Hi and thanks in advance. I am posting here for the first time, and appreciate any help. I have a 10 1/2 year old Lab, who has problems with his ears. In the past 2 years we've had surgery done to both ears because of them swelling up Hematoma (sp) from shaking his head. The vet said it was common and treated an ear infection the first time, the second time his ears were clear. Both times we were told he needed surgery! We had the surgery done. His most recent surgery was about 3 months ago, and the ear is swollen again. He is currently being treated for an ear infection.

After talking to some people that had similar problems we've come to find that surgery is not really needed since the dog is having no pain or discomfort. Besides looking for an honest Vet, what can I do if anything for the swollen ear? I am currently treating the infection, and he allows me to put a head band on him which stops his ears from flapping.

Thanks
Frank D

Hi and welcome to the board.

My old girl had hematomas once and she was given steroids to bring the swelling down. Not that I'm crazy about steroids - but this was a long time ago and it helped to avoid surgery.

I would suggest you buy an ear scope so you can regularly check for infections and catch them real early to treat. This may help prevent the head shaking and resulting in future hematomas. You can get them for around $20 at Fosters and Smith and the like.

I also use 1/3 water, 1/3 white viniger, 1/3 alcohol to clean ears weekly which helps to keep them dry and prevent infections.

I use holistic methods whenever possible but not sure what to use for hematomas as it has been many years since I had this issue.

Welcome to the board, Frank.

Sorry to read that your boy (name?) has chronic ear problems.

First, a few questions;
-what type of kibble and treats does he eat?
-is he annually vaccinated?
-what type of treatment is he currently on for his ear infection?
and
-when was his last full blood panel, urine and stool tests done, and what are the results?

Welcome to the board, Frank.

Sorry to read that your boy (name?) has chronic ear problems.

First, a few questions;
-what type of kibble and treats does he eat?
-is he annually vaccinated?
-what type of treatment is he currently on for his ear infection?
and
-when was his last full blood panel, urine, and stool tests done, and what are the results?

Thanks for the replies, the dogs name is Rocky, and I guess like everyone else on the this board he is LOVED by his family.

We have been feeding him Healthy Beneful, he is a little over weight.
He is annually vaccinated
He is getting Zymox-E w/cort ear drops. (He was given a Cortisone Shot last week)
His blood work urine and stool tests were done pre-op in March 2007.

We are giving him Benedryl which seems to help stop the head shaking. I also tie a Bandana around his head to stop the ears from flapping if he shakes his head. Oddly he will let you put it on and it stays on for several hours. His left ear is pretty swollen now. As mentioned earlier I want to avoid a third surgery, its very costly, and I would rather not put him thru it again!

Thanks
Frank D

As an add on, he is eating, drinking, and showing no signs of pain or discomfort.

Thanks again!
Frank D

I'm not one for fluff, so I'll give it to you straight, Beneful is NOT Healthy! It's full of fillers and sugar and these are just 2 reasons why Rocky is having his ear issues. Just look at the first number of ingredients http://www.beneful.com/ Ground yellow corn, chicken by-product meal, corn gluten meal, soybean hulls*, whole wheat flour, rice flour, chicken, soy flour, beef tallow preserved with....Seriously, WHERE'S THE MEAT???? Dogs need meat to lead healthy lives! The 1st ingredient is CORN :nono:, corn is for chickens, not dogs! And look at all that wheat in this kibble :scared: Sorry if it seems that I'm yelling at you Frank, I'm not, but this kibble is scary stuff!

Also, at 10 years old he doesn't need annual vaccinations, IMO, your vet is ripping you off. The "new" norm amoung vets is to stop vaccinating when they reach about 3 to 5 years old, with some vets sooner. A lot of vets are now using Blood Serum Titer testing instead of over vaccinating. Ask your vet about this.
http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/titer_test.htm
http://www.cyberpet.com/cyberdog/articles/health/vaccin.htm

With his left ear being the problem one, in traditional/holistic vet medicine, left means the liver is involved. EAR INFECTION If the right ear is often infected , the right ear signifies the immune system. http://www.consumerhealth.org/articles/display.cfm?ID=20060228185653
My guess is that Rocky is also itchy in other areas besides his ears.

I know someone whose Border Collie/Lab cross was prone to ear hematomas, this dog had 3 previous surgeries to remove the hematomas with a fourth one growing. I suggested to take her boy to see a holistic vet, which she did, and long story, short, her boy, Max, has been hematoma free for well over a year. I don't know exactly what the vet all did, but Max was detoxed from vaccinosis http://www.cyberpet.com/cyberdog/articles/health/vaccin.htm, then his diet was changed (he even lost weight that his kibble packed on him), and was supplemented with certain supplements to help him heal from the inside, out. Max's current vet also practices not to over vaccinate her clients pets just to save the pet the misery vaccinosis causes, and to save them $$$$. That's what a good vet does, IMHO.

Can you get copies of his latest test results?

I would suggest the same to you, Frank, please consider taking Rocky to see a Board certified holistic/traditional vet who can guide you on how best to help Rocky to heal.

