Ear Wax Build-Up Due to Allergy?

[Valerie]

Just came back from the vet. Took Zoe to make sure there was no yeast brewing in her ears since I found much more wax then usual. She has had 1 major ear infection resulting mainly from a reaction to 2 products that were given to her to clear it up. She was allergic to one or the interraction of both. He told me she had no infection, but the wax was due to an allergy ( I really think he felt this after seeing "allergic reaction" on her chart which his vet partner had written.) She has no other allergy symptoms. He recommended Science Diet for Sensitive Skin which his office sells along with other Science Diet brands. She has been on Eagle Pace Holistic, which looks to be a much better rated food and has omegas 6 and 3 also which he said would be the benefit of the Science Diet brand. Eagle Pack has just a smidgen less than the Science Diet in the omega category. Have you ever been told about ear allergies and if so do you have your doodle on a different brand of food to treat the allergy?

[Noble Vestal Labradoodles]

we avoid grains and corn to keep ear infections at bay. Foods that are naturally yeasty, dont forget treats.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Valerie, there is really no such thing as an 'ear allergy". The ear infections may be caused by an allergy to something in the food...although the chances of that are very slim. Food allergies are fairly rare, and if Zoe had allergies, you would be seeing additional symptoms (itching, paw licking, etc.) besides just an ear infection. Even if she does have a food allergy, changing foods won't tell you what the allergen is. Science Diet is a very poor quality food. Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids are beneficial for the skin and do help with allergy symptoms of itching, but they won't do a thing for an ear infection, and there is no reason to switch foods in order to obtain the EFA's...many of us give fish or plant oil capsules for additional EFA's in our doodles diets.
There are a lot of discussions in the Health & Medical Issues group about allergies, and a lot of discussions about Science Diet and food allergies in The Food Group. Good luck.

[Valerie]

Yep, I did not phrase that well. Vet said the wax was a reaction to something she must be allergic and it would be a "battle" the rest of her life. Thanks for all the info you shared.

[Holly St Pierre]

I have to take Gunner to the vet in the morning. Overnight his one ear has alot of redness. I tried a mixture of vinegar/alcohol/water. I was concerned since I changed his food recently to Taste of the Wild. I am hoping that is not the cause, as I love the quality of the food. I also mix with veggies that I steam. He also gets yogurt for a treat. I wonder what other things besides food could cause ear infections?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

A food allergy takes about a year to develop; your dog cannot be allergic to a new food, it is biologically impossible. The T-cells responsible for an allergic reaction would not respond a new protein that fast.
In addition, as I stated above, ear infections are rarely the first sign of an allergy. There is some thought that beet pulp in dog food may contribute to yeast infections in the ears, but it is not known for certain. TOTW does not contain beet pulp, but your old food may have. (The Eagle Pack food that Valerie mentions above does.) If you do a search in the Food Group discussions, you will find a discussion about food allergies that will explain a lot.
The great majority of ear infections are usually caused by a buildup of wax, dirt, and moisture that becomes trapped in the wooly hair inside the ear, and the bacteria has a lovely dark, warm, moist place to grow. It is called "poodle ear", a syndrome that affects dogs with curly non-shedding coats and long floppy ears. There has been a lot of discussion in the forum about plucking versus not plucking, but I have lived with poodles all my life, and I still say you have to keep the ears free of hair and moisture; clean & dry them regularly to avoid ear infections. In addition, a yeast infection and a bacterial infection require two different kinds of treatment. The solution you used might be fine for cleaning or preventing yeasts, but it cannot cure an infection or get rid of bacteria; that requires antibiotics. I'm glad you're taking Gunner to the vet, I hope his ear will be better quickly.

[LuvMyAbby&Kaela]

This is what a vet told me about Abby as well. She always had brown wax in her ars. He explained that while sinus allergies are common in people and many people treat the sinus allergies with Flonase or some such thing that builds a lining in the sinuses to stop alllergens from touching the receptors, dogs have this same thing but their ears are affected rather than sinuses. And the Otomax drops that I have to always give her twice weekily act like a flonase..it has worked for Abby.

