my dog's ears...
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Anonymous
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Nonstop shaking. He is on 3 Zyrtec per day, gets them cleaned w/an epi-otic solution, and I even supplement with Benadryl when he is super sneezy. On the occasion there is yeast or bacteria, he gets put on mometamax by the vet. It is costing so much ($300 per visit if the ears get the dark brown or black infection gunk and we need the prescription), which I can't really afford but pay because he's in pain by that point -- and he still has no relief.
If it matters, he is a 70lb GSD/Lab mix with floppy ears. Always been prone to infection spring - summer, but it is much worse this year. Any ideas? |
Anonymous
| Change his food. |
Anonymous
| What the PP said. Have you tried changing his food? If you are feeding a chicken based food, that could be the issue. Try salmon and rice, or something non-poultry and see if the issue continues. Poor baby. |
Anonymous
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OP here, thank you. He does eat all chicken-based foods. He also has had constipation and anal gland issues, which now that I'm googling it seems could also be related -- the vet just wants to squeeze the glands and was very vague about *why* it could be happening. I have pretty much solved the consipation and glands issue through supplements, but if changing food could just solve those AND his ear discomfort that would be amazing.
I think I'll try slowly switching him over to another protein and see if it makes a difference. |
Anonymous
I think that will help. Avoid corn as well. |
Anonymous
| Also spray his ears with rubbing alcohol. He will hate that but it will kill mites if he has any. |
Anonymous
Don't do this! I'm sure the vet has already tested for mites. There are so many dog foods geared towards dogs with allergies that you can try. Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Skin and Stomach Salmon formula has been working well for our dog. Also try giving him a probiotic. The biome in his ears is all out of whack because of all of the antibiotics he has been on and he'll keep getting infections until things are back in balance. These also seemed to help our dog. https://www.amazon.com/Zesty-Paws-Dog-Allergy-Relief/dp/B071WCV19B?th=1 |
Anonymous
we have a rescue who had ear infections off and on for the first 2 years we had him. i suspected it was from getting water in his ears when grooming. even so, switched to this same food and probiotic. he still gets sniffly when pollen is high, but no ear infections this year. |
Anonymous
Don't do this. This is what the epi-otic is for and it's actually made for dog ears. |
Anonymous
+1 |
Anonymous
Op here. I wouldn’t do that, don’t worry! We use epi-otic. |
Anonymous
| my dog has CONSTANT allergies, which always end in an ear infection. in the summer he needs to be bathed regularly (3ish times a week) with an antifungal shampoo. we also give a cytopoint injection every 6 weeks. it's worth looking into the injection or apoquel to see if it's just allergies that's making it flare up |
Anonymous
| I had to put my dog on prescription food from the vet. It was the only thing that helped. |
Anonymous
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My dog is on Cytopoint every 4 weeks. From late April through late July, she's also on Apoquel -a serious flare up always happens around then.
I also changed her diet and ultimately ended up with a prescription diet. It's pricey but her allergic reactions are much minimized now (not gone, though - June always seems especially bad). She also needs monthly anal gland expressions, probably due to scarred and thickened walls caused by a severe infection back when all this started and we hadn't figured out how to get all this under control. |
Anonymous
Nulo Limited Ingredient and Zignature are both good brands that do not use any chicken. GSDs are prone to food allergies/sensitivities and tummy issues(sounds like you have that part under control) so you have to be pretty selective when it comes to what they eat. Stick to single protein foods and treats and definitely avoid the chicken. |