Stubborn ear infection

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gebower
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Stubborn ear infection

Post by gebower »

Max is 12 months old and seems to have some kind of irritation or infection in his ears. I took him to the vet and they said he had a "minor bacterial infection". Well, they gave me "Animax" ointment and I gave it to him religiously, but he is not better. He is still shaking his head and scratching his ear. Animax is another name for Panalog, which has been around a long time. It's just not working. Any one have this problem with their Chow? I'm going to another vet because the vet I'm seeing seems to have a problem with Chows. Too afraid of them. The vet to me, seems more concerned with "protection" against my "vicious" Chow than the treatment. It's so ridiculous because Max is no vicious Chow. He's just a big baby, 65 lbs. He's not even vicious. He just looks scary. But, I've heard about ear infections in dogs and if it not taking care of, it goes to the inner ear and now you really have a problem.
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janet
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Re: Stubborn ear infection

Post by janet »

gene, it might be food related. what are you feeding max????
i feel that sometimes vets are so quick to miss diagnose and medicate, when it could just be something so simple as changing the diet.
kiwani will be much more of a help.
good luck, and give max a big hug. i hope he feels better.
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kiwani
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Re: Stubborn ear infection

Post by kiwani »

gebower wrote:I took him to the vet and they said he had a "minor bacterial infection". Well, they gave me "Animax" ointment and I gave it to him religiously, but he is not better.....But, I've heard about ear infections in dogs and if it not taking care of, it goes to the inner ear and now you really have a problem.
The link below is part of a veterinary lecture series, and will give you a thorough analysis, including which meds have toxic effects to the ears.

If it is the more common Malassezia yeast infection, I've been recommending the DermaPet 'MalAcetic Otic' (vinegar/boric acid solution) mentioned on the list. The link below will give you details about what ear problems Panalog is ineffective against.

We've also had a recent thread on the deeper ear infections...


Excerpt:
"Nystatin (Panalog, Animax) -- for Canidida, but not Malassezia"

http://www.dcavm.org/03jan.htm
cleopatra20043
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Re: Stubborn ear infection

Post by cleopatra20043 »

Chen has the same problem and the vet told me that it could be reoccuring since it was a yeast infection, the ear drops that kiwani suggested is what I use (DepmaPet MalAcetic Otic) they work for quite a while allthough Chen doesn't like them much after you apply he will shake his head and sometimes whine for a few seconds but they do work. I have only had to use them twice so far with Chen (he will be 1yr on the 25th of May) oh and a plus..the drops smell like apricots :lol: Hope you get it figured out but it does sound like the same thing that Chen has. Oh and on another note if it is a yeast infection make sure when you bathe Max that you keep the ears as dry as possible that will help and they also sell a drying agent (I can't remember the name of it) for ears at petsmart that seems to help a lot if the ears do get wet.

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kiwani
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Re: Stubborn ear infection

Post by kiwani »

cleopatra20043 wrote:..the drops smell like apricots :lol:
DermaPet's vinegar/boric acid shampoo, conditioner, and wipes, have the same fruity scent. The ear cleaner is also used as a skin cleanser, especially good for itchy yeasty areas between the toes, sebum gland areas (at the base of tail), etc. The boric acid is also the drying agent.
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kingalls
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Re: Stubborn ear infection

Post by kingalls »

Have you done a search in the Health forum for ear infection? There are several threads regarding ear infections - including ones I posted about Mr. N. I was about less than 1% able to put the drops in Mr. N's ears because he would run away when I tried to administer drops. He had his ears flushed the first time it was really bad - there was debris, etc. I made some recommended dietary changes. I think that is what helped him because the amount of medication I was able to give him was next to none :roll:
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carolyn dewrance
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Re: Stubborn ear infection

Post by carolyn dewrance »

IN one of the other threads I posted the same thing with my chow Chrystal, I cleaned her ears with a diluted solution of Hydrogen Peroxide twice a day, before I put in the ear drops, this cleaned the ear out, and allowed the drops to work, it cleared it up in a few days.
Hope this helps.
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Luke
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Re: Stubborn ear infection

Post by Luke »

I have a 9 month old Chow who just started to have an ear issue. This is my third Chow and I have had a lot of experience with many issues over the years. Each Chow seems to have their own special problem which requires attention and maintainence. The other advices are good ones but some times the process of elimination is necessary to get to the very bottom. Ear infections (depending on servarity) can be a difficult fix and time is of essence to get it fixed. Ear infections can come from a varity of conditions being allergies or simply what is called a moist ear. Moist ears grow yeast and to eliminate this is an easy fix but needs to be maintained every 10 days or so. Moist ears does not necessaily come from getting water in the ear or from a bath or rain. It can manifest itself simply from moist humidity climates. If the hair around the ear is dense then some relief may be in order by trimming just a little for ventallation. Now, to get to the point with a recommendation. There is a product on the market that is for ear infections and yeast particularly for the infamious moist ear. It is labled "Wonder Ear" and it performs better than anything I've tried and believe me I've tried a lot. Perhaps and or no doupt a good vet is in order to stop the infection but if not controlled it will be back. The ear should be cleaned with a product that evaporates quickly and perferably leaves no chemicals behind; i.e., alcohol based but gentle. Wonder Ear is a powder that you simply sprinkle into the ear, (after the ear is cleaned well) it will make its way down the ear canal. This is the best maintainence product on the market and will distroy infections, it may even correct your exist problem.

Hope this helps,
Ed
PS: Wonder Ear is a natural product and extremely safe. The product has been on the market for 15 years and highly used by breeders of long eared dogs.
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Re: Stubborn ear infection

Post by chow315 »

i had this problem for about a year.find a vet who is willing to do a deep cleaning. if i understand right the dog has 4 ear canals that go from his ears really long and only a vet can get to the bottom of it.my dog had to have a ctology, and tests to find out what the problem was.with the chows having such furry ears alot of mites and other gunk can build up in there. after the tests and deep cleaning and antibiotics he is dong much better. i have written about this under deaf chow if that might help. hope things get better
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