Severe, recurring (yeast) ear infections

[Holly]

Hi all! 

A little intro... My name is Holly and I have a 3 year old Goldendoodle named Peyton. He is our baby and by far the most well behaved, well rounded, friendliest, happiest dog we've ever been around. He is our 'child' and we are so thankful to have him :) 

One issue, though, that we've been unable to conquer is his recurring yeast infections. His ears are CONSTANTLY filled with black/brownish snotty-like-substance  goop. They are stinky (although his whole self does not stink, just if you lift the flaps and get a whiff) and constantly irritated. We clean them out every day and have for the past year or longer, we have tried a million things and nothing seems to stop the yeast.

We have spend THOUSANDS at the vet trying to get to the bottom of his issues. We have had approximately 10 prescription drops made for us, all of different mixtures. Some really caused his ears to be inflamed and seemed to make issues worse, while others seemed to possibly be slightly working, but never once were his issues gone despite constant and very consistent use.

We then searched the internet and went the holistic dog food route. We've spent at least a thousand on that ($75 a bag, feeding a 100lb dog, it adds up quickly!) ... we tried fish first, grain free, everything we read on the internet, we've been doing this for almost a year now. Still, nothing.

We've used Zymox a lot over the past year and while we saw a slight improvement, it was extremely inconsistent and despite using it at the exact time every day, we could never really tell if it was helping. We've tried daily oral allergy medications as well, and still, nothing. He is not a swimmer and is never in/around water. He's only been bathed maybe 3 or 4 times his whole life (could this be it?? I've seen things that say you have to clean them often to rid their body of yeast, but then others that say bathing regularly could CAUSE skin issues - and the last thing we need is to make him more uncomfortable!), as he never needs it and has a perfect coat/skin without it. We are constantly plucking hair out of his ears and we keep his fur pretty short to try to increase air circulation to those nasty ears.

I am desperate ... we've reached out to his breeder and she's never seen an issue this bad. When he was at the groomers, she said the same. Our vet is wonderful and always willing to try new things, but nothing has gotten to the bottom of it. He deserves to be pain/bother free and its hard when twice a day we are in his ears removing the gunk and/or applying this or that medication.

Our latest try has been at homemade food. We were doing beef/eggs/supplements for the last 6 weeks and I swear it made it WORSE! He is now chewing on his bottom?? And seems to be itchy (he's never had skin issues prior).. So... at least we can eliminate all of those things and never go back, as possibly one of those elements was the issue (possibly the supplements?) ... we are now doing chicken and vegetables with a little bit of plain yogurt. We just started this this evening and as with all food changes, will not see any results for a while. I figured, in the meantime, it would be worth a try to ask you guys here.

Any experience/suggestions would be so appreciated. We have the sweetest puppy and are at a loss on how to clear him of these awful, yeasty ears! 

Thanks in advance and happy new year!

Holly

[AndySharon BoomerShaynaMariner]

This is a common discussion on DK.

Here are a few threads:

http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/healthandmedicalissues/forum/topi...
http://www.doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/gentizol-for-yeast-ear-inf...
http://www.doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/ear-infections-6

You can find more by using the search box at the top right hand corner of the page.

[Three Doodle Life]

Just embedding the pics of your sweet boy Peyton:

[Holly]

Thank you :) 

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

We have had a few doodle owners that have battled serious ear problems finding different solutions. Hopefully they will chime in with their experiences.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

We have a member named Sherri whose labradoodle Winston had such severe chronic ear infections that they were considering doing ablation surgery to remove the ear canals completely. But she and her vet were able to find the right combination of meds to treat it. Here's a link to her blog which doesn;t go into much detail, but you might try contacting her (send a friend request) and maybe she can give you the names of the meds that worked for Winston. 

http://www.doodlekisses.com/profiles/blogs/the-continuing-saga-of-s...

You might also ask your vet if the problem is possibly otitis media, which can be difficult to diagnose. Here's some info:

http://www.2ndchance.info/earprobs-Gotthelf2004.pdf

[Holly]

Sent the friend request, looking forward to hearing back.. Thank you so much!

[Karen & Maple]

Holly I'm sure your more of an expert in this area by now than I am. But the only mention I think you made of any probiotic was 'a little bit of plain yogurt'. I don't believe that would provide enough beneficial yeast fighting bacteria. Since I've been giving Maple a daily probiotic in caplet form, it's made a HUGE difference in the health of her of her ears. I don't fully understand how the bacteria in the gut affects the ears, but it does. There are others who will beg to differ but the proof is is the pudding for me. I know we should avoid giving opinions here without the science to back it up, I'm just saying you might want look into these if you haven't already.
I know you've looked into every product under the sun, but just in case-you may want to look up 'Thornit powder' on the web. Also this home remedy (my breeder swore by it):
http://www.woodhavenlabs.com/ears.html

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Yep! 

[Holly]

This is EXACTLY what I was hoping to hear - something that we need to switch up! I've researched for months and feel like we've tried so much, there has to be something we are missing. In this case, the amount of probiotics. It makes so much sense when its pointed out -- ha! Because its true, we only give him a little bit of yogurt as I believe I read somewhere that it can upset the stomach if not given in small amounts... so the option of a capsule would be excellent. Have you tried yogurt as well? Peyton eats about 6 cups a day... we were giving two spoon full of yogurt per 3 cups... if you've used yogurt... do you do more? less? about the same?  I would LOVE to know the probiotic that you've found to work for you and Maple if you wouldn't mind sharing. We will be looking for the ingredients mentioned in the link and compare it to what our vet has made for us in the past, I'm hopeful that it is unique from what we've been given and something that we can try! Thanks, again! 

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

We also had ear infections for the first 3 years.  Totally frustrating and out of hand.  I'll knock on wood, before I say, " 2 years, 8 months, no infections"

We have our own methods and tricks that we finally found to keep our dog healthy but they may not be for everyone. Actually, they are probably not for most.

• No Ear Cleaners. none.   No products, over-the-counter nor from the vet
• No liquids.  Nothing in the ear that is ever wet.  That includes: antibiotics, cleaners, and preventative maintenance.  We do have an antibiotic but it is more like a gel and dries after application. 
• Hair Removal.  We do, but sparingly.  After we touch any ear, we apply a onetime dose of antibiotics
• Thornit Ear Powder:  THORNIT, purchased by the 100ml container from the UK for about $50 is applied as needed or twice a month. More often in humid summer months.   Just a pinch of powder keeps the ears nice and dry.   DO NOT apply this powder until your dog is healthy. This is not a cure, but a maintenance preventative.  I still have the original bottle. $50 lasts forever. 
• If you do try Thornit, do not purchase in the USA.  Use the UK site until further notice.  And Please, make sure the ears are healthy when you begin this maintenance product 

Message me if you need more help

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Joanne, I was hoping you would post. 

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Yes, and thanks Nancy.  Some dogs just dont have to suffer so much and for so long. Poor guy.