Ear Mites and Doodles

[Melanie Fincher]

Do any of you (or rather your Doodles) have a consistent problem with ear mites?  Harley is plagued.  Just when we get them cleared up, we have a couple of weeks and they are back again.  We treat him once a day for a week and then once a week for two weeks.  HELP!

[April Cliber]

Thornit ear powder works great!! I love this product! http://www.thornitearpowder.com/ I use it for cleaning but know it works on mites as well.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Does your dog go to daycare? Ear mites usually come from other dogs. If there's a dog your doodle spends time with who isn't being treatede for ear mites, that might be one reason he keeps getting reinfected.
From Pet Web Library- Mar Vista Vet:
Ear mites readily transmit from host to host by physical contact. Ear mites came from some other animal with whom your pet has been socializing. Because mites are easily transmissible by physical contact, treatment for mites often must include all household pets.
http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_ear_mites.html

They have some good treatment advice, including this info on recurring ear mite infections:

WHAT IF THEY JUST DON’T SEEM TO EVER GO AWAY?
Occasionally, we receive messages regarding a case of ear mites for which “everything” has been used and the mites simply will not go away. In this situation consider the following tips:

Was the mite infection confirmed initially? Remember, it is easy to be fooled by the presence of a discharge that appears “mite typical.” This mite not be an ear mite infection at all or perhaps it was in the beginning but is now a bacterial or fungal infection.

Has the continuing mite infection been confirmed after therapy? Sometimes, a telltale hard bit of ear wax must be removed from the ear before comfort is finally achieved. Sometimes a bacterial infection remains though the mites are long gone. Treating for ear mites when none are present will not achieve results.

Were all the hosts in the family treated? If all pets were not treated, begin again this time including all pets in the protocol. If all pets are not treated, they will simply re-infect each other.

Consider using one of the new products. If you are trying to use one of the daily products, it is easy to skip a day here and there.
Do not make the diagnosis of ear mite infection yourself. If you think your pet has an ear infection, see the vet for proper evaluation rather jumping straight to an over-the-counter remedy. You will need the right diagnosis before you can intelligently choose an ear treatment product.

Hope this helps.

[Ginny Nightingale]

That is great information! I too have a doodle with ear issues and I discussed the possibility of a food allergy --no matter how much I cleaned her ears or treated her for infection, Lyric always had a black material in her ears that is similar to coffee grounds. The vet agreed that it could be a food allergy. I have switched her over to a fish based food (from Blue Buffalo) and her ears seem much better so far.