I switched to Diamond Large Breed and we were THRILLED with how it took care of Hanford's itchy skin!! I was in love with the food and was posting my love for it freely. Now, Hanford has a black sticky buildup in his ears and is shaking his head on a regular basis. He has never done this before. I just cleaned his ears out with some cotton swabs and he was groaning like he was in heaven.

Do you think this is allergy related from the food?? Do labs get sticky black ear build up? Is there something i can use from my home that will help? The sticky stuff doesn't smell bad, it just smells like "Hanford's Ear". I am open to ANY suggestions. I am such a sappy mother, i can't stand that he i uncomfortable. He is pawing me now so i will type with one hand and rub his ears with the other.

Usually, if you dog has a sticky black build-up in his ears and is shaking his head....he probably has some type of ear infection going on...I would suggest taking him to the Vet to be evaluated....chronic itchy ears can indicate a food allergy, but not necessarily....my Toby gets it sometimes after swimming....good luck to you.

Sounds exactly what I dealt with a couple of months ago. The vet diagnosed it as a yeast infection. He told me the causes could be environmental and/or food allergy related. I switched Bailey's food from Innova to Natural Balance Potato & Duck. The combination of the food change and regular ear cleaning did the trick.

Good luck!

There are plenty of OTC ear cleaners available at Petsmart, Petco, etc...

I use one and try to clean Luca Bella's ears about once a month, but as usual, I forget so it usually only happens once every couple months.

I take a cotton ball, rip it in half, soak both halves with the ear cleaning solution, then stuff them down into Luca Bella's ears. I then massage her ears for a minute or two, then I let her shake the cotton balls out. Works great, she's never had an ear infection yet.

We feed Diamond lamb and rice..wheat and soy free..my older lab gets horrid infections from wheat. I have to be very careful about what goes in his mouth..even a piece of bread will cause problems

I doubt it's the Diamond dog food. It's mainly a chicken and rice diet, although it does have a small amount of wheat in it. More than likely the cause is environmental. For cleaning the ears, you can use a 50-50 mixture of white vinegar and alchohol. Alchohol can be irritating, so some people use witch hazel instead. :)

ZacksPa--I agree. We have a girl that gets horrible ear infections whenever it rains or is humid out.

What is your weather like right now?

Dayton weather is great right now. Sunny, 80 degrees, moderate humidity and best of all very cool nights! The ragweed count was high and I believe that is what got Zack's ears all "gunky" today.

As i live only 18 miles north of Dayton, my weather is the same as ZacksPa's. It just surprised me that it got so bad so fast! Hanford was at the vet's office two weeks ago for his shots and the vet said his ears looked great. NOW, the black stuff is in large chunks and it smells funny. (it didn't have a smell before) I will be a the petstore tomorrow to get something for it.

ZacksPa--I agree. We have a girl that gets horrible ear infections whenever it rains or is humid out.

What is your weather like right now?
It just occurred to me that you were probably asking Hanford & Shelby, from the original post! I am sometimes tired and a little punchy when I'm posting. Oh well, we're all Buckeyes!