How to get rid of a dog's ear infection and prevent future ones?

Question

My mother uses Miconazole (the medicine used to cure vaginal yeast infections) in my dog's ear whenever she has an infection, and I highly doubt that works. It makes her ear crusty, oily, and warm, and very smelly. We've also tried the vet so many times. They give us the same thing, which clears it for a little, but the infection always comes back. Do you know any remedies I can use to cure it? And prevent future infections? Also, do you think the miconazole is helping? Thanks so much in advance.

Additional Details

And it is a yeast infection. No mites.

Answer 1

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What kind of dog do you have? Some breeds with floppy ears or hair that grows inside the ear canal are highly prone to infections. This is because water is more likely to become trapped--that plus a little bacteria makes for a perfect yeast storm.

If hair is the culprit, you can ask your groomer to remove it when your pup is groomed--this can be a very routine part of grooming.

To more immediately address the problem, try this doggy earwash. I found the recipe in a natural pet book and I've used it with great success on both my golden retriever and goldendoodle (who has those pesky, hairy ears that are very prone to yeast infections).

Mix the following ingredients:

2 Tablespoons Witch Hazel
5 drops clove oil
5 drops tea tree oil
3 drops calendula oil

Dampen a cotton ball with the solution and squeeze just a tad into the ear canal. Gently apply the rest to the pinna (inside of ear flap). Repeat in both ears.

Use this solution twice daily during active infections. Otherwise use it religiously EVERY time your pup's ears are exposed to water, which is unfortunately yeast's best friend.

I would definitely discontinue the miconazole. Anything greasy like that will definitely exacerbate the problem.

Good luck!!!

Answer 2

Dogs are susceptible to ear problems because their ear canals are more L-shaped than a human's and the ear cavity is deeper. This deep cavity is dark, damp and warm. The perfect place for bacteria, fungus, parasites or yeast to grow.

Floppy eared dogs are especially vulnerable. Also, dogs bred to work in the water, like spaniels and retrievers, are particularly sensitive to ear infections because their ears are naturally more oily than others

Zymox Otic makes a good one to clear it up and then Life's Abundance has a great cleaner to work on preventing it

Source(s):

http://azjungle.com/earcleaner.html

Answer 3

It might be an allergy in the dog food causing this. Research raw diets for dogs. http://healthydogforlife.com/ http://thenaturallyhealthydog.com/ and there are many other websites as well with a lot of information.

Miconazole is used to treat a lot of infections, but generally not ear infections. Usually drops and antibiotics are used for those.

Also, make sure you pluck the hair out of the dog's ears every time it starts to get plugged up with hair, and you can get good washing remedies at any pet supply store. Only use them when you see ear wax.

Answer 4

Zymox Otic treats bacteria and yeast. It is available online and at some pet supply stores. It is the best I have found to treat yeasty ears and I have used almost everything available through the years. The biggest difference came from feeding grain free as grain in the kibble makes yeast worse. Gradually transition to Blue Buffalo Wilderness or Taste of the Wild. It may seem more expensive but you feed less and have fewer vet visits.

Source(s):

Owned by 4 beagles with no ear infections since feeding grain free.

Answer 5

When you get the infection cleared up, get daily/weekly drops from your vet. Be sure to clean your dog's ears on a regular weekly basis. Keep the vagina stuff out of your dog's ears!! If it was meant for dogs then she would have gotten it at a pet store/vet office.

Answer 6

First find out what is causing the ear infection. If it's chronic then you may need to find something that you can put in the dogs ears daily. Tell your mom to stop using Miconazole - that's disgusting! Poor dog.

Answer 7

I use Surolan from my vet. Religiously!

3 times a week I clean my dog's ears with unscented baby wipes. I wrap it around a finger and get in there to clean.

If your dog gets yeasty ears, change her food. She's likely allergic to corn or other grains, possibly poultry too. Try fish and sweet potato. I chose to go with Natural Balance's fish and sweet potato LID (limited ingredient diet) formulated for dogs with allergies. It'll cost you more but you'll feed less to offer the same or better nutrition. Bonus: less food = less poop.

