Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Question for all you dog owners?

My family and I became 1st time pet/dog owners a little over a year ago and are having a blast with our new member of the family, a GoldenDoodle we named Khloe. It has been a learning process for all of us as neither me or my wife were raised in families with pets. We take her to the groomer often and to the vet as needed. Anyway, we have noticed a really foul smell lately(about the past week) coming from her left ear. I have examined it several times and sure don't notice anything that looks out of the ordinary. A quick search on the internet suggests it's an ear infection. My question is if there is home remedies for this or would it just be best to go see the vet for this foul smell coming from her ear? I seen over Internet a recipe of equal parts white vinegar to rubbing alcohol for placing in her ear. Do you folks think this might help or just run her up to vet and be done with it? Thanks!

go to the vet. Vet bills are part of loving your dog.

My dog got the same thing. It can be either a yeast or bacterial infection. The only way to know which, is to take it to the vet and have them do the lab work.

Not all antibiotics are effective, depending on the infection.

I tried home remedies for a year. Nothing worked.

A vet visit is your best choice. You don't want to deal with that for a long period.

Could likely be ear mites too. Run her in and get some meds for whatever it is.

Our little poodle/maltese cross used to get ear infections.

Vet gave us something that cleared in right up.

In our dog's case the vet told us to keep the 'inner' ear hair pulled and the chance of reoccurrence would be less. He was right, no problems in the last few years.

A vet visit will tell you which cure you need for what could be one of several minor causes.

This is the answer I suspected to get from most. Just didn't know if this was something really common and easily treatable by a dog owner.

Go to the vet and have them teach you how to clean Khloe's ears. Ear infections are common with dogs that have floppy ears. We go through the same thing 2-3 times per year with our Lab.

Likely an infection as you describe. Dogs with ears that lie flat most of the time are more prone to this as air does not change in the inside of the ear canal often enough.

Combine this with matted/heavy hair on the inside of the ear and excessive wax and it is a recipe for what you describe.

Our vet has provided us with an ointment to use in the ear that will clean this up pretty quickly. Also keeping the inside of the ears clear of excessive hair helps tremendously.

twofish

Yes,,, it's common and easily treatable.
Problem is, the stuff to treat it with is hard to come by unless you're a Vet.
You see where this is going don't you.

Thanks folks! I'm going to call now and see if I can maybe get Khloe into the vet sometime today. I know it's the best solution but just wanted to more or less know how common of a problem this was with other dog owners. We have let her hair grow out really long several times, but just had her shaved short about 2 weeks ago. I'd be willing to bet she developed this while she had her long hair and we're just now noticing it! She's very pretty with her hair longer but much more maintenance and we've come to the conclusion that it just ain't worth it. Especially this time of year when she goes out and everything is sloppy and wet and then she comes back in house. Hopefully I can convince the wife that we should just maybe keep her shaved short from here on out.

Don't know much about dogs, but I sure know how to take care of cats...

Geez!


..... was that really necessary?

I take care of cats in similar fashion. I just caught some real small kittens in rat traps behind my shed. It was easy enough as I had shot the mom with the 22 2 days prior so they were hungry and far more mobile than kittens that age typically are.

See a vet, find out what is going on. Our boxer had some ear problems, the vet recommended 1\3 water, white vinegar, alcohol. Said he could sell us something that would work the same and cost more. Clean with a wipe, like your wife uses to remove makeup, twice a day. But see a vet.

A course of oral antibiotics should clear it right up (The vet will give you a prescription if he thinks it's an infection). Meanwhile, if you have the kind of dog that will let you, start a habit of regularly wiping out the ears with a warm, damp, washcloth or paper towel. Some vinegar in the solution wouldn't hurt.

We had a Golden that had an ear yeast thing that went on and on. We got meds from the vet, it would clear it up but to keep it down, a regular treatment was needed. The vet said to get witch hazel, an astringent, to squirt a healthy shot down each ear, rub the ears all around from the outside, then watch up! He would shake his head and all the excess would fly.

I ear ads on the radio now for Dynovite, and they talk about ear issues. If we still had him, I would try that.

You could take it to the vet.

You could also shoot it in the ear.

Depends how much you love the dog.



Travis

Heading to vet now. Ill let you all know what he tells me.

Take your dog to the vet so they can diagnose what's going on and prescribe the appropriate meds and treatment.

I have a golden retriever and he's prone to getting ear infections. It's something I have stay on top of all time so that it doesn't get out of control. He gets yeast infections and it can go from minor to serious in less than a week.

What I do on almost a daily basis is smell his ears and if needed give them a look. Healthy ears smell like dog or kind of like wet dog. When he gets a yeast infection it smells similar to stinky feet and you can see the rust colored spots of yeast and redness/pinkish/irritation.

When Scout was a little guy and the first time this happened I took him to vet and watched them clean his ears, apply ointment, and I was sent home with a prescription ear cleaner and ointment. Since then I've able to take care of his ears without resorting to a visit to the vet.

The prescription ear cleaner (Vet Ear Cleansing Solution) is really good stuff for routine cleaning. It cleans and kills the yeast, inhibits the growth of yeast, and will prevent minor issues from turning into a infection that gets out of hand. The ointment (Gentizol) contains anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and anti-inflammatory ingredients. Usually just a good cleaning, or two, is enough to prevent an infection. If there's irritation and redness then I'll clean his ears, apply ointment, and repeat as necessary until it's cleared up. The meds are so effective that I can cure the problem within a few days.

A four ounce bottle of Vet Ear Cleansing Solution costs $14.00, lasts for years, and I've never considered using anything else.

Here's how my vet cleaned Scout's ears. I use my headlamp and reading glasses so I can see what I'm doing. Squirt some cleaner in the ear canal, gently and very carefully put a moistened cotton ball in the ear canal (don't cram it in) and rub the outside of the ear (ear folded down). Remove the cotton ball, let him shake his head, and if it's grungy repeat. Then use a dry cotton ball to dry the ear canal. Then clean all the outer folds with a moistened Q-tip and cotton balls as required.

Don't poke Q-tips in the ear canal.

If needed, apply a few drops of ointment in the ear canal, in the folds, and use a O-tip with a few drops to smear the ointment into the outer folds. Then rub the ear (ear folded down) to spread it around.

That is what I do to prevent and treat yeast infections.

Scout has never needed oral anti-biotics to cure his ear problems.