My poodle's chronic ear infection won't clear up. What should I do?

Allergies can cause dogs to have chronic ear problems. You could ask your vet about trying medications for allergies and see if that helps. I would also recommend an ear culture to make sure that he is doesn't have a resistant infection. You could also switch him to a hypoallergenic diet and see if that helps.

Hi, thanks for using PetCoach! Poor Filio! Chronic otitis is usually a sign of allergies to food or the environment. If she eats mostly a chicken based diet I would change her to a different meat protein like fish, venison, beef or pork. Give it a good 2-3 months and do not offer any other treats or food that isn't the same protein as what is in the food you chose. I would highly recommend a long term medicated ear wash. And only used topical antibiotics and antifungals in the ear when she has an active infection. When there is an active infection I recommend cleaning every other day for 2 weeks and then decreasing slowly in frequency at one month intervals. Dogs with chronic infections should at least have their ears cleaned 1-2 times per week forever. Consider plucking the hair form her ears so there is more air flow through the ears. All that hair traps moisture. If she will not tolerate cotton in her ears then be extra careful with water on her head and around her ears. They also make drying drops. I would also clean her ears more frequently post bath. I hope this helps in some way! https://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=24620 https://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=27611

Recurrent ear infections are often a sign of food allergies. I suggest you get a second opinion from another veterinarian. Recurrent ear infections are NOT normal and not just something some dogs get. It is important, in this case, that your vet does an ear swab, checks that under the microscope or sends it in to a lab to check which bacteria or fungi are causing these infections. It may be necessary to also check for antibiotic resistance. A diet trial with hypoallergenic diet may also be in order.

Hi and thanks for using PetCoach! Sorry to hear about Arnie. Recurrent ear infections (usually otitis externa or external ear infection) are usually due to allergies, either seasonal or non seasonal, among a few other things including foreign bodies, anatomical problems, and even growths/tumors. All of this is most likely due to allergies- Atopy or inhaled allergies, flea allergy, and food allergy are all possible and ear problems (especially recurrent) are almost always associated with allergic skin disease. Your vet can take a sample from the ears and look at it under the microscope to diagnose the infection/cause in the ears. That's usually yeast, bacteria, and other causes such as ear mites. This will address the ear problem and your vet can present a sound treatment plan. As for the allergies, there are skin tests and blood tests to help determine the source of allergies. Again, diagnostics and treatment are often based on severity of signs, duration of signs, etc. Your vet can discuss this complex problem and advise many forms of treatment including ear meds, antibiotics, fish oil, allergy shots or oral drops to treat allergies, antihistamines, steroids, and others. If this is recurrent and severe, maybe it's time to talk with your vet about allergy testing. There are skin tests and blood tests to assess allergies. Some vets refer these cases to a skin specialist known as a veterinary dermatologist. Allergy shots or oral preparations can then be used to hyposensitize the immune system and dampen down the response to the allergens. Treatment involves oral antibiotics, anti itch medicines, ear treatments, immune modulating drugs, special diets, fish oil, allergy shots/oral drops, etc. I would advise checking out the following for fish oil and a skin supplement. http://www.vrshealth.com/canine-products/?petcoach=1977951 Check out the Omega benefits and Cutaneo TruBenefits Good Luck!!!

Poor Maggie! This looks like quite a severe ear infection, from what I can see in the photo. Normally, we would treat this by taking a sample of the discharge to look at under the microscope, to see what kind of infection is present - it may be yeast, bacteria, or both. Then appropriate medication can be prescribed to treat the infection depending on what is found. So that is how we would typically treat a current, active infection like this. If her ear infections are not responding well to treatment or keep recurring once meds are finished, then this usually indicates that the dog has an underlying allergy problem of some kind (either food, or environmental). The underlying allergy will need to be diagnosed and treated in order to get the recurring ear problems under control, so that's what I would focus on once the current infection has improved. Your veterinarian should be able to discuss testing and treatment options for allergies, including allergy testing and immunotherapy treatment, daily medication such as Apoquel or Atopica, and/or a food trial with a prescription hypoallergenic diet. You could also seek a second opinion from another veterinarian in your area, or request referral to a veterinary dermatologist, if your current vet doesn't have any concrete suggestions on how to proceed with this.

Hi. It does sound like Piper has another ear infection and the cleaning may not be enough to kill what's causing the infection. Ear infections are usually caused by yeast or bacteria. There's also a chance there may be something like a grasss seed stuck in her ear. I would recommend getting her to your veterinarian whenever you have a chance so they can prescribed the appropriate medications to kill whatever is in there. She may also have underlying allergies so if her ears don't clear up after treatment that would be something also to consider addressing with your veterinarian.

I recommend to have China re-examined. Bring a copy of the records and the medication if you can. When pets don't respond to treatment as expected, it can mean that the real cause of illness has not yet been identified. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.