Dog Community

Max's ears- could this be an allergy?

Posted : 3/15/2006 10:36:00 PM

Back in January (his prescription is dated the 6th) Max had a build up of black stuff in his left ear, so much that you could just see it if you flipped his ear over and weren't even looking closely. It was also red, and he was rubbing at it, which is what made me flip it and look at it. Since then I have been attempting to clean his ears, rather unsucessfully though, as he won't let me at him with any cleaner, cloth, or wipe. He does however let me clean it out with my finger, so i've just been doing that since it's the best I can do. The vet also gave him Animax which cleared it up in a few days. At that time he was eating Canidae, but he also got other foods as treats, along with other stuff like occasional cookies, liver treats, other types of treats, pieces of apples, carrots, just to name a few. Recently, I noticed he had the same build up as before in his right ear, so i've been cleaning that one out with my finger. He wouldn't let me use an ear wipe, or a tissue, and when I tried giving him liver treats while doing it, he'd eat the treat them come after the wipe to eat it. When I tried liquid cleaner on a cotton ball he ate that. There isn't as much build up as there was in the original occurence, but before the original time, his ears were totally free of build up, the first time his right ear was totally clean, and this time the left ear is totally clean, so for him I am assuming that none to minimal amounts of build up in the ears is his normal level. I am pretty sure this started for the second time while he was eating Canidae, but I have switched him to Evo. Since the switch, which was over a week ago, I have noticed no improvement, but he does eat other things as treats still, so the culprit could be in there. It was slightly red earlier tonight, but I think it was partially due to my bugging him to clean it. He hasn't been rubbing it at all either. I did start putting the Animax that was prescribed for him the last time in it earlier tonight, since I know if I take him back to the vet, she'll tell me to use that again, and clean his ears, if she will even see him again. Last time he was totally terrified, and I fear she will suggest sedating him and cleaning his ears, because it was a suggestion last time. I refuse to do that, first since it is not a permanent fix, and second it does not seem to bother him to the extent that I feel it is worth the trauma, stress, and risk it will cause him.
Do food allergies often manifest in ear problems, because I don't think i've seen that? If after treating it with the Animax again it comes back, i'm thinking of trying an elimination diet to see if it is a food problem. I think the culprit would most likely be something in his treats, but what could I use, other than liver treats, that would not compromise the validity of the test? I use the other foods because I prefer to offer a variety of treats, but is it still possible to offer a variety while attempting to find out if this is a food problem? Also, is there anything else that could be a likely cause of this?

jennie_c_d

Posted : 3/15/2006 10:40:23 PM

Emma's ears gunk up when she eats oats, and Teenie's have de gunked since she's been here, so it is possible that ear gunk is food related.

forpaws

Posted : 3/16/2006 7:47:23 AM

Jennie, are you sure the black stuff in Max's ears is not ear mites?
It will build up like that and will continue to return as long as it is not killed with ivemectin, 2 drops in each ear, all ears twice a day. Make sure he does not ingest this as it can kill him. I use ivemectin for the ears in killing ear mites only. It can be used as a heartworm preventative.
The redness in his ears could be caused from rubbing and scratching. When you massage the base of the ear, does it make a poping noise? If it does then it is ear mites.
Ear gunk can also be food allergy related. Hard to tell really.
Dilly as a pup.

griffinej5

Posted : 3/16/2006 9:53:43 AM

Haha... I'm Jen, Jennie has Teenie and Emma. I don't think it's mites, and I just checked right now, and it doesn't make a popping sound. If I actually stick my finger down in his ear, it's kinda like a wet sound. Since I am only able to clean it with my fingers, I can say that it doesn't seem to be something that is alive. It doesn't move, I can smoosh it down on my fingers, and if I wipe it on something it doesn't hold it's shape like I would expect if it were a mite, it spreads out across whatever I wipe it on, in the way I would expect that ear wax would spread. The vet didn't say it was ear mites last time, and she did swab it. Also, if it were mites, does it make any sense that it would have cleared up in one ear using Animax, and reapper 2 months later in the other ear? Last time it took the Animax a few days to clear it up, and it does look like it's getting better since I used it last night, which would lead me to believe that it is indeed something that is treatable with Animax, and not mites.

labcrab

Posted : 3/16/2006 11:13:16 AM

Basically, if it looks like shoe polish - it's yeast. If it looks more like coffee grounds, it's mites. This sounds like yeast.

So with yeast - it could easily be an allergy (certain grains in certain dogs will produce yeast), it could also just be moisture trapped in the ear producing the yeast. I would say that if he has NO other signs of an allergy, then it's probably just some moisture. My boy has had major yeasty ears since he was a baby. The ONLY thing that has truly done the trick is a 1:1 mixture of vinegar and water. For us, the cause is moisture in the ear (he's in the shower with his Daddy EVERY morning..) and the vinegar once a week keeps the pH levels in check. No more yeast whatsoever.

