# alternative advice on ears



## kiihara (Jun 28, 2009)

Ok, hopefully someone else here has this problem. I have a 1 year old Fila Brasiliero, (a rare type of mastiff) and since he was about 12 weeks he has had problems with bad ear infections. I've taken him countless times to the vet, they give him ooze for the ear, I cant remember what it was called, but anyways the medicine works but as soon as its all gone, the infection is back within 2 weeks. The vet even tried combining pills with the ooze and once again, as soon as he's off it, it comes back. I know that fila's need a high quaility diet, so he gets switched every 2 months between orijin and innova EVO red. I have tried switching to other brands i've tried Arcana and chicken soup as well. And the ears always go back to how they were in about 2 weeks with no meds. And it's only the left ear, never had a problem with the right. Does anyone have any advice on something else that can be done? Is it something i'm doing perhaps? I mean I clean his ears maybe once a week, I figured that since his ears are so huge moisture was getting trapped and causing problems, but nothing, and I mean nothing I do helps .... so any advice at all would be greatly welcomed. 
thank you !!


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## Graco22 (Jul 16, 2007)

I would pay close attention to the protein and carb sources in the foods you are feeding. I would stay away from Lamb, chicken and beef..try salmon or buffalo and see if that makes a difference. Also, watch any extra's you are feeding him..treats and such. They will ruin a food trial if you are giving him extras on the side. Could very well be a food allergy. There is also a powder you can make up that is supposed to work wonders on poodles and cockers ears. I don't know the recipe, but you can google cocker ear infections or something like that and find the recipe on a breeder's site. I would prefer to find the cause though, rather than just keep treating the symptoms. Good luck.


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## luvntzus (Mar 16, 2007)

Have you tried using Zymox otic? It can be a miracle worker for ear infections.


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## bfoster (Feb 9, 2009)

I would take a close look at his diet. Also- since it is primarily in one ear--and he is probably scratching his ear--is there a yeast or bacterial infection--maybe mild enough to go unnoticed on his foot? Good luck- that sounds very frustrating.


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## kiihara (Jun 28, 2009)

luvntzus said:


> Have you tried using Zymox otic? It can be a miracle worker for ear infections.


 No I haven't heard of this yet, I will try it out though, and thank you for the suggestion!! And I totally agree with finding the root of this problem... not just putting a band-aid on it and walking away. I am only looking for alternatives because i have taken him to 4 different vets, and 3 have told me i should keep him on pills for the rest of his life. But the pills make him kinnda groggy, he is super sensitive to meds, he slows down on his food intake, and doesn't really like to play, i just can't see making him feel crappy all the time, ya know? I was thinking about trying a food called Artemis, but I prolly spelled it wrong. To see if thats it, tons of people keep pointing me back to his diet, so i'm going to keep trying .... lol untill i lose my mind or till he gets better!! Oh and i can't member who said it, but it is like a yeast infection, buts the other weird thing, he NEVER i mean NEVER scratches. The only way reason i know its back is because it worries me and i'm constantly checking on him. And when they get bad ... he will hold his head to one side, but he's extremely bonded to me, being as a bottle fed him from 2 weeks, i never have a moment to myself lol, and i never see him digging at it. I will try your suggestions, and thank you all for taking the time to read my post !! Adolwolf thanks you as well !!


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## melgrj7 (Sep 21, 2007)

If it gets really bad you can have him put under and have the vet go in and clean the ear out really well. If they keep getting ear infections the ear canal gets narrower and narrower, making it very difficult to actually get cleaner/meds down to where they need to be. Some dogs eventually need the ear canal actually removed to get relief from the cronic ear infections.


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## alphadoginthehouse (Jun 7, 2008)

Sounds like a toddler who has to have tubes put in. Must be frustrating. I have been fortunate to have dogs with no on-going medical issues. Roxxy has a few skin issues but nothing that requires any medicines. I just have to watch her scratching.

Good luck with this problem...and keep us posted.


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## trumpetjock (Dec 14, 2007)

We dealt with constant recurring ear infections in Mesquite for nearly a year. We tried many different foods, medications, washes... everything. When I was finally able to convince my fiancee (it's HER dog) to switch to raw, they stopped. She hasn't itched her ears since the day after we switched her. All other benefits aside, that one thing is enough to make feeding raw totally worth it.

--edit: oh I almost forgot, we had to board her when we did some travelling recently and they had her on kibble. When we got back from the 3 day trip, she had started itching again! Just like last time, one day on raw is all it took to get rid of it.


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## Graco22 (Jul 16, 2007)

melgrj7 said:


> If it gets really bad you can have him put under and have the vet go in and clean the ear out really well. If they keep getting ear infections the ear canal gets narrower and narrower, making it very difficult to actually get cleaner/meds down to where they need to be. Some dogs eventually need the ear canal actually removed to get relief from the cronic ear infections.


