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brown gunk in ear


kaos
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Hello every one

I was hoping for some information from those in the know....

My inlaws have a lab that has had ear infections for his whole life (he is 9), when they clean his ears it is a thick, gunky chocolatey goo. He is also a chronic foot licker and chewer. I mentioned that I thought it may be an allergy to something in his kibble, so they asked the vet who put him on some kind of science diet food can't remember which one or if it was science diet, any way it didn't clear it up at all and he is still pretty uncomfortable. They swish out the goo fairly regularly ( I think once a week) but it is always back with a vengenance. Do you folks have any suggestions or words of wisdom?

Sara

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One if the ears are that bad chances are he still has an infection. A change in food won't help until the infection is cleared up.

 

What ended up helping my borderjack that has terrible food allergies (it may or may not help the lab)

 

1. I took him to the vets for the upteenth time because his ears were a mess, his feet were really gross and he had some nasty hotspots that were spreading in size. Plus, I noticed when his ears, feet, hot spots were horrible - Riot leaked urine. I came to the conclusion his leaking was yeast based too.

 

2. The vets decided they had enough of trying just antibiotics for 4 months this last time (he had this stuff since he was very young) - by this time Riot was only 18 months old - They put him antibiotics PLUS anti-fungal meds for a month

 

3. I also switched his food to RAW which actually did not help so switched him to Innova Evo. I add norwegian salmon oil to his food.

 

4. I cleaned his ears daily for about a month (twice a day before given him the antiobiotic in his ear).

 

5. I don't give him treats unless I know what is in them since people switch the food but forget about the treats

 

It has been a year now and Riot has not had an ear infection since then. His ears may become red but no infection. His feet are better but not perfect. His hot spots are so small and so rare that we don't even notice them. Riot does not leak urine anymore.

 

Good luck

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I had the same problem with George when I got him including the foot licking. I put him on raw diet immediately and got medicine from the vet for his ears. Cleaned his ears daily until it cleared . I t never came back. The foot licking stopped also. And you would not believe how beautiful his coat is, finally. I am interested to see how the shedding goes this year now that he has a healthy coat. Good Luck.

 

Toni

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Sammie has that same problem. I changed him over to Wellness Simple Food Solutions and gave him yogurt on occasion and it has helped a lot.

 

Every now and then my husband insists that we switch their food due to the expense and Sammie's ears act up again. Once back on the Simple Food Solutions for a couple of weeks, they clear up again, so I know that for him it's something in the diet.

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  • 1 month later...

I cannot tell you how many times I have heard about dogs and severe allergies clearing up instantly when their diet was changed to raw. Which tells me that it is either some kind of grain or protein source in their diet not agreeing with them. I am a firm beliver in going as natural as possible. Now if only my husband would let me feed raw. But we have children and he isn't comfortable with it.

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In addition to the good tips everyone has offered, I would also suggest that the next time he is anethisized for anything, the vet clean his ears out thoroughly. While the dog is knocked out, the vet can clear the ears deeper and then medicate to take care of any residual infection.

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Has he had any medication or any testing done on the ear? The description SOUNDS like a yeast or combination yeast and bacterial infection. NOTE: This is NOT a diagnosis, which cannot be done without seeing the animal. This is an educated guess.

 

If there is an infection, he needs medication. To determine if he has an infection (and if so, what kind), he needs an ear swab done, +/- a culture and sensitivity. In a fair number of ear infections, allergies play a part. (Depends on the study you read; I've see anything from reports of 40% to 80% of dogs with chronic ears having an allergic componant.) Given the foot-licking, I'd suspect that allergies are at least part of this dog's picture. Also, anatomy plays a part; labs and spaniels are the poster children for ear infections for anatomical reasons. Short of surgery, you're not going to change the anatomy, however, so that part they may have to live with. Some dogs have metabolic disorders (such as hypthyroidism) which can contribute via immunosuppression. Environment may also be a factor... dogs that swim or are frequently bathed tend to have more trouble than ones who do neither. Ear infections are unfortunately multi-factorial, and many things can play a role... which is why they may be frustrating to treat and why they MIGHT have to run labs (including ear swab, C&S, CBC/serum chem +/- thyroid test, allergy panel, etc). It is NOT always necessary to run all the tests... but it MIGHT be. They can proceed stepwise, one test at a time, with their vet's advice.

 

PLEASE NOTE: Not all allergies are food allergies, and unless the dog is food-allergic, changing the diet is NOT going to control allergies. Also, food allergies are slow responders, so the hypoallergenic food and nothing else has to be fed for eight weeks before you're going to know what the response is. It's quite true that some people feed the hypoallergenic diet religiously, but then add a pig ear or a rawhide or some Old Roy doggie treats (or what have you), completely forgetting that the dog might be allergic to pork or beef or rice or wheat (or whatever is in the treats).... and then they wonder why their dog is still itchy. :D:rolleyes:

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Tatum, my English Cocker Spaniel had chronic ear infections. My vet prescribed Soloxine. Soloxine is a medication used for under active thyroid. Tatum’s thyroid test was normal but Soloxine was very effective. During the three years Tatum was on it she only had two ear infections.

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I agree and I should have put that in my post. Only Food alleriges can be cleared up when the dog is switched to a raw diet.

 

If the dog has environmental allergies, you will have to take a different approach, depending on what their trigger(s) are.

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