Connie Sutherland wrote 03/04/2006 02:25 PM new dark ear secretion #99949 - 03/04/2006 02:25 PM
Connie Sutherland Moderator Reg: 07-13-2005 Posts: 31571 Loc: North-Central coast of California Offline	My dog has suddenly (last three days) had a lot of kind of dryish ear wax of a much darker color than normal. I've read about mites, but have always read that the secretions have an odor. His ears and the copious dark wax don't smell. I have seen loads of secondary and primary ear infections from adopting dogs with allergies, and this isn't like that at all. He is shaking his head, which I know is a common ear-itch sign. He has a vet appointment next week. Meanwhile I'm using Flush, letting him shake it out, and keeping the ear dry and clean. Does anyone have any experience with this? Has anyone seen a mites infestation that didn't have an odor along with it?
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Lisa Ewan wrote 03/04/2006 04:45 PM Re: new dark ear secretion [Re: Connie Sutherland ] #99950 - 03/04/2006 04:45 PM
Lisa Ewan Webboard User Reg: 12-11-2005 Posts: 232 Loc: Manchester, U.K. Offline	Hi Connie, I've just been reading a Q & A site on ear infections/mites and someone mentions the same problem with their dog. The vets answer was the black/dark secretion usually is caused by an inhalant allergy, though other reason of infection or mites shouldn't be ruled out. Sometimes you can see the tiny white mites if it's ear mites moving on the wax, but a vet will know for sure with an otoscope. Does he tilt his head at all? Is the secretion crusty/dry?
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Connie Sutherland wrote 03/04/2006 05:00 PM Re: new dark ear secretion [Re: Lisa Ewan ] #99951 - 03/04/2006 05:00 PM
Connie Sutherland Moderator Reg: 07-13-2005 Posts: 31571 Loc: North-Central coast of California Offline	Quote: Hi Connie, I've just been reading a Q & A site on ear infections/mites and someone mentions the same problem with their dog. The vets answer was the black/dark secretion usually is caused by an inhalant allergy, though other reason of infection or mites shouldn't be ruled out....Sometimes you can see the tiny white mites if it's ear mites moving on the wax, but a vet will know for sure with an otoscope. Does he tilt his head at all? Is the secretion crusty/dry? Yeah, he’s shaking his head. I didn’t look for the white specks when I cleaned it out last night, but now I will. I didn’t know. (Never saw this before.) It’s dryer than normal ear wax. And much darker. I’d be very surprised if it was allergy-related because he’s not itchy or inflamed anywhere on his body, and hasn’t been since he started raw when he first came. (He was allergic when he came.) Someone else PM’d me a reminder of foxtails, so I intend to peer in there with a flashlight today. He has a Thursday appointment, but I’ll move it up if need be. I could be wrong about the allergy thing (which is what I read, too, online), but, seriously, I don’t think there is any kind of canine allergy I haven’t seen. And I have never seen this. Thanks!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
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Corey Beale wrote 03/04/2006 05:05 PM Re: new dark ear secretion [Re: Connie Sutherland ] #99952 - 03/04/2006 05:05 PM
Corey Beale Webboard User Reg: 09-24-2004 Posts: 209 Loc: beeYOOtiful British Columbia Offline	Hi Connie, Sorry to hear about your dog, poor thing! When I was working for a veterinarian we used to see cats/kittens on an almost daily basis for earmite infestations, and not all of them had an odor. Wouldn't your dog had to have come into contact with another infested animal in order to get earmites, though? Do you have any indoor/outdoor cats around? Vincere vel mori!