Note that you must suspend all treats other than ones that offer no grains, carbs of any kind, or that convert into sugar/yeast. What works for us is Benny Bully's Liver Chops. It's strictly freeze-dried liver. No additives, no preservatives, no artificial anything. Just liver. Dogs (and cats) LOVE it. I haven't met one yet that doesn't.

Don't let this issue get away from you. Once a dog's ears are chronically yeasty, you will deal with this issue daily. We had a foster dog come to us. Her ears were so badly infected and yeasty, they stuck straight out. She had hematomas and needed surgery. Now we deal with medication twice a day, ointment in her ears twice a day, special food, special ear treatment, extra ear cleanings, etc. And she still scratches and can be quite uncomfortable. It's a labour of love for us.

Answer 8

It is coming from allergies. Could be food (beef is #1) could be inhalant allergy; could be topical from walking thru something. We have even had allergy testing come back saying the dog was allergic to human dander!

I work for a vet, and we see ear infections all the time. My own lab has ear infections and also licks her feet constantly. She is probably allergic to multiple things.

There is allergy testing for dogs and there are allergy injections. It works, I believe, about 1/3 of the time. Something to consider. I have a friend whose dog's allergies are very much under control from injections.

For our clients who have come in and had the proper testing, plus return for their recheck, we frequently allow refills on as-needed basis. The medications are just for dogs, and they work.

We often use a product called Zymox (RX only) along with Zymox ear cleaner. We also use something called temaril P, which is a combination antihistamine/steroid that works fast. But the RX depends upon what is found on an ear cytology. Yeast, bacteria (rods or cocci) it is important to know what you are treating before throwing your money away on something, hoping it works. And some dogs will have yeast one time and bacteria with it other times, because when they scratch their ear, they introduce bacteria into the situation.

You could try changing (gradually) the food over to something like venison and sweet potato or a hypo allergenic food, such as z/d by Science Diet. But you also have to not give treats that could ruin the whole test. One bite of something can set the entire thing off again for weeks.

If we could "cure" the problem of ear infections, the entire veterinary profession would be thrillled. There is no cure for it, because it comes from allergy.

Work with your vet. Ask for the option of refilling meds the first time your dog flips his head. Quick meds will keep it from getting really, really bad.

It is maddening and expensive; but if you work with your vet, he or she can allow refills as needed in between annual visits. We do it all the time.

Hope this helps.

Answer 9

What kind of dog do you have? Some breeds are just prone to these no matter what you do. Shaving around the ear and clearing the inner hairs out can really help. Air needs to get in that ear to help 'dry' it out. If the dogs ear is swollen, red, bleeding, or very hot and if the dog is even running a fever its going to need antibiotics to treat it. Has it been tested for a food alergy? Beef alergies can cause ear issues. Has its thyroid been tested? Does it swim alot or get its head wet often? You will have to see a vet and have that taken care of first then you can start dong preventative maintence as follows:
diluted white viniger to 1 part water. Soak cotten balls and clean the ear or use a squeeze bottle to put in ear. Keep the ear as dry and 'airy' as possible.
Adding vitamin C to the diet can help too.
I hope it gets better

Source(s):

vet tech

Answer 10

I would make an appointment and bring her in to the veterinarian. Frequent, reoccuring ear infections can be secondary to severe food or environmental allergies. Although miconazole is used to treat ear infections, unless it is in a solution or thick liquid it is not going to help. There is a reason why there are different forms of miconazole (paste, liquid, salve, solution). The strength of the medication may not be adequate to treat her infections either. Not to mention there are different types of yeast and bacterial infections and depending on the environment, the medication she is using may not work for the infection she is trying to get rid of. I know it costs money every time you bring her to the vet but the reason why the vet is going to want you to bring her in is so they can swab out her ear and look at the sample under a microscope to determine the type of infection they are dealing with. Sometimes they even have to send the sample out to a laboratory to have tested so they can tell what medication is going to treat the infection. If you live in a moist humid environment (Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, etc.), if your dog has floppy ears, or if your dog has hair in it's ears you will have a hard time completely eradicating the infection and may need two consecutive rounds of ear medication and even oral antibiotics to get rid of it. As mentioned before reoccuring ear infections can be caused by environmental or food allergies. Those will need to be addressed in order to do something about the ear infections.