Ear trouble

[Miler]

Hello all...
I am hoping you may be able to help with an ear problem with Razz our
5 yo dog . He usually has no problems, but over the last 3 months
seems to have a persistant ear problem , lots of dark browny / black
muck in both ears ,lots of careful scatching ...sometimes one ear
seems to clear a bit , then it returns , but always some probem in
either ear ..the vet gave him some drops twice daily .this helped a
little, second vist he knocked him out , then investigated the ears
with his telescope thing ....he saw no blockages or problems , gave
him antibiotic jab and more drops but the symptons persit , the vet
suggested moving him onto gluten free food but we already feed him
gluten free natures menu..., if you have any advice I would be most
grateful , thanks Peter , Lynn & Razz

[Chrissie Diron]

Lynn, many of the Nature's Menu products contain rice. Check whether you are feeding something with rice in it and eliminate that first. Remember that treats often contain grains too, so only natural, dehydrated meat treats whilst you check whether the grains are the offenders. Most likely this is a yeast problem and the grains will make it worse. Sometimes fruits will also "drive" this, as they also contain natural sugars on which yeast thrives. So if eliminating all grains very strictly doesn't help, then make sure there's no fruit in there too. In parallel get some good probiotics into Razz's digestive system. All yeast problems start in the gut and are often the result of a natural gut flora imbalance. Antibiotics are often to blame for this imbalance, as they indiscriminately wipe out good bacteria as well as bad and then there isn't enough good stuff left to repopulate the gut, so the baddies get a firm hold on the system again. A good probiotic will help to reestablish good flora and rebalance things. Yeast is very insidious and will cause ear problems, skin problems (rashes, hot spots), leaky gut, so digestive upsets and UTIs. These are the common symptoms anyhow. My guess is that something happened to stress Razz's system 4 - 6 months ago (infection, use of antibiotics, vaccinations?) and that permitted a yeast overgrowth that he hasn't been able to get control of. The bilateral ear situation is a classic symptom of that. Thyroid problems can underlie this too. Try not to use anything harsh on the ears - the gunk is the body doing what it should and trying to eliminate toxins. Antibiotics will only address bacterial infections (which often accompany yeast, as they like to grow in that environment), but screw up the flora balance even more. Steroids will reduce itching and inflammation, but bring other problems that you also don't want, so keep away from that if you can. They do not address the cause. I would just wipe out the worst reachable gunk  with a simple solution of olive oil and a few drops of lavender oil - don't probe around down the ear though. Here are some more ideas and treatment protocols to help you get this under control: 

www.greatdanelady.com/articles/systemic_yeast_infections_candida_albicans.htm

From Chrissie and the Vitali Vizslas

DON'T SWEAT THE PETTY THINGS AND DON'T PET THE SWEATY THINGS!

www.vitalk9.ca
www.canine-health-concern.org.uk
www.aunaturelk9s.org

[Miler]

Thanks Chrissie , on further investigation we are feeding Natures
diet ....not Natures menu, but ALL of it has rice in ,
Turkey & rice , Rabbit & Rice ... so I will try to find him something
else ...with no rice , can I ask if you have any recommendations at
all ?
Just to mention he seems to be putting on a bit of weight , I need to
get out with him more , amd watch the tit bits ... anyway many thanks
for the advice , its appreciated , have a great Christmas
regards
Peter & Razz

> control:www.greatdanelady.com/articles/systemic_yeast_infections_candida_albi...

[hele...@googlemail.com]

Hi Peter, Lynn and Razz!

Just thought I'd weigh in with my limited experience!

Ilka had a similar problem when she was younger, and it took a couple
of doses of antibiotics plus daily cleanings to get rid of the wax/
goop. We cleaned with Cleanaural and she also had Canaural drops. It
seemed to work and she now has no problems. We clean occasionally but
just keep an eye on it. Our vet said it's because the ears are so
long, they tend to catch dirt which irritates the ear and causes wax
to be produced. She also said such problems are very common in Vizs.