The other thing people swear by is the Blue Power Ear Wash: [linkhttp://www.itsfortheanimals.com/BLUE.HTM]BLUE.HTM[/link]
You can Google this and see the recipe all over the place. You really must follow it exactly and do it outside!!! That's the reason I went to vinegar - I couldn't do the outside thing...

cakana

Posted : 3/16/2006 11:45:44 AM

Jen - after having dealt with the constantly for a couple years, I'd just like to say that you're really going to need to figure out a way to be able to clean the ears. I know it's a hassle and they don't like it, but if he's having problems, there really is no alternative. I doubt the Animax is highly effective if it's having to work thru all the gunk. One time Sassy's were so bad that the vet had to take her in the back to do a deep flushing. If that gunk and infection gets packed in down in the canal, it can be really painful for the dog. I can do it pretty quickly and it goes fine. Sassy used to run and hide when she saw the bottle of solution, but I now douse the cotton balls (out of her eye sight) and nonchalantly go sit on the floor with her. I just stick them in each ear and rub, rub, rub. I let her shake and they go flying (which is why I also don't use the Blue solution [

]) and then wipe them out with dry cotton pads (I find the pads work better than balls for me). I give her a nice treat and we're done. The whole time I do it, I oooh and ahhh and tell how good she is. She really doesn't mind it at all now.

As for the food allergy part - when I switched Sassy to Natural Balance Duck & Potato last year, she totally quit having ear infections. That was after 2+ years of having them ALL the time. I've probably cleaned her ears 2-3 times only in the last 6 months and I used to do it at least twice a week. So, you might want to consider a food change or elimination diet. If you do the elimination diet, you can still get creative with treats. I have Sassy on pork & buckwheat ONLY. We haven't allowed her to have a single thing other than that for 6 weeks now. I took toasted buckwheat and ground it in the food processor to make a sort of flour. I mix that with some cooked, ground pork and cooked buckwheat (looks like oatmeal) and made a batch of dough and then bake it like cookies. I do a big batch at a time and freeze some. She LOVES them [

].

griffinej5

Posted : 3/16/2006 6:34:07 PM

Based on the descriptions, I think it's yeast. Since i'm using my fingers to clean his ears, I can say that it does feel wet in there. Come to think of it, he was at the park in the water, although he doesn't go in deep, and I did wash him before we went to meet Grrady, Aspen, Annie, and Jaime, and that was around the last time he had it. But, he went in the water in the summer, and he had no problems. He even put his head in his little pool in the backyard. Maybe because it was warm his ears dried out better. I remember him licking his feet a few times, and once I was able to attribute it to him stealing some food off the floor at Petsmart, and the other time I think it had to do with some Nutro I was using as treats. Once I dumped that, he stopped itching a few days later.
I'm thinking i'll try squirting stuff in his ear to clean it with a bulb syringe, maybe he wouldn't get what I was doing that way. He just sees a cotton ball, tissue, wipe, or something like that and thinks it's a snack.

jprinz99

Posted : 3/17/2006 11:14:08 AM

I feel your pain, so to speak... I have a boy who doesn't care to get his ears cleaned either. Here is a trick I do - maybe it will help.
I fix his supper and take the dish to the bathroom and put it out of reach. (my guy is totally food oriented)
Me and the dog get into the tub (yes, the tub) and I squirt cleaner in his ears and massage the base of each ear. I don't use cotton balls, etc. Just squirt some solution in the canal gently. I happen to use either 50/50 vinegar & water or "EarClens".
He is so focused on supper he tolerates me "messing" with him. After a few seconds, to give the cleaner time to disolve the gunk, I let him shake his head. The tub and shower curtain contain the mess as it flies out of his ears. Then he instantly gets his supper.You could also do this outside if you can keep your pup still for the 2 seconds it takes to squirt the solution in her ears
Dog happy, mom happy, ears happy. [

] And the mess just gets rinsed down the srain.
.

griffinej5

Posted : 3/17/2006 12:52:27 PM

Hmmm... that might work if I get the ear cleaner and put it in something else, but I know if I come after him with that bottle, there is no way he'll let me at him.

jprinz99

Posted : 3/19/2006 12:15:56 PM

try using a cleaned out eye bottle. I used one for artificial tears that contact wearers use. I just made the hole bigger to make it squirt, as oppossed to drop. It is easy to hide in your hands. You could ask the vet for an empty bottle that is fairly small, also. Just fill it with your solution of choice.

My guy was smart. He would see that big bottle the stuff came in originally and scramble to hide under the bed - which he knew was a tough place for me to drag him out of. Whoever said dogs couldn't read was wrong. He got tricked by the little bottle because he couldn't see it.

Good luck and keep trying. I had to resort to using my husband to hold him while I "attacked" (the dogs words, not mine) those nasty ears.[

]All in all, it has finally worked for us, but I will be honest and admit it took a while to get him to accept it without a big production. Now I can do it myself, as long as there is treat or supper to reward him.

For my guy it is sort of a "Keep the eye on the prize" type of game. Go figure!