help - Sunny has yeast in ears - saw vet, but how to prevent recurrance?

[Melissa]

I know this may not be the right group...  I'm still not sure I understand how to use this website well.  I thought it fit better in grooming than diet!

Sunny, 11mo gd, just got back from indoor/outdoor kennel.  Lots of rainy weather, outdoor play.  And a bath the last day.  Last time she was there for two weeks she came home with a slimy stinky beard and I ended up having it shaved off.  The groomer thought it was yeast.  Same grooming visit she had all her visible ear hair plucked and her ears were rather raw after.

This time she was there 10 days.  She came home with a black gooey stinky slimy and red ear.  Just yucky.  Tried to clean it with Zymox but quickly realized it was a health issue.  Lots of scratching and head shaking.

Just got back from vet.  She was swabbed in both ears and tested for yeast in both, with one being severe.  They manually cleaned it, used ear cleaner, then irrigated it.  Sent me home with a gel called Gentizol (gentamycin, clotrimazole, and betamethasone) to use for two weeks.  Mentioned yeast infections are often associated with allergies and looked her over for evidence of hot spots, licking, etc.  None found.

At the kennel they feed Science Diet sensitive.  At home I feed Canidae ALS.  Could the SD have caused this?  Should I change her diet?

How to prevent?  The vet bill was not small so I'd really like to work on this at home as much as possible.  How to keep her ears dry?  I'm actually thinking of using a clothespin to hold them open for a few hours...  just the fur, not the ear with the clip.  Thanks!

[Trudy Harlow]

First, I'd change kennels.

Second, regardless of what you may hear from others on this site, I'd change her diet. My dog had chronic yeast infections in one ear until I switched him to raw. Now: none. You can go to my blog and read about it.

Finally, I stopped plucking my dog's ears. Raw,irritated ear canals are the perfect space for yeast. Yes, they may have to be plucked to treat an existing infection but once that's done, try leaving the ears alone as much as you can. Haven't plucked the very dense hair in my dog's ears for about 2 years now.

[Shari Becker]

I totally agree 100%. Changing to raw (as I wrote below) totally helped my dog's yeast issues, too. 

[Shari Becker]

Hi Sunny, My almost 2-y-o doodle has chronic yeast infections in her ears, too. We had her on an anti-fungal cream last summer for ten days with Epi Optic. It didn't work, and we had to do a second round. Three months later she had her ears cleaned out thoroughly and washed out with saline by a second vet who said she literally wanted to remove all the gunk. We've tried over the counter zymox, and various more natural products. 

If she would tolerate it, the vet suggested securing her ears back with one of those soft kids' headbands, but she almost always pulls it off within an hour.

Her ears are never perfect, so for us it's just maintenance at this point. And we clean Lexi's ears every week to ten days. We bought more Epi Optic, which seems to be very soothing to the dog and is a great cleaner. When she's wet, I use Vet's Best Ear Relief Dry. This dries like a powder and lasts a few days. Lexi hates it though. It contains chamomile and echinacea, which are both related to ragweed,  but I just haven't found a similar powder product anywhere.

On a personal note - and this is just anecdotal, no science backing this - her ears cleared up significantly when we took her off kibble and switched to raw or freeze dried food. It is SO much more expensive, but it has worked. When we put her in doggie daycare, we make them feed her our own food, too. She's just too sensitive. We are thinking about trying dehydrated food now, which is somewhere in between raw and kibble in order to keep our costs down. 

Anyhow, this is how we handle the ears. It'll be interesting to see how this holds up once we head for the lake in August and she is swimming every day.

Good luck!

[Melissa]

I don't love the kennel environment at this place but the owner is an unbelievable trainer and always brushes Sunny up on her heeling, place, etc. and daily off-leash romps. But yeah the remedial health stuff afterwards not so great.  So we may go back to the vet indoor boarding with two or three potty walks.

Meanwhile the clothespin didn't work.;)

Ok I will try other food.  Loved the Canidae and she isn't picky.  That was so affordable.  I am almost out - I buy the huge bags - and was about to order today.  I know the food group didn't recommend canned - but I read a book that was all canned all the time - I only feed my cat canned but cats are different that way...

So I know nothing about raw etc.  Will go to food group and read up.  I'm not up for hard - I have enough trouble cooking for the family - but maybe there's something I can try that'll be a good compromise between effort and expense.

I'm not crazy about the plucking - her ears were on fire last time.  But she is a major wax producer.  I need to look into those daily cleaners.

Thank you both for your replies!

[Jessica, Loki and Moose]

Hi there! I know you mentioned that you used Zymox and it didn't clean up but a friend of mine, and now me, use it preventatively. Any time Loki is in water or if I bathe him (which isn't all that often, but it's when his ears would get infected) I put a drop in each ear after and he hasn't had an infection since a puppy. My friend has been doing that with her yellow labs their whole lives and it seemed to work really well for them, their dogs are 10 and 8. Loki had so many ear issues as a puppy so I feel your pain! Hope this helps at all!

[Trudy Harlow]

Yes, we love Zymox (non steroidal) too.

[Melissa]

This Zymox?

[Jessica, Loki and Moose]

I attached the one I have, it doesn't have steroids in it and it's a gel, so easier to use for me at least, I'm sure you can get it on chewy.com, I got mine from pet meds.com- way cheaper that petco or something like that, and much cheaper than a vet.

[Melissa]

And what about kibble do you think bothers the dogs?  What about Orijen?  

[Jessica, Loki and Moose]

I would check the Food Grouo. Soooooo much info and knowledge there! Karen is amazing, and they also have a list of recommended foods, Fromm has done wonders for Loki- grain free does not agree with him but I would look there.

[Jessica, Loki and Moose]

I think they also have some recommended raw diets if you decide to go that way to.

[Gail and Bailey]

The brand called Honest Kitchen has dehydrated raw foods and it is super easy to just mix with water and feed.  There are a few different formulas.  Don't know how the cost compares to kibble but it is worth a look.