Hi all,
I know that Labradors often have ear problems (i.e excessive drainage or infections), but the lab I have now is the first dog i’ve had that has ever had this problem… As a result of a current ear infection, she has now developed an aural hematoma which will need to be operated on:(. I’m really hoping that someone may have some suggestions on what has worked for them in the past with their dog’s ears to manage/prevent the infections and drainage. Also, any experience with ear hematomas? Thanks in advance!!
From everything that I have seen as a groomer, a dog that has chronic ear infections will always have chronic ear infections. I have had a dog that got them so bad the vet sealed his whole ear shut so it no longer had an ear hole. How that actually works I don’t know.
Food allergies can be a culprit…or may be a dog that needs her ears cleaned daily.
check into food allergies and cleaning daily, but my dog had every surgery under the sun for this (tube, hematoma repair, etc) and never really did stellar with his ears. I cleaned them EVERY day with some foaming cleaner (this was years ago so I can’t remember which one, except that when you put it in it fizzed LOL). He was fairly comfortable, but still had to have either antibiotics and/or antifungals (we cultured regularly) on a regular basis. Sucks. If I had known back then what I know NOW about foot allergies he probably would have been on RAW, or at least a different kibble, but this was a LONG time ago. 
[QUOTE=ElisLove;8398025]
From everything that I have seen as a groomer, a dog that has chronic ear infections will always have chronic ear infections. I have had a dog that got them so bad the vet sealed his whole ear shut so it no longer had an ear hole. How that actually works I don’t know.[/QUOTE]
They remove the actual ear canal, then sew the outer shut.
I’m having good results with Zymox on my Cocker.
2nd or 3rd food allergies. 2 of my shepherds had food related ear problems
OP - my pit just had surgery last month to correct an aural hematoma my vet attributed to “violently shaking his head and bursting a blood vessel” - which makes sense being that his first reaction to any and all dog toys is “must destroy immediately” - but I digress…
Had the initial hematoma drained twice in a desperate attempt to avoid surgery, but it kept returning. The surgery itself went flawlessly, and after 3 long weeks of being a cone-head he’s back to his old self with little to no cosmetic defects. The surgery & meds were upwards of $1,000 but prices might be a little less insane where you are. There is the option of letting it heal on its own, but that can lead to doggy-cauliflower ear and increased problems with drainage & recurring ear infections. IMO the surgery was worth it for all involved human & canine parties.
Somewhat ironically, my corgi/lab mutt is the one who is more prone to actual ear infections. I keep a bottle of hexidine wash on hand @ all times and give his ears a good cleaning every week or two - more if I notice he’s paying extra attention to one. My vet gave me an RX for Mometamax that he is always happy to refill when I call about yet another ear infection.
Good luck!
Sent you a PM this morning.
There is a difference between simply correcting an aural hemtoma and dealing with long term, chronic ear infections. So what you’re getting here is kind of a wide range of info.
Good luck, OP!
I’ll definitely try to start cleaning her ears with some stronger solution, but what could she be allergic to in her dog food? Is it just a matter of switching brands until you get it right, or are there specific ingredients to look out for that are known to cause reactions, namely ear problems? Thanks!
I’m heavily involved with basset hound rescue so am very familiar with chronic ear issues. I would say that most of the bassets come into rescue with ear issues. The first thing we do is to get them on a good fish based kibble and add extra fish oil. All grains are removed from their diet. Usually after 3 weeks, everything is much better. The brown/black gunk that was constantly in their ears is better/gone, their skin and fur are better and they smell better. Until you find out the source of the problem, you will continue to have ear issues. In our experience, it is usually the food. If you can afford it, Honest Kitchen has a great fish based food, Zeal. Orijen has a great kibble called Six Fish. If those are out of your budget, Taste of the Wild has a Pacific Stream that is very good. Treats should be the grain free/ fish based. The next thing I do after I have cleared the infection using traditional medicine (and make sure you use ALL of the antibiotics exactly as prescribed) is to use the Blue Power Ear treatment every week faithfully. You can even use it more than once a week at first to get their ears in great shape. Doing the above, I have only failed to cure one basset. I had allergy tests run on him and he had multiple food allergies. After changing to foods that he wasn’t allergic to, his ears cleared up. There have been a couple of cases where the vets wanted to do a Total Ear Canal Ablation (TECA) and we were able to turn the health of the ears around and avoided the surgery. http://www.itsfortheanimals.com/Adobe/Blue%20Power%20Ear%20Treatment.pdf I believe so much in the above treatment that each adopter goes home with a large bottle of it with the instructions I have given above to keep their ears healthy.
