[annabelles mom]

I agree on using as organic/natural as possible

I hope your treatments help her soon

here are a few links for natural holistic treatments, not sure if they will help you or not

the cleaner I use for AB's ears has clove in it which is suppose to be a natural antiseptic

http://www.holistichealthtools.com/earmites.html

http://www.healthyvet.com/documents/PDF/Natural_Teatment_for_Ear_Mites.pdf

http://www.dogbreedz.com/dog_articles/dogarticle/natural_ear_mite_remedies.htm

http://www.natural-pet-care.com/natural-pet-health-blog/cats-kittens/natural-ear-mite-remedies/

http://www.healthynewage.com/ear-mites.htm

maybe some of those links will give you some helpful hints
_________________


Mary & Annabelle
Zippity Doodle, Zippyity ay, My O My what a WonderDoodle Day !

http://www.picturetrail.com/luvlabs

[River Rat]

Thanks for the links. A lot of them offer the same suggestions, sometimes even using the same language, so I can see there's a lot of swapping back and forth between sites. I'm going to wait for the boric acid/gentian violet preparation to arrive and then try that. If all else fails I can probably try the vet, but I've heard that often mites don't respond to pesticides well, either.

Leslie
_________________
*\Portraits http://www.leslieficcaglia.org *\
*\Wild and Scenic http://mauriceriver.igc.org/ *\

[River Rat]

I finally took Chouette to the vet's this morning for her ears. To recap, she has had ear problems since just before we went to France at the end of September, when she was five months old. I noticed that her left ear had a strong smell and a lot of brown gunk. I told the dogsitter about it and she said she had some treatment that she used on her beagles and she'd take care of it. When we came back from France two and a half weeks later the smell was awful. I cleaned her ears and then since she was due to be spayed I asked the vet to check her out. He just cleaned them again and gave me some prednisone, which I didn't continue, and we've been wrestling with them ever since.

At first it was just the left ear but recently the right ear seems worse. Our friend who's a retired vet told me to apply alcohol because that kills most fungi, but that if that didn't work I should use vinegar because that killed the remaining types. I also tried a boric acid/gentian violet solution. Then my friend decided that it was probably mites, which the boric acid is supposed to address. I tried OTC pyrethrin solutions and finally got some Ivermectin to apply topically. Sometimes she seems better for awhile and then it returns, and she scratches and shakes her ears so much that we have to take her jingly collar off for some peace and quiet, but we feel so sorry for her!

This morning the vet took a culture and is sending it away. He doesn't think it's mites; he says he sees very little of that in dogs. But labs and lab mixes often have ear issues and he's suspecting that it's a fungus or an infectious organism. If not, he thinks it's probably an allergy, and that would be difficult to pin down. He gave me some Miconosol lotion to use once a day meanwhile, to take care of any fungus, and he also gave me some Diphenhydramine pills, which is an antihistamine. I'm not going to try the pills yet because we would have no idea what was working if I did both simultaneously, plus the diphen would just mask the symptoms, although he says that often doesn't work but just makes the dogs sleepy.

The vet is also a big proponent of prednisone, but I told him that I wasn't comfortable with it so he's going to try other options. But now we have to wait and see what the culture shows - if anything.

When I got home I put the Miconosol drops in the poor ears, and Chou went nuts as usual, racing around and rubbing her ears on her blanket. I just hope we can find a solution. She's already on Canidae lamb and rice, and I don't give her anything with corn in it. I just don't know what else to do if nothing specific comes out of the culture!

Leslie
_________________
*\Portraits http://www.leslieficcaglia.org *\
*\Wild and Scenic http://mauriceriver.igc.org/ *\

[sessa35]

so sorry Leslie that you are still struggling with this...

maybe its the lamb?---maybe its the wrong protein base?
just a thought.

Since Mija has been on fish,
no ear issues at all--none (even if I'm late to pluck hair, still good these days).
the few dry spots of "wirey hair" that she had between her shoulders and above her tail base--GONE...they are silky and soft like the rest of her coat now.
Fish kibble has worked wonders....
(although I supplement with other limited proteins on a regular basis too).

_________________
REASON #125, "Why I love my doodle so": After 1,547 photos taken, my doodle is still in an inspiration to capture on film!

