Now Ear This: Canine ear infections

Many, perhaps most, dog owners go happily through their lives without ever thinking about their dogs' ears. And some of us know the endless frustration of having a dog who spends half her time shaking her head, digging into her ears, and, worst of all, suffering from pain, itching, and discharge -- smelly discharge.



While any dog can get a single ear infection, chronic ear infections are something else entirely. In this week's Pet Connection, we spoke to University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine professor of dermatology Dr. Catherine Outerbridge about the causes and treatment of ear infections in dogs, as well as tips for prevention:

Understanding canine ear infections won't just make your dog more comfortable or even help you sleep. Their early diagnosis and treatment can prevent a lifetime of ear problems and even save your dog's hearing.



"Ear infections that are not caught early and aggressively treated cause chronic pathologic changes to the lining of the ear canal," warns Dr. Catherine Outerbridge, a professor of dermatology at the University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine.



[....]



Every time the dog's ears become inflamed, the ear canal becomes scarred and narrower, while the wax glands become larger and more active. This sets up a vicious cycle of inflammation, moisture, itching and infection that is increasingly hard to break. Eventually, bacteria and yeast can spread into the inner ear and even infect the bulla, an empty bony space behind the eardrum. Such infections are painful, can only be treated surgically and can cause deafness.The key to breaking that cycle is preventing inflammation whenever possible.

Also in this week's feature, tips from Susan and Dr. Rolan Tripp on dealing with one of the dog world's most embarrasing behavior problems, humping; pet trivia from Dr. Marty Becker and Mikkel Becker Shannon; statistics on indoor vs. outdoor pets; hints on making your cat want to hang out with you more; and how to tell the legit from the bogus when it comes to warnings about products dangerous to pets:

The first stop for any pet lover investigating an Internet warning should be the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals' poison information site.



The APCC veterinarians respond quickly to Internet warnings, providing information on which reports are a real concern and which should not be. Internet scares covered by the APCC include grapes and raisins (potentially toxic), cocoa-hull mulch (potentially toxic), and Swiffer WetJet and Febreze (safe when used as directed).



If you don't find what you're looking for at the APCC Web site, check out Snopes.com, arguably the best resource for checking out urban legends and e-mail hoaxes of all varieties. The site offers an extensive collection of information on common animal-related myths.

I'll be linking to our weekly syndicated feature every Tuesday morning from now on. In the near future, it will appear in all its graphic-design glory right here on Pet Connection, but until then, you can click over to Universal Press and read the rest. Your dog's ears will thank you!

Comments

[Janeen]

I had a dog who had terrible recurring problems with ear infections. We went through what seemed like an endless cycle of different treatments - and they just kept coming back.



Someone finally suggested Zymox ear drops. WOW. Amazing stuff. It's an enzymatic product available with or without cortisone. One enzyme in Zymox eats up excess wax - so there's no need to muck around in an already sensive ear. The other helps create an environment hostile to the crud (fungus, bacteria, etc.) that infect the ear.



Of course it doesn't work in all cases, but it made Zorro's life much better and we know lots of other people who's dogs have had great results with it too.



Not affiliated blah, blah, blah....

[Dorene]

How about a column on itchy ears/allergies in kitties? Lindsey is having a terrible time with his ears and trying to figure out what's causing it is driving us all batty.

[Colorado Transplant]

My Batman (a cat) got an ear infection when he fought with another cat. I knew something was wrong when he kept his ear down and was also rubbing said ear. The wax builds up after an infection so the vet had to take out the earwax and prescribed antibiotics.



Was it too hammy for Obama to say that lipstick on a pig is still a pig (misquoting slightly).

It is better than picking on innocent pit bulls.

[Susan]

When my Golden Retriever, Allie, was a puppy, she had one ear infection after another. Nothing the vet prescribed worked for long. Finally, my vet suggested that Allie be tested for food allergies. We started her on a four-month elimination trial in which she ate nothing but a commercial venison/potato product.



Toward the end of the trial, Allie's ears cleared up completely. At that point, with the vet's blessing, I switched her to a raw diet of novel proteins and no grains (I didn't want to rechallenge her system to determine exactly what she was allergic to if it meant her ears would become infected again.)



That was nearly five years ago. Since then, Allie has had exactly one ear infection in one ear, and it cleared up quickly.



Obviously, what worked for Allie won't work for every dog. But for the dog whose ear infections d't respond to medication, allergy testing may be worth considering.