Does anyone know what I can do to keep our dog from having repeat ear infections?

Question

Our dog is a 13 yr old mixed breed. Over the past year we have spent over a $1000 on vet bills for repeat ear infections. They give her meds and it goes away. It always comes back. We cannot afford to keep doing this. We have to put off a utility bill to take her to the vet this week. Not to mention that she is miserable. Are there any home remedies or over the counter people meds that we can try?

Answer 1

My two year old pup has major ear issues as well. We use a VET cleaner called Oticleanse, its a little bottle you squirt some of the cleaner in and then wipe it clean. You also may want to change the dogs diet, sometimes the food can cause an allergic reaction and that could be why it is so red and smelly. If your dog swims, or gets some frequent baths, make sure her ears are well dried out, that can cause more mites and bacteria to build up. If she seems to be in pain, we give our dog a SMALL dosage of baby motrin, that normally takes the edge off, and might help with the redness. Hope your pooch is feeling better soon!

Answer 2

Keeping the ear canale cleaned and removing the hair from the ears are good. Keeping a dog on antibiotic all the time can be hard on theiir systems.
There is a surgery that can be done to open up the ear canal so that it gets more air to it and it will dry and then there is less chance of infection. By allowing air to circulate and not being covered up and moist all the time it fixes most problems.
It does however leave the dog with a large opening for the ear canal and does not look the best. Not all vets will do it and many prefer to treat when the dog has an infefction. But as a last resort the surgery works and will stop the infections.

Answer 3

Speak to the vet and ask him how to maintain her ears with cleaning (using a prescribed disinfectant cleaner) to help prevent this recurring. Cleaning should be done regularly. Also, when she's being bathed, ensure that there is no water entering her ears, this is a common source of ear infections in dogs as their ear canal goes straight down and anything that gets into the ear has to go up to get out.

Has the vet taken a swab to culture in order to pinpoint the bacteria and the specific treatment for that bug.

It is common for infections to be recurrent and over time, many antibiotics have been used. The sad truth is that most bacteria are killed off, but leave an infection with the very resistant and virtually indestructible Pseudomonas. Occasionally they are susceptible to quinolone antibiotics, you need a swab & culture to determine this though.

The other possible causes are skin allergies which are the most common cause (a prescribed low allergy diet carried out for 6 weeks should show an improvement in this case), foreign objects such as grasses or seeds or hair growth deep in the canal causing irritation.

Ear mites are another cause, a vet would be able to see them with the aural scope upon examination.

Yeast infections can also cause it which can be determined through a swab too, although this is less likely.

Due to the dog's age, regular anti-inflammatory or steroid shots might be useful in this case. They usually last around 6 weeks, but once it's under control, then they can be spaced out to every few months.

I'm sorry you and your pooch are going through this, have been there done that and spent thousands trying to get an answer. Finally found a vet who looked outside the square and gave the steroid shots i'd been asking for all along that the other vets refused to give. It is frustrating when the problem is continually treated yet it just keeps coming back. My dog has long since crossed over to rainbow bridge but it's an experience you never forget!

Answer 4

I had a chow mix, that, when in his older age (15) he had constant ear infections. The vet tried EVERY antibiotic there was and he even tried to make a few on his own. It just didn't work! I ended up having him euthanized because he was in so much pain and nothing worked.

I think you should have a complete blood profile done on your pooch. That will tell you how her liver, kidney, white blood count, thyroid, etc. is doing. Because of your dogs age, her immune system could be compromised. If that's the case, there is medication to boost her immune system and you should have better luck with the ear infections.

I know it's not easy financially. I now have an outstanding $600 vet bill!. If you talk to your vet and let them know about your situation, they are usually pretty good about setting up a payment plan.

Answer 5

Get her on a better diet, I get Wellness, by Old Mother Hubbard, Lamb and Rice. Food alergies have a lot to do with it. Repeated antibiotics can cause a fungal infection. The food i mentioned earlier has probiotics to put back the good bacteria in her gut. KEEP ALL THE HAIR PULLED OUT OF HER EARS. Tweezer will work, but hemostat clamps are best. You can e-mail me and I might be able to come up with a home remedy. [e-mail], put in the subject line help w/ dog ear infection.

Answer 6

Go to pet smart and get a big container of Jumbo ear wipes. Dogs that have long floppy ears get infections all the time. The ear isn't able to breath and moisture and dirt get trapped in the ear when ya doggie rolls around on the ground.I have a lab...he gets an ear infection so easily. I have to clean his ears once a week if I want to avoid them vet bills. However I still have a big bottle of the VET ear wash...Do invest in this with the bill money..it's well worth it. Dogs are the best!!! Good luck

Answer 7

Keep the hair around the inside of your dogs ear trimmed. Wipe the ear out with a wash cloth every week. That will cut down on the infection. Some dogs like cockers etc. are prone to ear infections due to their ears being heavy and having longer hair. There is not enough airflow under the ears to keep bacteria out.

Answer 8

some breeds have a lot of hair in the ear canaI pull it out use one of those medical sissor like clamps to reach better than your fingers I hope one vet didn't get all the money. If he did you gotta find one who will be honest and show you how to handle the problem yourself clean the ears yourself and keep them dry inside.I would consider dog might have ear mites ask how to prevent that problem when you go to a new vet.

Answer 9

Talk to the vet about a low dosage antibiotic that you can give every day, instead of waiting for the infection to return, then getting her on meds. Kind of like preventative care. Maybe a different vet also?

Answer 10

hi, the girl is old which means that she is not that strong towards viruses ext. Keep her ears clean with the oil you get from the vet, and then you need to look after the old lady you know,shes as old as a grandmother.
Give the lady a kiss and hug and take care of her