I have seen quite a few dogs that have had this done. Some I groomed regularly before the surgery, and some I only knew afterwards. I have yet to see any improvements on those dogs' ears though. They are still infected, they still hurt, they still are full of goo...but the goo just drips down the side of the face rather than being stuck in the ear. I am not a fan of this surgery myself, and think its just a way for the vets to get some more money out of you..never seen it make an improvement. Has anyone else seen an improvement with this surgery? I would be interested to know if its just me?


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## kiihara (Jun 28, 2009)

I had one vet mention the surgery, but then i had two others and my local/normal vet say the same thing that you just did. My local vet actually told me that she wouldn't even recommend the surgery if he would have to stay on meds, she said they almost always come back afterwards anyways, i'm not too keen on the surgery idea. Money is no option, lol please don't think that, but having vet's tell me not to do it and then hearing pretty much the same from someone who's not trying to make money, kinda makes me not want to do it ya know? lol


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## trumpetjock (Dec 14, 2007)

I would highly recommend trying a raw diet for 2-3 weeks. You don't need to do anything complex just to test if it helps. If it doesn't, switch back to kibble.

Here's what you do:

Go buy a few whole chicken fryers (they're normally about $1.00 a pound at your grocer).

Butcher them into smaller servings of 1.5% of your dogs body weight, bone included. Put each serving into a plastic bag. 

Put all but two of the plastic bags in the freezer.

Put two in the fridge.

At morning feeding, give one baggie full of chicken, and take one from the freezer and move to the fridge to thaw for the next day. Do the same thing for evening feeding.

You will probably notice diarrhea for the first few days, this is normal.

Do this for 2-3 weeks, if the ears don't show any improvement, switch back to kibble if you like.

This is a solution that could rectify a problem she has in the least invasive method possible. No drugs. No surgery. It is worth a shot.


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## melgrj7 (Sep 21, 2007)

Graco22 said:


> I have seen quite a few dogs that have had this done. Some I groomed regularly before the surgery, and some I only knew afterwards. I have yet to see any improvements on those dogs' ears though. They are still infected, they still hurt, they still are full of goo...but the goo just drips down the side of the face rather than being stuck in the ear. I am not a fan of this surgery myself, and think its just a way for the vets to get some more money out of you..never seen it make an improvement. Has anyone else seen an improvement with this surgery? I would be interested to know if its just me?


I know 2 dogs (cockers) that have had it done. The owners say it helped, that the dogs aren't getting ear infections constantly and aren't in pain. I don't know though if other things have changed as well (like diet).


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## Graco22 (Jul 16, 2007)

melgrj7 said:


> I know 2 dogs (cockers) that have had it done. The owners say it helped, that the dogs aren't getting ear infections constantly and aren't in pain. I don't know though if other things have changed as well (like diet).



Thanks Mel. Interesting. I wish I saw results from the surgery...but just never have, and its still always an oozing yellow/green/black gross stinky mess...and it still hurts the dog..Ugh..I have seen surgeries where the entire ear canal is removed (cockers of course) and the ear sewn shut. Of course, that clears up the problem..no ear canal, no ear infections...but the dog is deaf because of it..if they weren't already from the chronic ear infections all its life. Good luck to the OP. I am glad you aren't settling for constant meds and are out to find the cause. I wish more people were like you. I see dogs all the time that just live with the chronic ear infections because the owners have "tried everything" already.


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## kiihara (Jun 28, 2009)

trumpetjock said:


> I would highly recommend trying a raw diet for 2-3 weeks. You don't need to do anything complex just to test if it helps. If it doesn't, switch back to kibble.
> 
> Here's what you do:
> 
> ...


Thank you for the advice, many people have suggested i try raw, i'm going to the grocery tonight and i'll begin raw tomarrow morning. I really hope that the answer is so easy haha .... Also on another note i had to get Adolwolf on the scale to measure his portion ... haha my baby boy 1 yr and 3 months 204lbs. It almost seems strange, i never noticed him totally passing me in size ... it's almost like one day he tried to climb into my lap and i realized i couldn't breath! Lol... thank you for all you help and taking the time to read !!


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## alphadoginthehouse (Jun 7, 2008)

Could you please post some pictures of him? I couldn't imagine having a 204# dog. How tall is he? Holy Moly, I just can't imagine it. And I thought the mastiff's on here were big...I just can't get my mind around it!


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## Xie (Feb 5, 2009)

Whether you end up on raw or not please get him off the EVO. That is meant for adult dogs only and in the case of a giant breed dog like you have he shouldn't have been eating EVO until he is 18 - 24 months and completely done growing. The calcium and phosphorous ratio is all off for a growing giant breed dog.