[Doodlesville]

Another Spot on that is safe for nursing mothers and 4week old pups is DEFEND spot on ,,this takes care or ear mite (most mites as well)
it can be ordered www.petedge.com or www.jefferspet.com

I also use frontline spray in severe cases as well

As most know im pretty much holistic in most of my treatments
But when it comes to mites there is few recourse to get rid of them fast
you should see a marked difference in just a few days

Never every never use ointments in ears, this just breeds yeast infection then that is a whole new ballgame that can take a long time to correct
(ZYMOX is just bout all i ever use now on my dogs ears, (they have ointment and spray as well to use on skin) it works better then any thing any vet has ever prescribed for my dogs
_________________
Nancy at Doodlesville(Virginia)
Aussiedoodles, Goldendoodles & Labradoodles
www.Doodlesville.net

[L's Mom]

My groomer swears by Thornit Ear Powder, buys off of ebay... here's the link...
http://stores.ebay.com/Pet-Stop-to-Shop_Health_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZQ2d1QQfsubZ4QQftidZ2QQtZkm
_________________
Jenny, Sam, Lucas, & Della

[River Rat]

Nancy, a friend of mine in France just recommended Zymox to me, too, and so I just ordered it through Amazon, along with the same brand ear cleaner. I'll try that, but at least I got an opinion from the vet that it's NOT mites, which is what I had been assuming it was. However, in that case the Ivermectin should have knocked them out and it didn't at all. On the other hand, the Earisil with gentian violet and boric acid should have taken care of any infection or fungus.

Thanks for the tips and keep your fingers crossed for poor Chouette. She runs and hides when I look like I'm going to treat ears these days.

Leslie
_________________
*\Portraits http://www.leslieficcaglia.org *\
*\Wild and Scenic http://mauriceriver.igc.org/ *\

[Doodlesville]

I have a recipe of ear POWDER (same ingrediants it sounds like) if you would like that may help
_________________
Nancy at Doodlesville(Virginia)
Aussiedoodles, Goldendoodles & Labradoodles
www.Doodlesville.net

[Doodlesville]

Oh Heck Im just going to post it again for whoever wants it

HOME MADE EAR POWDERIt

The Formula

Ingredients
• 4 oz. zinc oxide powder
• 4 oz. boric acid powder
• ½ oz. Iodoform powder
Mix well. Keep in a sealed jar in a cool dry place.

Instructions on use
Place a large pinch of powder in each ear, and use your finger to work it down. Wait five or ten minutes (I cut toenails) then pluck the hair out of the ears, being sure to get all the way down. Allow the dog to shake, but leave the excess powder in the ears. Repeat monthly.

Treatment of an existing infection
Use as described for maintenance, then apply a fresh pinch of powder to each ear. Wait twenty-four hours, then use a dry q-tip to remove all the powder and the balls of dried gunk. Put a fresh pinch of powder in each ear. Repeat daily until the ears are no longer runny. At this point, repeat every other day, until there is no more runniness, then three times a week, then twice, then weekly, then every other week, etc. When the ears remain dry for three weeks, go to the monthly maintenance routine.

How it works
The reason this works so well is that the iodoform powder kills anaerobic bacteria and fungi which flourish in warm, moist, airless places, like the inside of a poodle's ear. The zinc oxide and boric acid keep the ear dry, which prevents further infections. In the days before antibiotics, Iodoform was frequently used in human medicine to pack puncture wounds where anaerobic bacteria also grow. It may be hard to find because it isn't used much any more.

Sometimes these ingredients are hard to find
We recommend Clorhexiderm for cleaning ears
& ZYMOX for treatment if needed These can be ordered thru www.kvvet.com
Get in the habit of wiping ears with paper towel and clorhexiderm weekly
_________________
Nancy at Doodlesville(Virginia)
Aussiedoodles, Goldendoodles & Labradoodles
www.Doodlesville.net

[River Rat]

Nancy, hopefully the Zymox will be on its way here soon. How would you recommend administering it - how often, etc.? And for how long? We have been struggling with this for ages now!

Thanks!

Leslie
_________________
*\Portraits http://www.leslieficcaglia.org *\
*\Wild and Scenic http://mauriceriver.igc.org/ *\

[Doodlesville]

Follow the directions on the bottle, they are very specific
and i have a really strong feeling this should do it!!!!!
_________________
Nancy at Doodlesville(Virginia)
Aussiedoodles, Goldendoodles & Labradoodles
www.Doodlesville.net

[PlainJane]

Nancy,

Where were you when I had my labs????????????????

You should have become a vet !!!

Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
_________________
Jane & Jazz-min

[Doodlesville]

LOL, so glad i can help

I have been in or around vet medicine since i was 16yrs old,,im goin on 51
OMG<<DID I JEST TELL MY AGE<,
_________________
Nancy at Doodlesville(Virginia)
Aussiedoodles, Goldendoodles & Labradoodles
www.Doodlesville.net

[lmtoth2]

Sorry to hear poor Chou is still having ear troubles Are you feeding Canidae? Dex had ear troubles and we had to switch foods a few times...we went to Canidae and he still had trouble. We are on Natural Balance now (first duck/potato and now fish/sweet potato because of Kirby). I would think about changing food...Canidae has several sources of protein and our vet said that can be a problem for some dogs.
_________________
Leslie M

[River Rat]