Dry Ears?

Ashk · 06-29-2007, 06:52 PM

I have an 8 year old shepherd mix who has had ear problems for about 8-9 months now. At first his right ear was red inside, but it wasn't swollen or icky. We tried to give him medicine by rubbing it on his ear but he tried to bite whenever we got near his ear (not a very easy going dog when it comes to treatments).

About a month later we purchased some medication called Dinovite, which is mixed in with wet food. It slowly started to work and the redness disappeared. However, the insides of his right ear now looks dry and crusty. He'll rub up on things to try to itch it and just recently he's began itching the outside of his ear and that's starting to get bad too. It is IMPOSSIBLE for us to get any form of medication on his ear because he simply does not like anyone to touch his ears (along with his paws). So what should I do in order to rid of the dryness?

I can provide pictures if necessary. Thanks!

BoxMeIn21 · 06-29-2007, 07:43 PM

Have you ruled out allergies? What kind of food are you feeding?

Ashk · 06-29-2007, 08:01 PM

Oh Gosh, I totally forgot about that! Awhile back we fed him a food brand that gave him a rash on his stomach. We're currently feeding him Costco's brand of dried lamb and rice. He's actually developing the rash on his stomach again, but I thought it was because of the medication. So I guess I'll try switching food then?

BoxMeIn21 · 06-29-2007, 08:07 PM

That would be where I would start. The main ingredient in most dog food today is usually corn and wheat - these two grains also happen to be the most problematic for dogs. I wonder if he has an allergy to lamb? Anywho...Find a good food that has a single source protein and carb like Natural Balance fish and sweet potato.
Here is a great website to finding other premium kibbles anything in the 4,5 and 6 category is great.
www.dogfoodanalysis.com

Ashk · 06-29-2007, 08:10 PM

Thanks a ton for your help

BoxMeIn21 · 06-29-2007, 08:31 PM

No problem! You might also want to check out Timberwolf - they have a couple of grainless formulas and it's goooood stuff!
Keep us posted on his progress.

Ashk · 06-29-2007, 10:15 PM

Will do and thanks. His wet food contains wheat, that's probably what's causing the problem, either way I'm switching his dry food to see what happens. Thanks again.

Misskiwi67 · 06-29-2007, 11:34 PM

Have you had your vet do a cytology to look for bacterial or yeast infections yet?

Ashk · 06-30-2007, 01:14 AM

Neighbor is a retired vet. She said it was most likely a yeast infection when the problem first started, but it didn't look like it. We still gave him the Dinovite medication. It cleared it up but now I'm almost positive that this new thing is an allergic reaction because a few years back he got a rash on his stomach, but when we switched foods it cleared up. Right now he has the same rash but I didn't really pay attention to it because I didn't think it was the food (not realizing his wet food had wheat in it.) So the ear rash and stomach rash are probably connected. If nothing happens after a few weeks of new food I'll probably end up taking him to the local vet to see what's up.

BoxMeIn21 · 06-30-2007, 12:12 PM

Yes, exclude all wheat and corn products from his diet - dogs don't need them and they usually are the culprit. Check his treats as well, if you need some ideas, let me know, but I would stick to homemade until you can see what the problem is.

carolspets · 06-12-2009, 02:21 PM

Yep, I've had this too. Find a good food that has little or no carbs/grains because for some dogs, these cause yeast. Carbs, just like in us, turn to sugar in the body and yeast loves sugar so it goes nuts!

Feed a good, meat based dog food. Add meat to your dog's diet whenever you can. Don't feed carb grain treats. I use liver for treats. I boil the liver (yes, it stinks up the house) then I cut it into small bites and freeze it in zip bags. I take out just a few at a time for treats.

I also use fish oil supplement for dry skin. My dogs love it and it keeps them from itching and dry skin, etc. I just squeeze a little on their food before I feed it to them. It's the best thing I have tried for this.