Dog with ear mites anyone have experience?

[4Martini]

Our dog has been miserable and we’ve had her into the vet twice and the second time she got diagnosed with ear mites. Which are not common around here. So, we have her on a bunch of medications (ivermectin, benydryl, clartin, cleaning drops) to clear up the situation.

Does anyone know how long the ivermectin takes to kill the mites (we give it once a week for a month.) I’m trying to figure out if I should wash her bedding daily, or how often I need to wash it in hot water. Also thinking of getting all of our carpets shampooed. I really want to get this killed off.
Should we tell our neighbors to watch their dogs in case they came in contact at the fence line? I have no idea how she got it so I’m worried she may get re-infected from the initial source…

I’d love to hear people’s experiences with this.

[idlemoon]

Hmmm weird… Did they actually see mites on cytology? Ivermectin should work pretty quickly. Good luck

Lisa

[Marshfield]

Extremely rare in dogs. A single dose of Revolution should very quickly clear the ear mites and bring some quick relief.

[4Martini]

[QUOTE=idlemoon;6159537]
Hmmm weird… Did they actually see mites on cytology? Ivermectin should work pretty quickly. Good luck

Lisa[/QUOTE]

I don’t know what cytology is, but they showed them to us in the microscope and called over all of the other people working there to see them.

I’m just concerned because I read they can live on bedding etc. So I want to make sure I kill them the same time the ivermectin is killing them so they don’t get back in there. I’m also really concerned b/c we have no idea how she got them - so there’s that risk of her being re-infected.

[irkenequine]

I have only ever seen them once in person, on a dog we found in the woods when I was working for a shelter. Visible in a straight smear, they were creepy crawling around like some horror movie. Awful.

Im surprised to hear your pup has gotten them twice. Is it a long haired dog? Are her ears plucked out? No signs of secondary infection like bacteria or yeast?

My clinic doesn’t treat general practice stuff so my only experience in treatment was the ‘shelter way’ of liquid ivermec directly in the ears. I can’t imagine thats regular protocol for most vets nowadays but the dog did clear up.

I thought, but could be mistaken, it was only transmissible by direct contact (dog sticks nose in other dogs ear, wipes paw against nose and face) and was difficult to transfer in the general environment but you treated all pets in the family regardless. Don’t take that as medical mantra, I could be very well mistaken.

[alto]

[QUOTE=Marshfield;6159593]
Extremely rare in dogs. A single dose of Revolution should very quickly clear the ear mites and bring some quick relief.[/QUOTE]

Ummmm not if the mites are established
Ear mites are very common in cats & usually require 2-3 months to clear completely once the mite population has established in the tissue (just as with worms, ony certain life stages are susceptible to the chemical kill).

Talk to your vet about why he suspects your dog has issues with mites (depressed immune system???) - this should clarify what sort of environmental procedures you need to concern yourself with.

(Our cat arrived with the worst mites the vet (who works with ferals) had ever seen - cat was functionally deaf & was under treatment for 6 months & remained on preventative for another 6 months)

[4Martini]

Thanks! She has only had them this once that we know of. We just had to go to the vet twice to figure it out. The vet did mention that she was worried about her immune system - but that she was so miserable that we should kill off the mites and see how she was doing after that. She has always had skin issues that we have been fighting- so we’re not sure when she picked up the mites. We did rent a condo over Christmas where it seemed to get really bad- so I’m wondering if one of the other dogs that she played with there had them?

The vet said to wash her bedding in hot water. I just want to make sure we wash it at the same time the ivermectin is killing the bugs. They were so creepy- I couldn’t sleep the night after I saw them. She is doing much better already - but we have to do ivermectin every monday for a month.

I just don’t want to screw this up- I feel so bad for her.

[alto]

She has always had skin issues that we have been fighting

When her allergies flare up, chances are her immune system is less effective - you might want to talk to your vet about allergy testing, you can also just start with the Top 10 list & remove those from your dog’s diet, environment & see if things improve.
(note although you’ll often see an improvement in a couple weeks, it takes ~ 3 months for an allergen to clear)

[4Martini]

[QUOTE=alto;6161055]
When her allergies flare up, chances are her immune system is less effective - you might want to talk to your vet about allergy testing, you can also just start with the Top 10 list & remove those from your dog’s diet, environment & see if things improve.
(note although you’ll often see an improvement in a couple weeks, it takes ~ 3 months for an allergen to clear)[/QUOTE]

Thanks! What are the top ten? We thought she might have food allergies when we got her and did 6mo to a year on duck and potato and it made no difference. It’s really seasonal - twice a year she gets itchy and about a week later my co worker are complaining about allergies - usually 2 weeks on claratin and she’s all better (or that’s how it’s worked for the past 3 years.) This time she just didn’t get better.

[danceronice]

@alto;6160064

Ummmm not if the mites are established
Ear mites are very common in cats & usually require 2-3 months to clear completely once the mite population has established in the tissue (just as with worms, ony certain life stages are susceptible to the chemical kill).

Yep. PC (Porch Cat) had horrific ear mites, and got a three-stage zapping with the Revolution (with the first doses less than a month apart) and I’m still dealing with his ears as the scratching gave him an infection. They are a PITA to get rid of.

[Marshfield]

@alto;6160064

Ummmm not if the mites are established
Ear mites are very common in cats & usually require 2-3 months to clear completely once the mite population has established in the tissue (just as with worms, ony certain life stages are susceptible to the chemical kill).

A single dose of Revolution has cleared more than 95% of the cats I have seen with ear mites. In ten year of practice (and looking at a whole lot of ear crud) I’ve had one dog with ear mites.

[Guin]

My late bunny got ear mites twice from when I brought back hay from the barn for her. I obviously didn’t know it was the hay the first time, but after the second time, never again. Only buy the bagged hay in the pet store. Does your dog go to the barn and lie in the hay?

Disgusting things!! Poor bunny was miserable. The first time I almost killed her by using cat Frontline; the second time I used Revolution like I was supposed to and they went right away.
Nasty, awful things!

[4Martini]

It’s been a long time since I posted, but I figured I would follow up in case anyone was interested- or if anyone searches in the future.

The ivermectin did the trick and she is ear mite free! We are still working through other allergies, but benadryl has made a ton of difference and she once again is shiny and not very itchy. I’m so happy we got through this. We did do a course of steroids which really knocked out the itch after we killed off the mites.

[Bluey]

Thank you for the update.

We had a puppy from a puppy mill that came with ear mites.
The lady that raised the puppies also had chickens and other birds and the vet said that could have been where the puppy got them.
The puppy was treated and was fine.

[Satin_Filly]

[QUOTE=Marshfield;6159593]
Extremely rare in dogs. A single dose of Revolution should very quickly clear the ear mites and bring some quick relief.[/QUOTE]

This. Infact, I use Revolution monthly on mine as a general parasite preventative. Might be what you need to do with yours if there are recurrent infections.