Ear Mites/Yeast Infection on Dogs

[FatsMcKay]

Hello Hello Hello,

Thought I would consult INGO before heading to the vet. My black lab mix is having a fit with one of her ears. She started out faintly whining when I would rub her behind her ears (which was her favorite spot to get scratched). Recently she has been scratching it incessantly with her hind leg and shaking her head. I took a look and there was black gunk build up that smelled like sour milk mixed with feces. I have been wiping it out and after a bit of research on the internet I believe that it is either dog mites or a yeast infection.

I wanted to ask if anyone has any experience with either of this issues and how I might be able to tell one way or another which condition she has. Many people have told me I can just buy ear drops online or at Petsmart and administer them myself while a few people have told me to take her to a vet.

What should my next step be?

Thanks,

FatsMcKay

 

[mrjarrell]

Next step? A trip to the vets for some ear drops. My dogs used to get these nasty little buggers. Caused them no small amount of misery. The ear drops work really well and your dog will love you even more for it. Get the ear drops and make their life pain free again. Do go to the vet, tho. The case may be bad enough that there's a secondary infection from scratching. It'll be worth it.

 

[Hillbilly]

Sounds like a yeast infection. If she is whining, it probably hurts. Take her to the vet. She may need an antibiotic to help clear it up. They will probably also give you some drops and a solution to help clean all that out.

 

[FatsMcKay]

Thanks guys, I suppose I will have to do that. Is there a vet that anyone recommends or does work for a great price? I have taken my dogs to Michigan Road Vet Clinic but does anyone stand by another establishment?

 

[Double T]

We use some ear stuff we picked up from Walmart for our golden, her ears are closed so she gets it a lot.

Use the drops and a qtip, if it's from excess wax we use alcohol to dry it out and get it out. We have to do this typically twice a year or so (when the weather changes)

 

[bigworm]

this is what i do

1) Ear Infection Solution (a modified version of the one in the original thread)

Apple Cider Vinegar (1/3 cup)
70% isopropyl alcohol (1/3 cup)
Water (1 cup)

Directions: Soak cotton ball with the solution and wipe down the ear only as far as you can see. The excess solution in the cotton ball will drip down into the ear canal and the base of the ear can be massaged for (30 sec to 1 min) if the dog is not in discomfort. Let your dog shake out the excess solution and then pat dry with a fresh cotton ball until dry.

this is from

How to treat ear infections at home - Pitbulls : Go Pitbull Dog Forums

 

[bigworm]

i put this into a contact bottle spray it in the ear than massage his ear let him shake it out then you take a rag and clean out his ear keep doing it till its clean. I use it on my dog a couple times and the problem goes away. Way cheaper than the vets 20 dollar bottle of about the same stuff.

 

[TheRude1]

Good info

Thanks

 

[bigworm]

Youcan use hydrogen peroxide instead of the watrer but some dogs get really irritated by it

 

[remauto1187]

Easiest way to take care of the mites is use drops of mineral oil. Clean ears out with cotton balls. Cleans out the ears and kills the mites. Cheap and it works.

 

[Terry4570]

I had the yeast problem with my lab,and when it gets bad you have get meds from the vet to get it under control.It's caused from water most of the time,ears not getting dried out good.1-800-petmeds has a good product just for cleaning the ears, it's called ear cleansing solution and the price is not bad at all.It has what my vet told me to use to kill the yeast,it should be acidify to do the job and it smells good.He told me fill the ear and work it in good let dog shake it out and take cotton balls clean and dry,it might take a few times.I do this every time he gets in the water or bath,his ears are in good shape now.

 

[femurphy77]

Lab; ear infection. We took all three of ours to the vet several times for VERY expensive ear drops that only slightly controlled the suffering of our babies. We tried the home remedies and they didn't fare any better. We did some research on the 'net and found something called "Malacetic Otic", by Derma Pet. GREAT STUFF and relatively inexpensive. A 1/2 ounce tube of the stuff prescribed by the vet cost around $20 and lasts a few days. This stuff costs about the same for a 16 ounce bottle. Use it regularly, religiously like the bottle says to and your troubles will soon go away.

Our chocolate used to suffer incessantly even while under the vets care and had always ad an odor from her ears requiring cleaning and "treatment" with whatever the du jour was. But when we started using the stuff above once a day, we eliminated COMPLETELY the problem and now her ears just don't have any smell and she hasn't shook her head or scratched her ears in a long time. We now do a weekly maintenance cleaning on all of our babies but the results always come back with clean cotton balls whereas before our twice daily cleanings on the chocolate always produced chunks of yuck! I'll dig up the website where we ordered the stuff a little later and post it but in the meantime search it for yourself and read the reviews.

GREAT STUFF!!

Update; it has been replaced by something called otoderm. Go to healthypets.com to order it online.

 

[Brandon]

We just had this problem 2 weeks ago, we tried the store bought stuff and found it didn't work. So we took him to the vet, 20 minutes later he had his tests done and medicine in ear... after the first day his shaking went wayyyyy down, the scratching all but stopped... 2 weeks later no issues...

They also gave us a bottle of ear wash they said to use twice a week.

 

[Mr. Habib]

One of my labs gets yeast infections, too. We used ear drops from the vet once a day and cleaned them once or twice a day for about two weeks. Cleared up just fine.