Ear Infection/Food Allergy

[Carolyn & Barkley the Bear]

Hi - just looking for a little information.  The past few weeks I had noticed Barkley batting his ears every so often.  It was very infrequent but I took him in for a check to be safe and sure enough he had three different bacteria growing in both ears.  They treated him that evening and in two weeks I go back for another treatment.  He seems fine in other areas and hopefully the treatment is working.

I am wondering though if this might be due to the fact that over this past month I switched him from Wellness LID turkey and potato to Wellness LID Lamb and Oatmeal.  I believe I have read that food allergies are rare but I also have seen info that states ear infections can be due to their food.  My groomer has a lot of history with Doodles and when I told her about the ear infections she immediately asked me about his food.  That's when I remembered that I had just changed his food!  Now it seems like it would may not be a coincidence that he came down with bad ear infections just when I switched up his food.  I thought now I would switch over to back to the Turkey and Potato or perhaps Salmon which I know is full of Omega 3's and super healthy?

He also needs to be groomed and cannot get his ears wet.  His groomer said she would take care to keep them dry so he can at least get a bath soon!

Any thoughts on this situation would be welcome!  Thank you!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I'm sure your groomer is a very good groomer, but I can guarantee you that she has no veterinary education or training, regardless of how much experience she has with doodles; a lot of people ask about food when you mention an ear infection (or any kind of health symptom, actually) but the fact is that food allergies are indeed rare, and while a yeast infection could be related to a food senstivity, three kinds of bacteria could not. :) 
That said, I'm wondering why you switched from the Turkey/Potato to the Lamb/Oatmeal? I do prefer and recommend the Turkey/Potato or the Salmon/Potato formulas over the ones with oatmeal for dogs with digestive issues or food sensitivities, and I think switching back to one of those would be a good idea. 
If Barkley continues to have problems with his ears, you will also know that it's not related to food.
Poodles (and Poodle mixes) are notorious for having probelms with frequent ear infections- so much so that chronic ear infections in dogs are referred to as "Poodle Ear". Keeping the ears clean and dry is necessary routine maintenance for all Poodles and similar breeds with woolly or non-shedding coats and floppy ears. 

[Carolyn & Barkley the Bear]

Hi Karen - as always thank you for taking the time to share your knowledge!  I did neglect to add that Barkley also had a yeast infection  when he was tested along the with 3 bacteria.  I know that that does not confirm a food allergy but just find it interesting that he happened to get the bad infection at the same time.

The only reason why I switched his food is because he had seemed a little uninterested in eating so I ordered a new "flavor" from Wellness LID and began switching it in over the course of a month.  He was much more interested in the lamb and oatmeal so he has now been eating that solely for the past couple of weeks.  I am going to go to the Salmon and potato now.

I also just read about using Epi Otic to keep his ears clean in the future so I plan to order that.  Barkley has never had an ear issue before so I am arming myself with new info. 

Thanks again!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Epi-Otic is a great product for ear maintenance. :)
Rotating formulas does help keep them interested in their food. Hopefully he will like the salmon. 
I just had to treat Jasper for an ear infection. Yeast and bacterial. Definitely not related to food, and since there is no other cause we can think of, I'm just chalking it up to "life with Poodles", lol. 

Once their ears start bothering them, even if it is just an itch in the ear like people sometimes get, with no infection present, they can cause it to become an infection by scratching it. Jasper's infection occurred during a period when the weather had gotten very warm here for January, and the yard was muddy. So we think he may have caused the infection by scratching his ear with less-than-clean paws. Who knows. 

[Carolyn & Barkley the Bear]

Life with Poodles!  The new book you can write!  Thanks again.  :)

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

:)

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Suggestions to help keep the ears aired - the floppy-eared dogs tend to get ear infections because with that ear flapped down, it creates a moist environment.  Have your groomer cut the hair on his neck under his ears a bit shorter. And take a scrunchie (not a rubber-band, not a tight fastening band) and fasten the ears loosely together on top of the head for a while to give the ears some breathing time. 

[Carolyn & Barkley the Bear]

Oh, good idea!  Thank you!