If you do raw that's awesome. If you stick to kibble then switch to the regular Innova adult formula. Even better try the Wellness Allergy formula or Taste of the Wild's Pacific Stream formulas. Those are all safe for a still growing giant breed dog and tend to be well tolerated by dogs with allergies.


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## kiihara (Jun 28, 2009)

lol i gave him the 1st raw am today, witch he loved ..... i have some pics for you, i can't member who asked..... not the greatest quality these are off my camera ... yea he won't have any kibble anymore if this works ... and i'm either switching to TOTW or Artemis if it doesn't.

this was him at 8 months ....










8 months again for size comparison 

http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj163/zaharu_urii/get-attachmentaspx22.jpg

then this was his birthday .... just 1 year, he is 14 months now ...and bigger still


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## kiihara (Jun 28, 2009)

alphadoginthehouse said:


> Could you please post some pictures of him? I couldn't imagine having a 204# dog. How tall is he? Holy Moly, I just can't imagine it. And I thought the mastiff's on here were big...I just can't get my mind around it!


lol i just found this ... just for fun .... this was baby boy at 10 WEEKS ... you can't see the face ... however you can see the massiveness. AND AS of right now he is close to 4 ft tall


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## alphadoginthehouse (Jun 7, 2008)

That is the biggest freakin dog I have ever seen!


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## kiihara (Jun 28, 2009)

you're tellin me ... and I believe he should be around the 230 mark when he's all done with this "growing" thing he insists on doing to me. the breed standerd says 180 is HUGE .... i think he forgot to read that.


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## Easywolf (Jul 21, 2009)

Hi there,

My dog Wolf has had ear infections around 4 times now.

From what I can tell, I really dont think it's from food. I think it's some type of parasites from outdoors or uncleaned areas.

Make sure you clean all the spots regurarly where he hangs out, watch his ears regurarly for the symptoms, usually dark blotches and spots, etc and my Vet always gives him Surolan. 1 ML in the infected ear once a day for 14 days, costs around 30-40$. It always cures him. 

Good luck, it's been one year since mine had an ear infection.


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## trumpetjock (Dec 14, 2007)

kiihara said:


> Thank you for the advice, many people have suggested i try raw, i'm going to the grocery tonight and i'll begin raw tomarrow morning. I really hope that the answer is so easy haha .... Also on another note i had to get Adolwolf on the scale to measure his portion ... haha my baby boy 1 yr and 3 months 204lbs. It almost seems strange, i never noticed him totally passing me in size ... it's almost like one day he tried to climb into my lap and i realized i couldn't breath! Lol... thank you for all you help and taking the time to read !!


Any update on this? Need any advice or help on the raw diet at all?


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## kiihara (Jun 28, 2009)

Yea actually i have been seeing a change ... it's going slow ... but the small from his ear is no where near as bad as it was. And the goo inside had changed from blackish nastiness to almost clear nastiness. And alot of the swelling has gone down. And he doesn't seem to be as irritated as he was .... meaning when i would try and look in the ear he would try and roll over onto his left side lol. Now he just gives me this "Fine but hurry up" look. Lol. 

I've been doing the chicken as you suggested, but i've also given him some beef hearts, turkey necks, and liver. I'm giving him some canned pumpkin once in awhile, or cottage cheese. I'm trying to learn as much as i can as fast as i can, to give them some varity. So anything BIG you notice that i'm missing ... lol pointers are always welcome!! Thank you guys so much for all the help!!


BTW i changed two of my dogs to raw now. However i have a 3rd, the APBT Pandorum, can i feed the same to the puppy? As long as i go by weight? Or do they need a different diet in the growing stages? She is still eating Blue buffalo puppy, but i would like them to all be raw if possible, thanks in advance !!


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## trumpetjock (Dec 14, 2007)

I would stick to the chicken for the first two weeks. Adding in organs and a ton of variety right away can cause some serious digestive problems. The general guideline is to add one new protein every two weeks, very gradually. 

As far as the puppy, you can feed raw to a puppy for sure! You can do the weights you need in one of two ways, you can either do 10% of current body weight, and adjust from there, or you can do the normal 2% of the expected adult body weight. Either way, those numbers are just a starting point. If your pup starts getting fat, dial it back a few ounces until they are trim again and vice versa if they are getting skinny.


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## kiihara (Jun 28, 2009)

Ok, and thank you again. I will cut back on the other except the chicken. He didn't even get the runs from switching to raw, or adding in the heart. But Fila's are an extremely old breed. I've had people tell me that most are tolerant of just about any diet, but i have to admit i was expecting the runs for a few days at least. lol oh well no use in complaining about a good thing riight?


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## Easywolf (Jul 21, 2009)

I forgot to add that it could be from mosquito bites that cause them to scratch their ears, than bleed, than get infected.


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