Miztiki Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 I took my Boy to another vet last week. She swabbed his ears and said he has a yeast infection and gave me some Otomax. Told me to clean his ears in the morning with cleanser (to help dry them) and to medicate them a little later, and to repeat the routine at night. I am to do this for 10 days, stop for 10 days, then do it again for 10 days. Boyden had major issues with the earwash bottle when I got him but I was able to get him to the point where he would tolerate the twice a day meds. Now it's 4 times a day and he's not going for it. I've skipped several of the cleanings and just did the meds but tonight I couldn't even medicate his ears. He was scared and simply wouldn't relax and his body language told me that I should stop trying, and I did try for a long time. I see the vet again Tuesday. Wish it was Monday instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pippin Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 Are you trying to do this by yourself? Maybe if one of you holds him, strokes him and talks to him while the other puts the drops in would help keep him calm. It also helps Lily at the vet if I stand right in front of her and hold her head while they take her temperature or when she had the stitches from her spay taken out. She doesn't like to have her bottom handled even more than she doesn't like to get her teeth brushed or her ears cleaned, but at the vet as long as she can see and hear me and I'm right there with her holding her and petting her, she does fine. At home is a different matter because usually it is just me tending to her grooming; when my husband can hold her it really helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3crazybcs Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 I used to have a dog with chronic ear infections. For what it's worth, his ears got better just fine if I was medicating twice a day and using the earwash to clean out the gunk every other day, if that. Maybe that's a better option than the 4 times a day that you're trying to do? He'll still get better and it's less traumatic for both of you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olivia Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 The vet's where I work never ask a client to clean out ears multiple times a day. They say in some cases too much cleaning can make the ears worse, regardless of the medication being used. The constant rubbing and swabbing can lead to more irritation and can make the dog even more painful. We recommend cleaning every other day with the meds 2x a day. Now there is a solution called Blue Miracle that you mix up yourself that is used everyday and many spaniel people with those dogs with long, floppy, hairy, yeasty ears swear by it. If you are interested I can try to get a copy of the recipe and you can ask your vet his opinion. Olivia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3crazybcs Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 I have used a mixture that's purple that might be the same thing as the Blue Miracle. Here's a link to it: http://www.woodhavenlabs.com/ears.html It works really well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miztiki Posted February 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 Hi guys. Around 3:30 am I got his ears medicated. I have not done the twice a day cleaning but have aimed for once a day if possible. The other vet originally said to do the same thing but after realizing how against it he was, said to skip the cleansing and just do the meds. This new vet also said do the 2x day cleanser - not really to clean, but to dry the ear so that the meds will be effective. I did some research online and it does say that the ears should be clean and dry for the meds to penetrate it properly. Ideally I should put just a few drops of the cleanser in each ear, massage it in for a minute, then let him shake his head. He hates that bottle though, so I moisten a cotton ball and gently wipe his ear. He's in pain though. He has little lesions on the inside of his ear flap. I try to make med time as pleasant an experience as possible. I feel so sorry for him. Olivia, yes, I'm interested. My vet recommended a 50/50 mixture of white vinegar and rubbing alcohol. I'm using up the bottle of cleanser first though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laurie etc Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 Originally posted by Miztiki:He's in pain though. He has little lesions on the inside of his ear flap. I try to make med time as pleasant an experience as possible. I feel so sorry for him. My vet recommended a 50/50 mixture of white vinegar and rubbing alcohol. I'm using up the bottle of cleanser first though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laurie etc Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 oops - forgot to add the reply... The vinegar/alcohol mix will cause a great deal of "sting" on his raw spots! OUCH! No wonder he doesn't like it. After having drop eared Goldens forever, I can attest to lots of ear infections and many tubes of Otamax. One thing I learned with my dogs - chronic yeast infections in the ears are caused by an allergy or intolerance - most likely to grain. My one Golden had such horrible and chronic yeast infections that she actually had seizures. The yeast infection was systemic in her -it's called Candida in people. I put her on a holistic yeast detox program, and took her off grain products (kibble). Grains turn to sugar in the body - and yeast feeds on sugar. Once she went through the detox period, she never had a seizure or ear infection again. She is now almost 11 and still healthy. I know there is a new kibble out there that contains no grains. SOmeone mentioned it on this list a while back. You might want to switch to it, and see if Boy's ears get better. Also, there are some natural ear cleansers and treatmetns out there too. The yeast detox formula is made by Azmira Holistic Animal Care, and the ear cleanser I have used is made by Halo Purely for Pets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miztiki Posted February 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 Hi Laurie, I haven't used the alcohol/vinegar mix yet because we still have the cleanser to use up. You're right that there may be an underlying cause and that's something the vet and I will discuss tomorrow. He had the infection when I got him a month ago from the shelter. I first put him on Bil-Jac then switched him to Chicken Soup brand dog food and he completely transitioned to that about 1 1/2 weeks ago. He doesn't seem to like it though. I flip his ears over often to get some air in there. I'll look at the products you mentioned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urge to herd Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 Miztiki, are you warming up the lotion? That can sometimes help. I've never used the blue or purple stuff, but know of many people who swear by it. And it's quite possible that there's an allergy component. Anyway, if you get to the point where his ears are clean and you need to do a weekly wash for prevention, just use 1tbs vinegar to 1/2 cup of water, warmed up. That is acid enough to keep a healthy ear healthy. Good luck with him, I hope the poor guy's ears feel better soon. Ruth n the BC3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miztiki Posted February 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 No, I put the earwash on a cotton ball and he doesn't seem to mind that too terribly much. He HATES to have it squirted directly into his ears, warmed or not. I think it's the bottle itself because that very first night, before I knew he had an issue with his ears, he saw the bottle and ran. He hates that bottle. He doesn't seem to mind the medication bottle though. It has a long, skinny nozzle and the liquid is fairly thick. I don't know if he's just getting upset about having to put up with this ear stuff all the time, or if his ears are hurting him more. I WISH I COULD MAKE IT BETTER FOR HIM!! I don't know what to do for my baby. I want to cry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogaholic Posted March 1, 2005 Report Share Posted March 1, 2005 Be very careful with the Otomax. Long term AND intermitant use can cause deafness! Unfortunately that happened with my first BC 7 or 8 years ago. I did not know better at the time PetEducation has some good info on Otomax: http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cl...&articleid=1402 As for the ear wash, it must get further down into the ear canal to work properly. I am afraid swabbing the external ear area with a cotton ball won't do the job properly. Good luck with your Boy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3crazybcs Posted March 1, 2005 Report Share Posted March 1, 2005 I'm not sure if anyone mentioned this or not but this ear infection could be just a reoccurrence of the one he had when you got him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olivia Posted March 1, 2005 Report Share Posted March 1, 2005 The reply right after mine, from 3crazybcs, has a link to the receipe for blue miracle. http://www.woodhavenlabs.com/ears.html It is apparantly very important to follow the instructions, using it as directed. It doesn't seem to sting or hurt and I have used it on dogs with horrific ears and they didn't seem to mine overmuch. Good luck. Frequent ear infections are frustrating but with some diligance both you and Boy will make it! Olivia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lrayburn Posted March 1, 2005 Report Share Posted March 1, 2005 Just a quick tip my vet showed me - it works like a charm for my fearful, nippy ACD. If you decide to have someone hold him, instead of having them stroke him gently on the head - have them pat-pat-pat fairly firmly on the top of the dog's head with a cupped hand. This distracts the dog from whatever else is being done to him. Stroking leaves Nellie with plenty of time to think about what those nasty people are doing to her (and what she can do about it!) but the pat-pat-pat technique keeps her a little befuddled (what are you doing to my head?!). I'm not sure if holding him is the right approach at this point but if that's what you decide - try the patting instead of stroking and see how Boy responds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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