Does your dog get yeast infections in his/her ears?

[Aisling]

My two year old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel has a yeast infection in his ear. It's the second time in three months. The first time he had it in both ears. I know those breeds of dogs with long, floppy ears are prone to that, but is there anything I can do to prevent it? I take really good care of his hygiene, including his ears, but the vet said it's from the dampness with no air in there that causes it. I asked him what I should do to prevent it, but all he said was to keep his ears dry and to basically expect this to happen every so often. Does that sound right to you?

I clean his ears with tea tree oil, but that won't do anything to stop yeast, it's just a cleanser. I googled natural remedies for prevention and treatment of ear yeast infections and couldn't find anything I could make at home or buy over the counter. My dog means the world to me and if I have to pay the vet $53 just to walk in the door and another $23 for the medicine every few months I will, but I'd love to be able to save that money and do it myself.

Any ideas?

 

[MichelleVW]

My Golden used to get them all the time. We switched his food to a food with no corn, or by products and he hasn't had one since. I don't know if it's a coincidence or not, but he hasn't had one in the past 4 years that we switched his food. For the 6 years before that he had one every other month or so.

 

[Aisling]

VERY interesting! I have to check the ingredients in his dog food. Thanks!

 

[christiane]

All dogs have yeast in their ears. When a dog gets a "yeast infection", they have an underlying problem that allows the yeast to overgrow. The yeast are the result of the infection, not the cause of it.

The top three reasons dogs get ear infections are allergies, allergies & allergies! Less common causes are moisture (swimming, bathing), excessive wax, low thyroid etc.

Environmental allergies (pollens, mold) & food allergies are the most common.

The ear infections will never be fully controlled until the underlying condition is controlled. If your vet hasn`t discussed this with you while treating the infections, you might want to get another opinion.

 

[Aisling]

I use Halo Spot's Stew Wild Salmon Dry dog food. Here are the ingredients, no corn. Does anything else look suspicious?

Our Ingredients:

Salmon, Eggs, Pea Protein, Oats, Vegetable Broth, Pearled Barley, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Whole Peas, Chicken Liver, Chicken, Flax Seed, Salmon Oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols), Sweet Potatoes, Apples, Blueberries, Green Beans, Carrots, Cranberries, Zucchini, Alfalfa, Inulin, Calcium Sulfate, Potassium Chloride, Taurine, Salt, Vitamins (Folic Acid, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Choline Bitartrate, Niacin, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Ascorbic Acid, Riboflavin Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Biotin), Minerals (Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Cobalt Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Magnesium Proteinate, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Bifidobacterium longum Fermentation Product, Dried Enterococcus faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus plantarum Fermentation Product.

 

[Aisling]

The ear infections will never be fully controlled until the underlying condition is controlled. If your vet hasn`t discussed this with you while treating the infections, you might want to get another opinion.

He hasn't!

 

[nathalee81]

About a year ago, our lab was having pretty consistant problems with her ears. I am sorry, I don't recall if they were ear infections or yeast infections.

However, we finally knocked whatever it was out with something called TrizUltra+Keto. I was using something called OtiSoothe and it just wasn't working, so my vet gave me this stuff. I think you can get the stuff on-line, if you want to.

You might check with your vet first, to see if it is okay to use on your pup (I don't know if it has any side effects with certain medications or anything like that).

Good luck and hope your pup feels better soon .

 

[MichelleVW]

I use Halo Spot's Stew Wild Salmon Dry dog food. Here are the ingredients, no corn. Does anything else look suspicious?

.

Looks like good dog food to me. Hopefully you can get this figured out soon.

 

[Aisling]

However, we finally knocked whatever it was out with something called TrizUltra+Keto.

Googling this right now.

 

[rszdtrvl]

We have Beagles - one of those long floppy ear type dogs, LOL.

They eat : Taste of the Wild Wetlands Formula.

When they sleep, we try to flip their ears up to get the circulation into them.

When we notice their ears getting funky, we get a cotton ball and clean their ears with this :

http://www.k9rawdiet.com/K-9-Ear-Solutions-Ear-Cleaner-Gentian-Violet-Formula-pr-112.html

Normally DH will say "Ewwwww.... dirty ears!!" and I will get out the cleaner and wipe them clean.

We just dampen the cotton ball and wipe their ears out good. We don't need to clean the ears often - we have had the same bottle of cleaner for a few years now. The genetian violet WILL STAIN light surfaces, so be careful. We purchased ours at a local feed store.

 

[mrsv98]

Do you have more than one dog? Our older lab gets them from time to time because the other lab licks her ears! As long as I watch that behavior and keep her ears clean, she is fine. Also we try and dry them out after they swim.

 

[Aisling]

Do you have more than one dog? Our older lab gets them from time to time because the other lab licks her ears! As long as I watch that behavior and keep her ears clean, she is fine. Also we try and dry them out after they swim.

He doesn't swim, but he's at the park every day and the other dogs do lick him, even his ears now that you mention it. Hmmm...

 

[Katy Belle]

My beagle eats Iams and if she eats anything else she gets itchy ears. Good luck!

