chronic ear infection & separation anxiety in German Shorthaired Pointers

[Tony and Kim]

1st Problem:
I was wondering if anyone could give me information/help re chronic ear
infections with GSP's. I have an 8 year old male who is currently suffering
from an ear infection in one ear only which the vet has determined is yeast
infection. He has prescribed several different ointments (Panalog,
Conofite) and most recently some tablets Ketoconazole - but to no avail. I
have stopped the tablets as there are some side effects to do with the liver
and since stopping the pills the ear seems to be getting worse - lots of
head shaking. We have also tried switching his food but it has not changed
anything. I clean his ear out daily with equal parts of vinegar and water
and use the ointments just to keep the ears clean but I can hear the 'junk'
further down in his ear squishing, so I know it's still there. I am hoping
someone has had a similar experience with positive results. Should I
consider a specialist?

2nd Problem:
All of a sudden (last 2 weeks) our dog has suddenly developed a severe case
of separation anxiety when we leave the house. After being gone for 1 hour
or 4 we return to find him panting furiously behind the baby gate (he's not
allowed in the living room) and the floor is soaking wet with saliva. On
one occasion he had thrown up. I don't think he moves from that spot from
the minute we leave until we return. Although he never likes being left
alone - he would normally sleep away the hours. We recently had a baby (2.5
months) - could this have anything to do with it? While we used to both
away during the day at work, I am now at home all day. Going out is now
very stressful and I'm worried about his state of mind - he must be in
turmoil to be behaving like this?

Any help/advise is appreciated.

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[Amy Dahl]

Tony and Kim wrote:
>
> 1st Problem:
> I was wondering if anyone could give me information/help re chronic ear
> infections with GSP's.

We don't have GSP's but we deal with lots of ear infections as
our dogs are in the water almost every day, and some are prone to them.
The vast majority are treatable with Panalog. OTOH, I'm not sure your
vinegar solution is getting to the site of the problem if you are also
treating with Panalog, as the Panalog is greasy and tends to coat it
and stay in there.

When you apply the ointment, do you get it way down deep in, and then
massage the ear canal to squish and spread it around for a couple of
minutes?

Once I had a boarding customer who was a nurse tell me that
hydrogen peroxide had been the solution to a chronic ear infection
in her dog. I have used that once or twice with excellent effects.
The trick with hydrogen peroxide is to make sure it is fresh, as
it can break down once the bottle is opened. It is so cheap, it
is easy to buy several bottles and open one every few days. (You
can check its potency if you have a cut--put some on and if it
foams furiously, it is fine. An enzyme in your blood breaks it
down and makes it release bubbles of oxygen.) You probably need
to suspend the greasy stuff while you use it, though.

Make sure to get a hefty dose in the ear, massage the ear canal,
then let your dog shake his head. Then wipe out the ear.
--
Amy Frost Dahl Retriever Training phone: (910) 295-6710
Oak Hill Kennel & Handling email: a...@oakhillkennel.com
Pinehurst, NC 28370 (http://www.oakhillkennel.com)

[Jere Murray]

I deal with ear problems with my Labs. from time to time. I'll add a
little to what Amy said.

For the two chocolates vinegar and water and alcohol and water were both
severe irritants - I don't even think about using them any more.

All three of these dogs' ears respond favorably to cleaning with Oti-Clens
(squirt some in, squish it around several seconds, let dog shake), dry with
cotton wool (VERY important), and then panalog or Oti-Max which ever I have
or the vet sells me. Shadow's ears were the worst of the three and we did
this TWICE a day for a week or ten days. That cleared it up and was about
five or six years ago. No significant recurrences.

I also use qtips to clean when the ears are a real mess (CAREFULLY)

The Oti-Clens is (as is vinegar) acidic and may also irritate the ears of
some dogs.

A vet on another list highly recommends Dermapet ear and skin clenser.
Says it is very gentle. Available from KV Vet supply, 800-423-8211,
www.kvvet.com, item #79212 Good source of lots of dog care stuff. I have
no interest in this business.

JT

The Murray Pack: Jere and Sandy Murray; Chocolate Labs Shadow & Tucker
and a new black pup, Storm; near Seldovia Alaska at 59.47N, 151.70W
mailto:jm...@xyz.net

Tony and Kim wrote:
>1st Problem:
>I was wondering if anyone could give me information/help re chronic ear

>infections with GSP's. I have an 8 year old male who is currently
suffering
>from an ear infection in one ear only which the vet has determined is
yeast
>infection. He has prescribed several different ointments (Panalog,
>Conofite) and most recently some tablets Ketoconazole - but to no avail.
I
>have stopped the tablets as there are some side effects to do with the
liver
>and since stopping the pills the ear seems to be getting worse - lots of
>head shaking. We have also tried switching his food but it has not
changed
>anything. I clean his ear out daily with equal parts of vinegar and water
>and use the ointments just to keep the ears clean but I can hear the 'junk
'
>further down in his ear squishing, so I know it's still there. I am
hoping
>someone has had a similar experience with positive results. Should I
>consider a specialist?

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[Cindy Lowans]

I have to agree we have always used Oti Clens and my labs swim every day. One
of my dogs has had 1 ear infection in her whole life (12years) and thats
because we forgot to bring the Oti Clens on a hunting test and she swam in
very bad, stale water and did not get her ears cleaned out for a day. I
also groom dogs and always use Oti Clens, I think it is the best (just my
opinion)
Cindy

[Charlie Bolan]

My old blue tick had ear problems for years>nothing worked> vet gave me a
small bottle of iodine (animal use type) it worked > and quickly >no more
problem
hope this helps
charlie

> 2nd Problem:
> All of a sudden (last 2 weeks) our dog has suddenly developed a severe
case
> of separation anxiety when we leave the house. After being gone for 1
hour
> or 4 we return to find him panting furiously behind the baby gate (he's
not
> allowed in the living room) and the floor is soaking wet with saliva. On
> one occasion he had thrown up. I don't think he moves from that spot from
> the minute we leave until we return. Although he never likes being left
> alone - he would normally sleep away the hours. We recently had a baby
(2.5
> months) - could this have anything to do with it? While we used to both
> away during the day at work, I am now at home all day. Going out is now
> very stressful and I'm worried about his state of mind - he must be in
> turmoil to be behaving like this?
>
> Any help/advise is appreciated.
>

[Bob Rivecco]

Tony / Kim:

quick question: What area do you live? (corn fields, open farm land?).
We have a 8 year old female chocolate lab, and she get ear infections 4
times a year. This is from allergies. When corn is planted behind our
house it is the worst to manage. Our vet gives us Otomax. This will make
her irritated ears go from inflamed red to the normal light flesh color
within a few hours. After a few days the infection is gone.

hope this helps

Bob