Ear infection help?

[cooperking1]

Hello everyone!
Cooper is 5 years old and for months now we have been dealing with an ear infection.
A couple years ago he had one - we went to the vet and got some ear drops - it went away and everything was back to normal.

This time it is not going away, we have been to the vet 4 times and have religiously put in the medication that was given to us. I have also went out and bought ear cleaner to put in as well to try and help.
When all this wasn't working I went online to find some other remedies - which I have tried and nothing.

Has anyone else has similar issues with their labs ears? Or any other tips? I am now booking him in to Petsmart to get a professional cleaning every week hoping that will help a bit more.

[Snowshoe]

Was matter from the ear cultured? What was it? Bacteria? Yeast? Which meds were tried? Cleaning doesn't clear up infection and too much and/or too vigorous cleaning can make things worse.

I didn't know PetSmart did ear cleaning. I thought they just did grooming with trimming hair around the ears. No way I'd let anybody other than a Vet fiddle with my dog's ears, what's PetSmart going to do?

[janedoe]

It could be any number of things. Allergies is a common cause. Could he be allergic to his food? Also, the dog ear canal is very long and winding so when you clean, it's typically a surface kind of thing.

Our Fran has chronic ear infections related to allergies. We manage it with a homemade diet prescribed by a vet and Zymox Otic with hydrocortisone.

Best of luck. These things can be complicated.

[Labradorks]

Did the vet talk to you about diet? What are you feeding? Corn, wheat, eggs, chicken, soy and beef can all be allergens.

[SoapySophie]

We are feeding our Sophie TLC food and she seems to constantly be dealing with ear problems. My hair stylist told me he switched from TLC to Acana and the ear problems his lab was having stopped. I'm starting to consider this too, although I will miss the convenience of delivery. :/

[Dennis Thomas, DVM]

With non-responsive ear infections, we clinicians need to be specific with what microorganisms are involved. Like others have mentioned, it might be a mixed infection with bacteria and yeast as well as inflammation. Most ear ointments these days will have a shotgun approach with something for bacteria and yeast both. At my practice in Texas we found many stubborn ear infections due to a resistant bacteria. To identify this it is imperative that a culture and sensitivity be done to determine the organism and what it is responsive to. I am assuming that your vet looked deep into the ear canal to rule out a foreign body or a mass in the canal. Keep us informed and good luck.

[Labradorks]

You really have to discover the underlying cause. I have fixed three ear infection prone dogs with food, no thanks to my vets who just kept sending me home with meds.

Grains is a typical allergen. There are lots of good food for dogs with allergies. Acana is one, but it is rich for some dogs. Fromm is pretty popular, Pork and Pea is a good place to start. There are several others that are also quite good. All are available at Chewy.com with free delivery.