Ear infection food related?

[Tanya and IsaBella]

Our 5month old F1 Goldendoodle Bella is currently on Fromm Pork and Applesauce mixed with 1/4 can Merrick puppy plate.  She was diagnosed this week with a double ear infection :(  Could this be food related?  We have been giving her a bath bi weekly and she is primarily a indoor dog.  Help! :(  Thank you!

[F, Calla & Luca]

The short answer is no. The are are many related discussions you can search. Ear infections are either bacteria or yeast related and ear cleaning is the key to prevention. Some people will argue this but medically food is not the cause. Not sure Merrick is a good food though, Fromm's is fine.

[Ozzy Bob and Leanna]

I seriously doubt Bella's ear infection is from her diet.  Since you're giving her so many bathes, be SURE to dry her ears good. Use alcohol on a cotton ball and rub the inside of her ears as it'll help dry them even more!  Good luck and I hope Bella recovers quickly from her  ear inections!!!!! :) 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Ear infections are normally NOT related to food, despite what you read on-line in chat forums. Food cannot cause yeasts or bacteria to grow in the ears. Certain kinds of allergies can contribute to ear infections, but at 5 months, there is very little chance your dog would have developed allergies, and food allergies of any kind are relatively rare in dogs. So I would not think about the food being the cause of this.

Ear infections are very common in poodles and dogs with non-shedding coats. This is one reason these dogs are high-maintenance. They need the hair removed from inside their ears on a regular basis, they need weekly ear cleaning, and you need to keep the inside of the ears as dry as possible. Make sure you keep the water out of her ears with cotton when she is bathed, and dry them thoroughly afterwards. This should be explained to any puppy purchaser by the breeder. There are probably more than 30 discussions here in the main forum about proper ear care, plucking the hair, cleaning the ears, etc. You can do a search in the main forum.

Although this is not relevant to food, I am not sure what you mean by "Primarily an inside dog." I personally had never heard the term "inside dog" or "outside dog" before I came into the on-line forums, mostly because I never personally knew anyone whose dog didn't live in their house, and I have lived with dogs and dog people for 53 years. All dogs, other than working dogs who are herding livestock on farms, belong inside the house, period. I hope you are not leaving your puppy outside for any period of the day without you.

[Harper]

Karen - can you explain your thoughts about having the hair removed from inside the ears?  My vet told us to tell our groomer not to trim this hair!  She actually told my husband many months ago at a puppy visit when I wasn't there, so I never got to ask about it.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

All I can tell you is that I have had my own poodles and poodle mixes for 34 years, and grew up with them for 19 years before that, and all of them had the hair in the ear canal removed by the groomer, or in some cases, the vet. But you need someone who knows how to do it. The hair is not cut, it is plucked, or pulled, using a hemostat. This is not painful if it is done correctly, but if done roughly or incorrectly, it can cause an infection.

If you talk to any top-notch poodle breeder who knows her breed, she will tell you the same.

Poodle hair repels water, is wooly, and has an oiliness to it. The ear canal of dogs with floppy ears (as opposed to ears that stand up) is a wonderful dark place that doesn't get air circulation, and stays moist if water gets in there. All of these factors combine to provide a perfect environment for the growth of yeasts and bacteria. Cleaning is not enough, you have to get the wooly hair inside the ear canal out of there. I am not talking about the hair that grows on the underside of the ear flap itself. That should be left alone.

Perhaps that's what your vet meant.

[F, Calla & Luca]

My two don't have very much hair inside the canals, certainly not nearly as much as our standard poodle did. I don't pluck the hair at all but sometimes, carefully holding on to the ends so they don't fall into the ear canal, I trim what is sticking out a little shorter. But just cleaning, whether they need it or not : ), every 2-3 weeks has kept them infection free. Of course, my two don't swim and I don't bathe them that often so they really don't get water in their ears , which I'm sure helps too.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

This is a good point, too. The need for plucking the hair depends on several factors, including the amount and consistency of hair in the ear canal, how much swimming, bathing, humidity, etc. the dog is subjected to, and the dog's individual propensity to developing ear infections. Some dogs are more prone to them than others.

Heavily shedding doodles like my Jack usually have few problems with ear hair and don't need much ear maintenance at all.

But when you have a 5-month-old puppy who already has developed a double ear infection, to me that would be an indication that you will have to do more ear maintenance and hair removal for that dog than for another.

[Harper]

Thanks for your help Karen!  Harper doesn't shed, but so far we have been lucky enough not to have any ear infections (knock on wood).  I will definitely clarify with our vet next time we visit.

[Tanya and IsaBella]

Thank you for the replies!  Bella is in the house with us and is only outside when we take her for walks and to go potty or play outside in the yard.  She has never been outside for any period of time or without us.  I appreciate the info.  Thanks again!