Persistent ear infections

[Ford23]

I once read somewhere that if you are subjecting your dog to two or three treatments per year for a persistent ear infection, this could be an indication of a food allergy. How then can a dog owner be able to tell which foods are not doing a dog any good?

 

[DenverDogLover82]

If food allergies are suspected, you should talk to your vet about putting your dog on a hypoallergenic diet. Once your dog is on this diet for several weeks, you'll introduce ingredients into his or her diet one at a time until you find the one (or more) ingredient/s that cause a reaction. It is a long process, but it is worth it to find out what is causing trouble for your fur baby.

 

[Pipsqueak]

Hairy, floppy ears are adorable, but they leave those breeds more prone to ear infections. A lot of it is due to excess moisture, which enables yeast and bacteria to thrive. I have a cocker spaniel and the vet gave me doggie ear cleaner and said it's okay to use cotton swabs and cotton balls both inside and outside of her ears because it's that important to get the whole ear clean. He also said it's okay to put some rubbing alcohol on a cotton ball or swab and rub it into her ears when it's been raining for days, or she's had a bath because the rubbing alcohol will seep into the canal and dry up the excess moisture. If you just do it every once in a while it won't dry their ears out. Just don't use the same cotton ball or swab on both ears or you run the risk of cross contamination. I only bring this up because I made the mistake of assuming my cocker spaniel's scratching was due to allergies. I still feel guilty about how long I let her suffer - switching foods, applying creams, bathing her with a special shampoo, taking her for cortisone shots. The poor thing needed an antibiotic and for me to learn about ear hygiene for hairy, floppy, adorable ears.

 

[Poppy]

I love the discussion here but reading through @Pipsqueak's post, I get the feeling that it is much better to involve a vet from the very start. I had no idea that floppy ears leave dogs prone to these kinds of infections.

 

[RuffLuv]

I think if the concern is the dog's food being responsible for an ear infection, the only way to tell would be to have frequent trips to the veterinarian, like say once a month while only feeding the dog one type of food. If over time the dog's ears continue to be fine when feeding it a certain food, then that food is more than likely okay. Then if you choose to add a new type of food (say a refrigerated brand of food to spice up the dry food you usually give your dog), and on the next visit to the vet there is a problem, then perhaps the newly added food is the culprit. And so on and so forth. Or, you could just keep a list of what the dog eats and when, and if ear infections come up, refer back to the list of foods given at that time. If a certain food was introduced at the same time the infection showed up, remove that food from the dog's diet and see how the dog fares then.