Kirby keeps having ear troubles.

[Wyluli]

My boy Kirby appears to have an ear infection (or infections as it appears in both ears). He had an infection a couple months ago and it was a yeast infection. It looks like he is getting the same thing again. His ears look a bit red and there is brown gunk in his ears that I clean out daily.
The vet said last time he was in that switching dog foods can cause yeast infections. I did just switch him to Chicken Soup dog food.
Is there anything I can do to help prevent these infections?
Do I need to switch dog foods again or will he adjust?
Any advice greatly appreciated.

 

[joce]

I'd keep them as dry as i could and try to learn more about the food. My dobe had an ear infection that didn't go away untill his ears where done so I know what a pain it was. Do you use the cleaning solution stuff from the vet? I've heard that different kinds are better than others. I'm sure someone else will know something about the food though.

 

[Mordy]

if it is a yeast infection, the infection appears as a symptom of an underlying cause, which is most likely an allergy.

the statement of your vet that "switching foods can cause yeast infections" is only partially correct. the switch doesn't cause it, allergies do.

yeast is always present in and on the body but is kept under control by a healthy, strong immune system. if it gets overtaxed and needs all the resources it can muster to constantly fight other attacks, the yeast can get out of control, overgrow and cause all kinds of trouble.

my first step would be to have the vet check just what exactly the cause of the infection is. if the discharge smells kind of sweet and "doughy", it's very likely to be yeast, but have it checked nevertheless.

meanwhile you can switch to a food with a less varied ingredient formulation (california natural, natural balance or wellness simple food solutions are some brands you can look for) and see if that helps.

since the ear infection is only a symptom and not the problem itself, you will have to make an effort to battle it from the inside in order to prevent it from recurring. anything you apply topically is temporary "crisis management" at best and will soothe the affected areas, but it won't prevent future issues.

you can clean the ears with a mixture of 50% witch hazel and 50% apple cider vinegar, that will make the environment less appealing to the yeast.

 

[Barb04]

I do agree that it may be the food. Max was constantly having ear infections when he was younger, once I changed his food to a better brand/formula, they went away. I'm so happy they did since putting medication into an Anatolian's ear is an experience. Even at 3 months old, you thought he was going to take your arm off.

 

[Wyluli]

I just switched the boys to Chicken Soup for the Dog Lovers Soul because it was a better food than what they were on.
I will keep the ears dry and I do use some cleaning stuff that came from the vet (smells really bad).
I was thinking about switching the boys to Innova Evo after this bag of food runs out. Should I do that, or try one of the brands you recommended Morday? (california natural, natural balance or wellness simple food solutions are some brands you can look for)

Thanks.

 

[Mordy]

you could try switching to the evo and see what happens. it is a much better food than chicken soup. if it doesn't make a difference, you'll have to look for whatever could be causing problems tho, for which a more simple kibble is the best start.

 

[Wyluli]

you could try switching to the evo and see what happens. it is a much better food than chicken soup. if it doesn't make a difference, you'll have to look for whatever could be causing problems tho, for which a more simple kibble is the best start.

Ah, and so the hunt begins. Ok, I'll try the Innova Evo as I know where I can get it here in town. Now, do you know how soon I will see a difference? When I treat kirby's ears they should be cleared up in a week or two (noticably) so once he switches food and is not on ear meds, if the infection comes back again while on the new food, I should switch again?

And did that just make sense?

Thanks.

 

[Wyluli]

NOTE* Took the boys to the pet shop today. I talked to the guy there about dog foods. Of interesting note, he said Science Diet was probably one of the worst dog foods out there and that the vets get a commision for selling it, so I figured that put them one ahead of the vets right there as far as nutritional knowledge.
I ended up buying a bag of Wellness after reading the bag and all. Of note:
Wellness does not contain any rendered animal fats, meat by-products, wheat, corn or white rice and also does not contain any artificial colors, flavors or preservatives of any kind.

Here is the particular food I picked up:
http://www.oldmotherhubbard.com/dogs/wellness_detail.asp?pCode=dryDogSup5MixLamb


I realize now that I was supposed to get the "Simple food solutions" version of this, so I may try that next time. I only bought a 15 pound bag for the two corgi's so it wont last as long. I sure hope it helps!

 

[Mordy]

yes it did make sense. and you're right on. let's hope that will be all you need to do to get to the root of the problem. after that it gets kind of complicated.

wellness is a good start, it's definitely better quality than chicken soup, but if you are unlucky, whatever causes the problem is also present in the new food. give it a try and see how it goes.