Now onto the other subject. I have no idea why vets always reccommend crap food! And it drives me nuts. And they wont allow anyone else to further educate them on nutrition. My vet actually gives handouts to his clients touting the foods sold in Walmart! His reccommendations Iams and Purina One! AND he quotes"If you were to ask 100 Veterinarians across the country, which food they would reccommend, I believe more than 90% would direct you to MediCal brand diet."

These are all garbage foods! So dont ask me why. When you tell him about for example Orijen being a 6 star food, you can see the cynycism like we are all fools that part with our money because we are being lured into fabulous marketing and brainwashing . He even said not to believe on line dog food rating sites. He actually made me really frustrated because sites like dogfoodanalysis are pretty straight forward and logical. So it is my experience now that the last person I wish to speak to about canine nutrition these days are vets.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

That's because, as we have discussed at great length in The Food Group, the entire nutritional education that veterinarians receive is furnished by Big Dog Food...primarily Science Diet, but also Purina & Iams. The textbooks are written and published by these companies. The classroom walls are covered with ad posters. They repeat what they were taught by the dog food companies, because that's all they know, unless they choose to educate themselves further. If you ask them specific questions about the ingredients in the food, they can't really answer them. The "fabulous marketing and brainwashing" is being done by Big Dog Food, and they do it very well.
I'm lucky, because Jack's specialist calls the shots (no pun intended) regarding food, vaccinations, etc. My vet acknowledges that she has far more education than he does. It's interesting to see him coming around to a more holistic approach (and this is the true meaning of the word "holistic"...looking at the "whole" picture, or dog in this case.) Since Jack's specialist recommended I feed Orijen, the regular vet has become interested and willing to learn about why it's better. Maybe I helped my vet's dogs get a better diet, lol!

[Valerie]

Way to go! That was well-said. I am a believer!

[Holly St Pierre]

Thank you for the info. I am so glad to hear the food allergy takes longer than a month to build. The vet tech also said when its an allergy that usually have more symptoms & he has no others. I have heard alot about vets giving bad info on food & I must agree. I have done alot of my own research & switched from Purina Pro plan to TOTW & veggies/yogurt & feel that he is getting a good quality diet. Hopefully he will get medicine tomorrow that will help his ear issues. I knew this is common in both Goldens & poodles, so I wasn't really suprised for it to surface.

[F, Calla & Luca]

It is true that an allergy does not manifest itself on first exposure to the allergen. Drug allergies from oral medications can occur within a much sorter period than a year. I'm not sure how long it takes to become allergic to a food but a year seems like an awfully long estimate. I do agree that most ear problems are either a yeast or bacterial infection. Also it would be very unusual for an allergy to a food to be limited to one of two ears. Does anyone knowi f there are any veterinarians on this site?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Here is some information from the Mar Vista website; while I am not a veterinarian, when I give allergy info in the forums, I repeat what I have been told by Jack's board-certified veterinary immunology specialist, who also teaches.

"Many people erroneously assume itching due to food allergy requires a recent diet change of some sort. In fact, the opposite is true.
Food allergy requires time to develop; most animals
have been eating the offending food for years with no trouble."

http://marvistavet.com/html/body_food_allergies.html

[LuvMyAbby&Kaela]

Ok the vet explained it as equivalent to human sinus allergies. ... not food related. Airborne. Dogs get irritated ears rather than irritated sinuses from airborne allergens. Many humans take a steroid such as Flonase to build a protective lining/barrier in their sinuses to stop the pollens for example from being able to touch the receptive tissue. Apparently the ear drops I got do this same thing for Abby. Humans get stuffy runny noses. Dogs get discharging smelly ears. It all sounds logical to me.