My GSD Buster constantly gets yeast infections in his ears. This has been a problem since he was a pup. He will be 3 next month. Instead of taking him to the vets all the time, I was wondering if anyone could recommend a home remedy for cleaning his ears. I was also wondering if you could use things like Monostat? It is for yeast infections after all. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> Thanks for any help. Pam

I had the same problem with a senior GSD, the vet said it had been a life long problem, and she had surgery at some point in her past for a hematoma in her ear. What helped her was eliminating all foods with yeast added, so she could not have Canidae food etc., and I gave her this supplement (Yeast Cleanse by Solaray) with each meal for about a month, and it never returned. http://shop.store.yahoo.com/suzannes4u/allnatfor90c.html

There is also a Blue Power Ear Treatment, and I bought the ingredients for that, but fortunately her ears improved. (Gentian Violet can be tricky to find, only one pharmacy in downtown Toronto carries it.) Blue Power Treatment is here, be sure to do it outside and wear crappy clothes as it stains:
http://itsfortheanimals.com/Adobe/Blue%20Power%20Ear%20Treatment%20Web%20Page.pdf

Hi there,
I am a professional groomer at a Vet. clinic and have had lots of experiance with ear problems just like this. My Parent's Golden Ret. has the same problem.
1st: It may be a food allergy. Food allergies will and can cause ear yeast infections. What you should do so you don't have to visit the vet all the time is set a day every week to clean the ear(s). You need to be stricked about it, one missed day and it will get out of control. Use an ear cleaner that dries. This will be written on the bottle. When you clean the ear, it's IMPORTANT NOT to stick the cotton down the ear. Some people do this. I found that if you hold the ear/head so the dog can't shake, fill the ENTIRE ear with the cleaner. Rub the base of the ear so you hear the cleaner swash around, some may run out. Then, take a cotton ball and hold it at the ear opening and catch the rest of the cleaner. Then allow the dog to shake it all out. This allows the cleaner to break up the infected wax and it will eventually come out. NOTE: close your eyes when the dog shakes, the cleaner burns like crazy when in your eyes <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
You'll need to dry the side of your dogs face. I've also had experiance with the ear surgery that was posted above. I don't recommend it. I have a family member's dog that had this done on both the ears. It was to solve the yeast infections. It helped for like a month then went back to the same thing. Some dogs may get relief but this dog didn't. I've seen some of the worst ear yeast infections and with a little effort it can be kept under control. I hope this was a help. Dogs are my life and I hate it when they suffer even when they're not mine. Good Luck.
Brandi

Brandi, you are confused. Hematomas are large blood filled areas in the ear leather. It looks like a balloon is in there. This has nothing to do with eliminating yeast, although dogs with chronic yeast problems will often get hematomas from all of the shaking.

Letting the cleaner soak is a good idea, but even then wax will remain. The trick is to get the wax out instead of just pushing it deeper with the cotton ball. I use flat cotton pads (made for makeup removal) for Auster's ears because I can fold them up, stick them in, and the use my finger to pull the wax out. That way the wax doesn't just get pushed deeper into the ear. There are a few foaming cleaners on the market that supposedly don't need to be followed with wax removal, but I haven't tried them. I use chlorihexiderm ear cleaner in Auster's ears because it is an antifungal. It doesn't clean as well as cleaning products, but it helps with the yeast (I keep both around).

Lauren,
The original message was about yeast infections, no hematomas. I know what a hematoma is.
To All,
I guess everyone has their own cleaning method. I gave my method and everyone can give theirs. My method has worked for me along with a lot of other dog owners that I know that have dogs with continues yeast ear infections.

Originally posted by Brandi Adkins:
...I've also had experiance with the ear surgery that was posted above. I don't recommend it. I have a family member's dog that had this done on both the ears. It was to solve the yeast infections. It helped for like a month then went back to the same thing... Laureen was talking about hematoma surgery above. This is what made me think that there was some confusion going on.

I'm glad your method works for you. I haven't been lucky enough to run across a dog that will get the wax out of the ear by themself, but I also mentioned not having used all of the new cleaners on the market.

Sorry I didn't get back sooner...Thank you all for your suggestions. I guess I'll pretty much have to clean the ears every day instead of once a week. His ears just never seem to get better. I'm willing to try just about anything at this point.

His vet had recommended a deep ear cleaning at one time. Have you ever heard of this? Thanks again, Pam

Dear Pam,

The one thing that really worked for my dog was EPI-OTIC solution for dogs and cats, it does cleansing and drying, that is what you use to clean the dogs ear, (cost $6.00) Then use the Otomax ( cost $8.00) it is Gentamicin sulfate,betamethasone valerate and clotrimazole ointment. I had to use both products for about a week straight, then now all I have to do is the treatment once a week now and she is free from her ear problems. Hope this has been of some help to you
Sincdrely, Joyce M. Burrows