 

[christiane]

I use Halo Spot's Stew Wild Salmon Dry dog food. Here are the ingredients, no corn. Does anything else look suspicious?

Our Ingredients:

Salmon, Eggs, Pea Protein, Oats, Vegetable Broth, Pearled Barley, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Whole Peas, Chicken Liver, Chicken, Flax Seed, Salmon Oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols), Sweet Potatoes, Apples, Blueberries, Green Beans, Carrots, Cranberries, Zucchini, Alfalfa, Inulin, Calcium Sulfate, Potassium Chloride, Taurine, Salt, Vitamins (Folic Acid, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Choline Bitartrate, Niacin, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Ascorbic Acid, Riboflavin Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Biotin), Minerals (Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Cobalt Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Magnesium Proteinate, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Bifidobacterium longum Fermentation Product, Dried Enterococcus faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus plantarum Fermentation Product.

Food allergies are certainly high on the list for dogs with recurrent ear infections. True allergies only occur against a protein (eg the salmon, chicken or vegetable proteins in the above ingredient list) but dogs can be sensitive to other food ingredients including dyes. I would not say that corn is a common allergen in dogs --chicken & beef are much more common.

There is no magic test for food allergies. There are blood tests but they are not considered reliable & are expensive. Skin testing can be done for environmental allergies (eg pollens, molds, dust mites) but not for food.

To check for a food allergy, you must do a very strict food trial. You have to carefully go through your dog`s diet history & see what proteins he has eaten. This would include meats, dairy, eggs, soy & some vegetable proteins. Then you need to select a food that doesn`t have any protein he has eaten before. You have to look at the ingredients very closely. For instance look at the name of the food you are currently using --``WILD SALMON`` --but look how much chicken is in there! You need to find a food that has only one protein source & one carbohydrate source. Your vet should have a few choices (eg Duck & Potato or Kangaroo & Oats). The trial needs to last a minimum of 6 wks & during that time absolutely nothing gets fed to your dog but the new food. Very Important or you are just wasting your time! Even one pizza crust will ruin a food trial. If the ear infections go away & stay away, then he was probably allergic to his food. But the only way to prove this is to feed the old food & if the infections return, you have definite proof.

But having said this, remember food allergies aren`t the only cause. For example if he only gets ear infections in the spring, he does not have a food allergy ---he probably has a pollen allergy.

You need a very knowledgeable veterinarian to work with you on this. Good Luck!

 

[Aisling]

I just ordered TrizUltra+Keto from Amazon after reading the reviews. It's the same medicine basically that the vet gives me, but for half the price. It's used on dogs, cats and horses on farms. Someone also recommended hydrocortisone cream to stop the itching until the medicine kicks in.

Thank you ALL so much for your help. I'll definitely be changing his food to see if it helpe, changing to something with very limited ingredients so I can hopefully narrow it down if it is indeed a food allergy.

And I'll try to be aware of it's seasonal.

AND I'll be going back to our original vet who moved to his own office. He seems the type who likes to get to the root of issues, not just treat them.

You all have helped me so much, you don't know how much I appreciate it. I hate to see my poor pup so uncomfortable with itchy ears. The Dis rocks!

 

[Tuffcookie]

You should check the ears weekly, or at least every other week. It is much easier to prevent the problem than to have to deal with it afterwards.

You can make your own ear wash at home using 1/2 part white vinegar and 1/2 part alcohol. I use cotton balls. Soak the cotton ball in the vinegar/alcohol solution and squeeze the solution, from the cotton ball, in ears. They will want to shake but try to keep the ear flap down until the solution has had time to go into the ear.

My late Lab had frequent yeast infections. Now that I have Gracie, another breed prone to yeast infections in the ears, I try to check them weekly.

TC

 

[Aisling]

You should check the ears weekly, or at least every other week. It is much easier to prevent the problem than to have to deal with it afterwards.

You can make your own ear wash at home using 1/2 part white vinegar and 1/2 part alcohol. I use cotton balls. Soak the cotton ball in the vinegar/alcohol solution and squeeze the solution, from the cotton ball, in ears. They will want to shake but try to keep the ear flap down until the solution has had time to go into the ear.

My late Lab had frequent yeast infections. Now that I have Gracie, another breed prone to yeast infections in the ears, I try to check them weekly.

TC

Thank you. I'm going to do this and dump the tea tree oil.

 

[aprilgail2]

We get some stuff from the vet that we use to wash his ears out once a week and he hasn't had an ear infection in the past year where before he had them every few months.

 

[mamamary]

My lab gets alot of ear infections but he also is very allergic to well just about everything.

 

[poohlover]

I have Newfs and we too have ear issues. I have a supply of the blue ear cleaner and use it particularly in the spring and summer. During the humid weather and the damp spring we seem to have more incidents. I have gotten good enough so I can now 'smell' it before it gets too bad. Cleaning the ears every week should help catch it quick even if one does begin. Newfs have the long ears that cover the ears for swimming and the ear canals are tipped back according to my vet, which makes them linger when they get them.