Ears: Really wet to really dry

Not really -- I'm not sure what she means by 'working too well' -- but it sounds to me like atopic allergies and perhaps his body is well conditioned enough that it isn't allowing yeast, but the atopy is still causing inflammation in the mucus membranes.  I would also be concerned about potential bacterial infection down deep. 

 Typically wet yeasty ears aren't a single thing -- but rather it's both atopy and yeast (the yeast finding a nice place to grow in the inflamed tissue)

 Hi Callie,

Thanks for answering. I see what you mean, let me try to clarify.

Basically, if you put a tiny amount of A+D ointment on it, it goes away. If you give the dog a benadryl, it doesn't go away. That makes me think that it's not allergies but just dry angriness.

Basically, the vet said that bacteria and yeast can't grow when it's as dry as it is in his ears, but she gave a bacteria culture anyway. It came back negative.  

  Did your vet ever suggest regular cleanings (once or twice a week) with a good ear cleaner such as Epi-Otic to control the yeast? Often that will be enough. Jessie has serious environmental allergies and cleaning her ears twice a week during allergy season keeps the yeast under control. I agree with Callie; what your vet says about the diet "working too well" doesn't make sense. She also mentioned the possibility of a deep bacterial infection; has the vet taken a culture to see if that's part of the problem? Are you certain the diet is balanced; did your vet give you a recipe to follow or was it formulated by a veterinary nutritionist? If your dog's diet isn't balanced, it will effect his immune system.
 

"Working too well" means "oops, I have no clue what this is, but I'll attribute it to something else!" ;) 

I have a 2-year old Vizsla who has had chronic yeast in his ears for about a year. My vet suggested that he might be allergic to grain and decided that a BARF diet might clear up his damp, funky ears.

Did he/she do this without running any of the usual diagnostic tests? Er.....strange. I'm all for raw feeding, but it isn't an automatic cure-all.

This worked. His ears are no longer terminally wet and fungus is gone. But now they are quite inflammed, dry and scaly. The vet says that the diet is working but it's working too well and his body is reacting by becoming inflamed.

 
That last sentence makes no sense....Couldn't it just as equally be the diet that is causing the dryness? Is there enough fat in it? COuld there be a diet component in it that could be an allergen? There are a LOT more allergens than grains....

whtsthfrequency

Did he/she do this without running any of the usual diagnostic tests? Er.....strange. I'm all for raw feeding, but it isn't an automatic cure-all.

  It sure isn't; especially if it's not carefully balanced. The vet should have sent blood to a lab to be tested for allergies at the very least.

whtsthfrequency

There are a LOT more allergens than grains...

   You are sooo right; I'm continually frustrated by people blaming grains for their dog's itching or ear infections without doing an elimination diet; Jessie's allergic to three meats and white and sweet potatoes, but not to any grains. I wish this poster would come back and let us know how the dog is doing now.
 

The vet should have sent blood to a lab to be tested for allergies at the very least.

Yep, an allergic type reaction can be pretty easily seen on blood tests - you get a boatload of eosinophils. Its a pretty standard first testing line. We've have a lot of pollen down here these past two weeks and I saw some cat blood smears the couple says I worked that were just looooooaded.

Raw diets are in general lower on the "inflammatory scale" than kibble (just because uncooked foods have lower sugar/protein browning byproducts than cooked, and those chemicals (called advanced glycosylated end products - what a mouthful!!) are in general moderately inflammatory).....

 BUT  but once you throw an actual allergen into the mix, all bets are off - raw form will be just as allergen-producing as cooked. Obviously I haven't seen this dog so I don't know for sure but that would be my first guess....Dermatology isn't until next semester :)