Nothing was said about the diet being an issue, but I guess this can
vary from dog to dog.

I would certainly suggest talking to your vet about having another go
with antibiotics plus a daily clean+drops routine.

Helen

PS you're lucky he's putting on weight! Ilka is going through yet
another skinny phase!

[Susie Zarpanely]

Hi Peter,
 
It may well be an over growth of candida in which case the a/b will only work for a short time then the build up will neccesitate a further dose and more cleaning a cycle will set up and eventually a G/A for a massive clean! I am no expert but my first mucky ear treatment is good old fashioned Thornit powder straight into the canal after a good clean round the outside with a tissue with a little olive oil on it. Don't try and clean inside the ear as it will compact and make it more difficult. I also feed a dollop of live yoghurt twice a day after A/Bs and that helps with the candida too. Goats if you can get it
 
Susie
 
> Date: Mon, 21 Dec 2009 23:31:21 -0800
> Subject: Re: Ear trouble
> From: pe...@forgemotorsport.co.uk
> To: ukvi...@googlegroups.com

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[Strassenbahnhaltestelle]

hi, Vigo has this problem too, since we have her. we changed the food
to raw and it is more or less gone [though we also did use antibiotic
eardrops for a month, but that was close to a year ago now]

we feed raw, and Vigo gets no grains. you can buy frozen blocks of
tripe/rabbit/beef/hearts etc that contain a portion of 450gr for about
55p from most petshops or even order online if you have a big freezer.
it is much cheaper than natures diet and we get some 'keepers mix'
from Dorwest herbs for the winter to sprinkle on the food, and she
gets some chicken thighs or lam chops [raw] for the bone content. if
you were to go down the raw feeding route, you need to do it really
patiently and slow to not upset the dog's system. there is lots of
advice online on 'raw feeding' but basically you start with one
protein, chicken, without bone, but raw, for a few days, then
introduce the bone via a chicken wing, you need to observe if you dog
is a gobbler [in which case you need to teach them to chew properly by
holding one end of the wing and encouraging nibbling]. after three
weeks of that [for Vigo, who is 23 kilos, two thinghs and a drum stick/
several wings, or 6 drumsticks per day are about the right measurement
spread in two meals]. I just feed her as much as she wants and it is
self regulating. if you go down the raw diet you need to do some
research into the variety between 'inners' and 'outers', and we solve
this by getting frozen tripe/heart/kidney and feed her chicken with
bones or lamb and raw fishes.

good luck, Andrea

[Radar Red Dog]

Hi Peter

Echo, echo, echo Chrissie & Susie's advice.

It's so easy to get into a vicious circle of yucky ears, antibiotics,
then yucky ears again...! As with humans, dogs too can become
resistant to antibiotics if they have them too often, to say nothing
of the effect antibiotics can have on gut flora.

IMHO, try avoid all cereals & keep fruit intake to a minimum. I check
Radar's ears at least weekly (& more often if he's been in water) -
this includes gently cleaning the visible bits of his ear....no
digging or probing now! As Susie said, you can do this with olive oil.
You could also dab a warm saline solution on his lobes - I am told by
some vizzie friends who have loads of experience of this, that doing
this draws out impurities which you can then easily clean away without
being invasive. I'm also a great advocate of "sniffing"...sorry (!!)
but yeast infections have a very definite smell! If Razz has to have
antibiotics (for whatever reason) I would also suggest giving
probiotics - p/b yogurt goes down well...not flavoured...hee, hee!

Diet wise...have you considered BARF? Personally, I wouldn't feed
anything else & I know that many people on this forum think the same.
It's an incredibly easy & natural way to feed our beloved dogs &
cats...plus, in my experience, is less expensive than many commercial
wet/dry foods.

Have a great Christmas/New Year.

Juliet

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