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Roger Blowers wrote 03/04/2006 05:21 PM Re: new dark ear secretion [Re: Corey Beale ] #99953 - 03/04/2006 05:21 PM
Roger Blowers Webboard User Reg: 05-30-2005 Posts: 115 Loc: Costa Blanca, Spain Offline	I've heard from several sources that Zymox, with or without hydrocortisone, is an excellent treatment for a wide range of ear problems. Roger
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Lisa Ewan wrote 03/04/2006 05:36 PM Re: new dark ear secretion [Re: Connie Sutherland ] #99954 - 03/04/2006 05:36 PM
Lisa Ewan Webboard User Reg: 12-11-2005 Posts: 232 Loc: Manchester, U.K. Offline	Quote: Yeah, he’s shaking his head. No, I mean does he tilt his head to one side? I'm wondering as this is a sign of a middle ear infection.
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Connie Sutherland wrote 03/04/2006 06:41 PM Re: new dark ear secretion [Re: Lisa Ewan ] #99955 - 03/04/2006 06:41 PM
Connie Sutherland Moderator Reg: 07-13-2005 Posts: 31571 Loc: North-Central coast of California Offline	Quote:  Quote: Yeah, he’s shaking his head. No, I mean does he tilt his head to one side? I'm wondering as this is a sign of a middle ear infection. No, he doesn't. I really hope it's not an ear infection, because IME, ear infections are indicative of something systemic going on (like allergies or otherwise compromised immune system). It doesn't look like any ear infection I have ever seen, but he is definitely going to the vet next week. And today I'll look down there with a light for any kind of foreign object (like a foxtail). Also, now I know to examine the secretion for white specks, so I'll do that too. Thanks, Roger and Corey. BTW, that's good info for me to file away (about the possibility of having mites and not having an odor in the secretions). Every vet site I read mentioned an odor. And yeah, I thought he'd have had to be in contact with another animal with ear mites to get them..........and he hasn't been.
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Lisa Ewan wrote 03/05/2006 04:26 PM Re: new dark ear secretion [Re: Connie Sutherland ] #99956 - 03/05/2006 04:26 PM
Lisa Ewan Webboard User Reg: 12-11-2005 Posts: 232 Loc: Manchester, U.K. Offline	Please let us know how you get on at the vets with him.
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Aude-Noelle Nevius wrote 03/06/2006 02:42 PM Re: new dark ear secretion [Re: Lisa Ewan ] #99957 - 03/06/2006 02:42 PM
Aude-Noelle Nevius Webboard User Reg: 08-16-2005 Posts: 68 Loc: Wyoming Offline	Connie, my GSD just went through exactly that. He does have an allergy problem, but this ear thing was actually a yeast infection. He was shaking his head a lot and had that dark goo inside. We had to do a 2 weeks treatment washing his ears twice a day with EpiOtic fluid and then apply Otomax. He got cured, and now we just have to clean his ears once a week, but I use a natural herbal ear wash from Halo (added a few drops of pure tea tree essential oil to it), and that's working great so far. Good luck with the vet appointment. Aude PS: link to herbal wash http://shop.halopets.com/product1.cfm?SI...&Category_ID=28
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Connie Sutherland wrote 03/06/2006 02:57 PM Re: new dark ear secretion [Re: Aude-Noelle Nevius ] #99958 - 03/06/2006 02:57 PM
Connie Sutherland Moderator Reg: 07-13-2005 Posts: 31571 Loc: North-Central coast of California Offline	Quote: Connie, my GSD just went through exactly that. He does have an allergy problem, but this ear thing was actually a yeast infection. Yeast infections in ears are common secondary allergy infections. One thing that might help your dog is no keep him on a no-grain food. I won't repeat here what has been said 3 thousand times on this forum, except to emphasize that grains in the food do no dogs any favors, and allergic dogs are especially better with no grains. I appreciate your suggestion. I'm an old fan of tea tree oil and happy to see it in an ear product! Thanks for that link; I will use it. I'm leaning away from this being yeast because I've seen (and smelled) yeast infections so many times.....this is producing such a dark wax and no yeast smell. But anyway, here's crossing my fingers about the vet visit, because until this weird thing, his allergies had been brought under wonderful control with a raw diet, fish oil and Vitamin E, and washing his feet after he goes on grass. THANK YOU!
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