We have a 5 year old GS male who has a horrible time with ear infections, He started getting them at around 10 months old or so and they were here and there for a couple years, but for the last three years they are constant, we have tried so many ear drops, pills etc I cant think of them all, the latest being Baytril both the antibacterial drops as well as the pills for like three weeks, seemed to be working well til after the pills stopped, now once again he is hurting, shaking his head,whining when you touch his ears and alot when he just shakes his head, can see and hear the infection in his ears( right one is worse than left)we have changed his food to a no grain kind, spent so much on vet bills I think i should send them a w2 at tax time to get my portion of their taxes back! I am truly at a loss. If anyone can PLEASE tell me soemthing that will actually work I would greatly appreciate it, We have discussed possibly putting him down so he wont be so miserable but that thought absolutely kills me. Any help would be great

Thanks,
Dana

Did the vet do a culture on the ear to verify a bacterial infection?
Once the ears are clear do you do any preventative to keep them dry? (earwashes, etc...)
There was just a discussion about ear infections a few days ago...here's the link. Hope this helps...
http://www.leerburg.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/167219/page/3#Post167219

Hi, Dana-

What kind of diet is your dog on? A lot of dogs have allergy problems/ear & skin problems, etc from eating a regular (i.e. crappy) commercial dog food. If your dog is eating a kibble diet, I'd strongly consider changing him over to a raw diet and see if his ear problems improve (I bet they will). If trying an all natural, grain-free kibble didn't work, I'd definitely try all raw.

Also, when in doubt, I always get a second opinion from another vet, or even see about taking him to a specialist. I'm sure there must be vets who specialize (like the human ear/nose/throat doctors.) Is your vet certain it's bacterial, and not yeast or some kind of allergy? You could also consult an allergy specialist. I would exhaust all these options before even thinking about euthanasia. I can't imagine that a dog would have to be put down for this, but I guess anything is possible. I hope these ideas help. Good luck, and let us know how it works out.

The Vet did a culture and said there were actually three kinds of bacteria in his ears, He is on a no grain, no wheat, no beef no preservatives( supposedly) dry dog food,as for a raw diet, He absolutely LOVES it, we had him on one for little over a year because of his ears and it didnt change much, he still ended up with these blasted infections. Im at a loss as to what to do about em.
Thank you both for replying, I guess its trial and error..so far mostly error it seems,

Thanks,
Dana

1. Exactly what food is it?

2. Was there yeast in the results as well as bacteria?

3. What do you do between infections? Anything?

4. Does he have skin itches? What about his paws and/or legs? Groin or armpits?

5. Does he have any seasonal kinds of skin itches?

You know that canine ear infections are nearly always secondary, and not primary, right? Something else, like an allergy (flea, inhalant, environmental, food), is triggering the ear infections.

Don't be discouraged...it is really hard when your dog has chronic problems. My GSD has digestive problems and has recently developed eye problems. I feed her an all raw diet and she does pretty well, but it can still be a challenge sometimes. I'd try to find an allergy clinic - http://www.acvd.org/ may have one in your area.

 Quote: Kori Bigge

I can't imagine that a dog would have to be put down for this,

Unfortunately, MANY dogs are PTS because of terrible allergies.

MANY dogs are surrendered to a shelter because the owner cannot manage the vet bills and doesn't know what else to do.

These dogs are extremely unlikely to find another home (healthy dogs are unlikely to find a new home).

Three of the dogs I've adopted over the years were slated for euthanization because of very bad allergies and all that goes with them.

And I wouldn't have been able to take them, either, if I didn't have a lot of allergy research under my belt and the hope that I could help.

There is a far-reaching toll severe allergies can take. The quality of life for a dog who cannot sleep, who may be deaf from repeated painful ear infections, who is bloody from scratching and infected from those wounds..... is not good.

Fortunately, a few vets specialize in allergies and nutrition.

I agree 100% with Melissa about an allergy clinic or a referral to a specialist.

MOST VETS (I'll guess 90%) have almost no knowledge of allergy treatment beyond the RX food in the waiting room and steroids.

I fogot to add that I agree about getting him back on fresh food. Whether or not you see a quick response in his ears, real food (appropriate for dogs: meat, fat, bones, a little green stuff, and definitely no grains) supports the immune system. Allergies, of course, are an immune problem.

So even though the allergy may not be to food (and actually is not particularly likely to be), I believe that excellent food is still Step 1.

Step 2 is long-chain Omega 3s (fish oil) in a therapeutic dose plus Vitamin E.

These are things that can be done right away while looking for a specialist, if that's your leaning.

Also, we will help you all we can, I know. We need those detailed answers to the questions above.

Also have the vet do a blood test to check thyroid levels, many dogs with chronic ear infections have low or borderline thyroid.