Is there anything new about ears?

I have a 2 y.o. with one ear that is bothering her. The other is squeaky clean. Last year Zymox did the trick and she was clear for months. This spring Zymox didn't help at all. Off to the vet and $200 later Surolan twice a day didn't help either. (It's yeast and bacteria BTW). Vet says it's NOT an allergy?!?!?

A vet acquaintance seems to think that many dogs with floppy ears just have to live with bad ears, and I tend to agree because my previous lab had a ton of ear infections.

Guess I'm just venting.

What are you doing on a day-to-day basis in caring for her ears? How are you handling her ears when they get wet from swimming or other things?

I have a 2.5 year old who gets ear infections. I used many remedies, the best so far is, cleaning the ears twice a day with MalAcetic Otic, you can get it over the counter. Then the Vet. prescribed Otomax cream. I use that twice a day for ten days. Then clean the ears one time a day until healthy. After that I'll clean ears once a week or if the ears start getting hot. It is going to be an on going thing with her. Just when I thought it was gone, it came back. Now I always check her ears. It's easier to do a regular regime than letting them get nasty and going through the cleaning/meds. routine. Good luck.

This is a recipe that I have been given and it works wonderfully!!! Go to your local Walmart and purchase the following:

Monistat CREAM,
Triple Antibiotic CREAM,
1% Hydrocortisone CREAM
Tinactin CREAM
a bottle of Normal Saline.

They must all be CREAMs, the ointments will NOT work as they will not dissolve. Combine 4 equal parts on a clean paper plate and place in a ear cleaner type bottle, then fill with Saline until you can shake it but it is still on the thick side. Use it like you would the otomax until things clear. I use it once a week after cleaning on one of my girls who is prone to gunky ears and they are spotless. It hits all the problem spots.

Thanks for the tip.

Great ideas, Emily and imho. Better than what I've been doing. thks.

I have a 5-year-old male who developed an infection in his right ear in July of 2011. Culture showed yeast and bacteria, so we started treatment for both. Long story short, the bacteria cleared up; the yeast didn't. Went to a veterinary dermatologist and tried every known treatment from a strict food trial to eliminate the possibility of a food allergy, to ear flushings, to every known drug designed to treat yeast. Nothing worked. The vet consulted with her mentors at U Penn and Ohio State, and tried new protocols. Finally, she did a modified allergy prick test including mallasevia (sp), the yeast identified in Punch's ear. It showed an allergic reaction, so she brewed up a serum that we injected once a week. After so long and so many failures, I didn't expect much, but it worked! After about 5 weeks of injections, Punch's ear was completely clear! He will be on the injections probably for the rest of his life, but that's a small price to pay for a healthy dog.
I wouldn't mess around with a recurring ear infection. If it doesn't clear up, I would strongly recommend seeing a specialist.

Did you do a culture? That will tell you the sensitivity - indicating what meds to use.

We have used several different ones over the years and sometimes even need an oral one in combo with the topicals

Weekly checks when ears are ok. No swimming in fall and winter, so no need to dry them. It seems that her ear became bad after giving a brand of training treats. I had been wiping it out every day with cotton balls, but that did nothing. The vet said not to use a cleaner more than twice a week. I had been using Vet Solutions cleaner - which she hated. Squirt in, let her shake, wipe out waxy stuff and dry.

Thanks Emily. I'll try the MalAcetic Otic as I'm not crazy about the Vet Solutions stuff and neither are the dogs. Great idea to get into a preventative routine, rather than realize (too late) that there's a problem!

This sounds GREAT! I have plenty of ear cleaner type bottles!

I tried plain Monistat once, but couldn't get it deep enough into the ears, and a helpful dog licked it out for her and then threw up - ugh!

Thank you so much for the recipe :-)

I should add that Punch had that ear infection for almost a year! The serum injections started in May of this year.

I am not clear on the amounts. I would appreciate it if you could please be more specific. Are the equal amounts a teaspoon, a dab, or what? This definitely sounds worth trying. TIA

Kathy, sounds like you have really gotten good results on a difficult case because you have been so persistent and willing to try anything. Ear infections can be just terrible; I'm always impressed when people go to such lengths to make the dog comfortable.

My vet gave me a new approach to ear infections last month. I haven't tried it yet, but it looks interesting because it is a pump with a long applicator and because it contains three active agents in suspension: hydrocortisone 1.11 mg, miconazole 15.1 mg, and gentamicin 1.5 mg/ml. So a steroid for inflamation, an anti-fungal for yeast, and an antibiotic for bacteria. It is called EasOtic made by VirBac Animal Health. Sounds good, and I like the applicator. I just haven't had a need to use it yet.

Combine 4 equal parts ......

The MalAcetic Otic is an all natural product. My girl is fine with it. She is now used to the routine. I'm not used to dogs who have ear problems so I was kinda negligent about checking ears. But now its just a routine, do nails, and ears. I am going to try the formula that IMHO advises. Thanks so much-

We didn't do a culture. Didn't know people did that with yeasty ears. Now I wish we had! Thanks

That does sound interesting, esp. if you can give a measured dose. Previously, when using Surolan I was supposed to count drops going into the ear - an impossible task because if you can see the drops coming out of the applicator, they are not getting deep enough into the ear! Using a long applicator enables us to get the med right down there, but how do we know how long to squeeze the bottle? I've been doing it until my "victim" winces and then I massage the ear as I listen for that squishy sound......

When using the Otomax it says a small amount. Well you can't really tell if you are using a small amount or not. So, just one little squeeze of the tube then look into the ear canal and see the meds. You can't overdose. I think this would also work for IMHO remedy.

I can get all this stuff cheaply at Walmart. But where do you buy normal saline?

Yes, the measured dose aspect of the new medication and applicator appealed to me too. And the applicator is long enough that the measured doses can get into the ear canal more easily. You just pump once. Because it is sort of expensive, I plan to use it with dogs who don't respond to my usual routine of cleaning and Otomax. I also know how to flush ears with a syringe and a catheter, but dogs hate it so I also reserve flush for the difficult infections. But if you get a difficult infection, you need to have the ear canal really clean in order for the medication to access the tissues and be effective. So you might ask your vet to teach you how to flush ears.

I do believe you can get it at Walmart. Just ask for saline solution.

I think you want sterile saline, which is used for irrigating eyes and wounds. You can find it in most drug stores with contact lens solutions.

An old breeder friend told me about using:

2 Tbsp. Boric Acid Powder
1 cup Brown or Gold Listerine (or generic) DO NOT use the minty type!

Mix and put into a squirt type bottle.

Clean ears and squirt into ears. Rub ears for a few seconds and let them shake out the excess.

This works like a charm. You'll see results in 24 hours.

I haven't used any other ear meds since getting this "recipe".

You may need to get the Boric Acid Powder from the pharmacy - no prescription needed. It seems troublemakers are using it in an illegal manner.

Many thanks for the tip! I have used Listerine Mouthwash (diluted 50/50 with water) on itchy feet and it works well for that too! I ran that recommendation past the vet who said it would work just fine to kill bacteria.

Damn those druggies for taking our cheap meds for their "habit!"