rich in goldens]

A good no a great food for dogs with allergies is california natural Lamb & Brown rice. This food is produced in their own plant and their quality control is superb.If allergies still persist then it may be rice in which case wellness make a no rice venison version. wellness has also been a great food but they are nolonger manufacturing it themselves. I don't know about the quality control in the future. My 2 1/2 yr old golden has cronic ear problems. I feed him the California natural kibble and also give him 4 raw chicken wings in the morning. I really limit the carbs no wheat, soy, corn' no oatmeal etc... I think he does much better that way. Just my .02 for what it is worth