If I think of any more thoughts on this, I'll post them.

Wishing you all the best with Rocky.

Thanks Black Labbies,

My wife and I will invistigate the info you gave me. I questioned the Vet about the vaccinations, and his reply was they were only 1 year vaccinations. We will no longer do business with him, I am only sorry he was able to rip us off and put the dog through unnecessary surgeries. I guess its all about the $$$. We'll start with the ear infection, and diet, and work from there......... Live and learn.

Thanks for all the great info!

Frank D

So do you want to start with looking at feeding Rocky a better kibble (and treats)? This you can do on your own.

There are several people here that are good at interpreting kibble ingredients, and they can also chime in here (hint ;)).

Yes, live and learn...we did the hard way, too.

As for seeking out a Board Certified holistic vet, this is a good place to start: http://www.theavh.org/referral/certifieds.php

I'm still interested in knowing what Rocky's last blood test results are, particularly his liver enzymes. Can you get a copy of the results from your vet?

(hint ;)).

Great advice Lisa, I knew you could help.

I recommend a kibble hi in protein (as opposed to low) for senior dogs to help maintain muscle mass, especially as they become less active and may develope arthritis. Protein builds and maintains muscle.

You want a kibble with first (and preferably 2nd or 3rd) protein source. Chicken Meal is better as a first ingred, than just chick. (meal has less water and ingred. are listed by weight in dog food).

I'm not sure what food to recommend at this point because of the recalls. I am feeding a grain free food until all this recall stuff is over with.

Evo, Nature's Variety Instinct, Orijen - are all grain free foods. They are very hi in protein but I know people (breeders) feeding these kibbles to senior dogs (one is 13) and they are doing wonderful on it.

Any food you can buy in a food store or super market is not good quality.

Good luck in your search for a holistic vet and in getting Rocky's issues straightened out.

Be aware that when switching food you may not see an immediate improvement. It can take time for his body to rid itself of the poor ingred.

I would ask the holistic vet about a detox diet for a week or so and then slowly adding in the new kibble you choose.

I too am interested in the results of Rocky's bloodwork.

Please keep us posted.

We are gradually changing Rocky's diet, my wife is working on that. At this point we haven't contacted the vet re: his blood work. We are working on clearing up his ear infection, and we will find a new vet. My wife is so disgusted with the old vet she wants no part of them. The only report we had about his blood work was, "everything is normal".

Frank D

We are gradually changing Rocky's diet, my wife is working on that. At this point we haven't contacted the vet re: his blood work. We are working on clearing up his ear infection, and we will find a new vet. My wife is so disgusted with the old vet she wants no part of them. The only report we had about his blood work was, "everything is normal".

Frank D

Do yourself a favor and have your vet fax the bloodwork results to you so you have a base line to go by. This is very important, especially for your new vet to have and for you to have for your file.

Hi Frank,

I wanted to add my history with my lab Grip's ears here, too. To make a long story short, Grip had severe damage to his ears when we adopted him at 18 months, which included a dramatic mite infection (they ate through his ear drums) as well as a constant yeast infection. While we were able to resolve the mites, no amount of treatment would resolve the yeast infections. He had other other health problems that required us to frequently adjust his diet. What we discovered almost by accident was that Grip was extemely intolerant of most grains, but particularly wheat, rye and barley (rye and barley are cousins of wheat and many dogs react the same way to them). Often oats need to be included on this list because they are processed on the same production lines as wheat. Grip can eat fresh oatmeal, but he starts shaking his head if there's oatmeal included in his kibble. Beneful would probably have made Grip's head explode. Its a virtually meatless food with tons of grains and other ingredients that could lead to ear distress such as sugars, which feed yeast .

As soon as these grains were removed from his diet, Grip's ears cleared up almost immediately (literally within a week) and the only time he's had a flareup in the years since is when he counter-surfed a slice of french bread (which resulted in an ear infection).

I would highly recommend trying him on a food with no grains or with only a gluten-free grain as the carbohydrate, for example rice or millet. This should apply to any treats he's given, too. We use a kibble now called Nature's Logic which is very high in meat protein and uses only millet as the carb and all of my dogs are doing beautifully on it.

I would also try to minimize the amount of ear cleaning you are doing, as this can be irritating and keep the swelling from going down.

I don't use anything strong in Grip's ears (even veterinary ear washes or alcohol) because its clearly painful for him. The only product I've found that works well for him and doesn't sting/burn is a herbal ear wash made by Halo


Halo Natural Herbal Ear Wash
In a base of Witch Hazel, Natural Herbal Ear Wash contains the following full strength herbal oils and extracts: Chamomile Extract, Sage Oil, Clove Oil, Hore Hound Extract, Southern Wood Extract, Marigold (Calendula) Extract, Penny Royal Oil, St. John’s Wort

You can find it in many health food stores and in well-stocked boutique pet shops, and also online http://shop.halopets.com/product2.cfm?SID=1&CustomerID=907646&jsessionid=f430948531181479707280&Product_ID=8&Category_ID=5

Good luck!