My chocolate lab had chronic ear infections for three years until we vacationed besides an ear/nose/ throat specialist who told me to clean her ears with vinegar and a couple drops of tea tree oil mixed. Every since not a single ear infection. She is on a corn free diet and had surgery on her ears prior but still had infections after until I started using the vinegar/tea tree stuff. She’s 14 years old and hasn’t had one in 10 years.
What food is she eating now? I think Chicken is one of the most common allergies.
I’m not a vet but if it were my dog I’d try a novel protein limited ingredient diet. Something like this:
http://www.petsmart.com/dog/food/blue-basics-limited-ingredient-grain-free-lamb-potato-large-breed-adult-dog-food-zid36-22905/cat-36-catid-100004?var_id=36-22905&_t=pfm%3Dcategory%26pfmvalue%3Dfaceted
My lab used to get ear infections fairly regularly. We switched to the grain free 4Health from TSC and he has not had one in a few years. We use Duck & Potato now but have used Salmon and Sweet Potato for a long time before that.
chicken was the culprit for one dog. Chicken, beef, corn and wheat were the others triggers. Look for a single novel protein source with little to no grain and definately no wheat or corn! Or google the BARF diet and fee raw!
Ditto food allergies.
Try a grain free alternative protein food like taste of the wild high prairie formula or salmon and sweet potato. Avoid grains, chicken, beef and lamb.
Avoid chicken and corn. Big allergens. My guys get Lamb and Rice and do well on it.
Had a lab/husky mix with MULTIPLE hematomas over and over. So frustrating. Our vet finally “waffle stitched” a good part of her ear to prevent any more fluid pockets. I second those who mentioned allergies. Ear infections stopped when we switched to grain-free food.
I had same problems with my dog and the first vet visit, the vet had to drain it via syringe. Then it reoccurred it again and this time the vet suggested to operate on his ear to prevent further reoccurring. What I did and I don’t encourage especially if you are not an expert on looking after a wound. I used my RN nursing skills to treat my dog. I tried to poke an opening on his ear and drain it by squeezing out the fluids which was blood serum. Then I applied silver dressing for few days and used an iodosorb ointment which is an iodine used in wound dressing. After a week, it all dried up and my dog is happy again.
[QUOTE=Flying 5B Warmbloods;8398007]
Hi all,
I know that Labradors often have ear problems (i.e excessive drainage or infections), but the lab I have now is the first dog i’ve had that has ever had this problem… As a result of a current ear infection, she has now developed an aural hematoma which will need to be operated on:(. I’m really hoping that someone may have some suggestions on what has worked for them in the past with their dog’s ears to manage/prevent the infections and drainage. Also, any experience with ear hematomas? Thanks in advance!![/QUOTE]
I had same problems with my dog and the first vet visits, the vet had to drain it via syringe. Then it reoccurred it again and this time the vet suggested to operate on his ear to prevent further reoccurring. What I did and I don’t encourage especially if you are not an expert on looking after a wound. I used my RN nursing skills to treat my dog. I tried to poke an opening on his ear and drain it by squeezing out the fluids which was blood serum. Then I applied silver dressing for few days and used an iodosorb ointment which is an iodine used in wound dressing. After a week, it all dried up and my dog is happy again.
http://www.smith-nephew.com/key-products/advanced-wound-management/iodosorb/
[QUOTE=Flying 5B Warmbloods;8398007]
Hi all,
I know that Labradors often have ear problems (i.e excessive drainage or infections), but the lab I have now is the first dog i’ve had that has ever had this problem… As a result of a current ear infection, she has now developed an aural hematoma which will need to be operated on:(. I’m really hoping that someone may have some suggestions on what has worked for them in the past with their dog’s ears to manage/prevent the infections and drainage. Also, any experience with ear hematomas? Thanks in advance!![/QUOTE]
My first dog was allergic to the perfume in the ear cleaner, we switched to plain chlorhexidine solution (Nolvasan sol.).
Humidity building up in her ears from panting in hot weather was another. She took benedryl to dry her ears out in the summer.
