Doggie health question--- can anybody help?

my 10 year old border collie mix female has chronic ear infections. she is allergic to the lawn (but I'm not sure that's the issue with her ears)

we have done three runs of antibiotic treatments (both topical and orally together) the last one was several months ago. the ears just don't clear up and I can't afford another $500 dollar vet visit right now.

i clean her ears daily (sometimes twice) or at least every other day (depending on how she is doing) with an astringent acidic ear cleaner I get from the vet and it mostly keeps it to a dull roar and keeps the ear canal open and the swelling down to a minimum. but she still gets uncomfortable and the ear flaps get red and angry looking. I also give her Benedryl and aspirin when she is very uncomfortable.

i am getting a lot of light yellow matter out (I just pull it out with a q-tip as the solution works it up to the top, but never "dig" into her ear in fear of shoving the crap in deeper)

my question is how often can I give her the aspirin (or is there a better over the counter pain/swelling med?) and how often can I give her Benedryl? I am just trying to keep her comfortable until I can get her back to the vet (I fear we are looking at surgery now)

the symptoms are in both ears, but one is worse than the other

any help you can give me would be very appreciated, I so hate to see her stressed out, but I just can't afford a big bill right now.

Thanks so much!!

You can give Benadryl up to 3 times daily at 1 mg/lb. Cut back if she gets drowsy. If this doesn't help, there are several other antihistamines that may work better for her (eg chlor-trimeton, hydroxyzine, Trental, etc - ask your vet!) Clean her ears daily or every other day. You can make a good homemade ear cleaner with 1/3 white vinegar and 2/3 water (astringent, but not overly so). Use gauze or cotton on your finger as far as you can reach into the ear. A simple way to do this is to wet the cotton with cleaning solution and put it into the ear canal, then massage it vigorously. Remove the wet cotton and clean out the residue with dry cotton. Bear in mind that you may be cleaning the ears too often - once a day is about the maximum to avoid excess irritation.

Many dogs with ongoing ear infections can benefit from a hypoallergenic diet, as allergy is often the underlying problem. Consider Hill's z/d diet or Eukanuba kangaroo and potato diet, or possibly a homemade diet. No table scraps! Keep on the diet exclusively for 12 weeks (no treats!) and then you can experiment with different foods to see what sets off the reaction.

If you need to give an anti-inflammatory, try a buffered aspirin or Ecotrin. No other over-the-counter NSAIDS are safe. Your vet may have some stronger, safer pain meds if you need them. Best to address the underlying cause, though, such as food allergy.

very informative post

i really appreciate it :)

as DH and I discussed it, it seems we did a diet change at about the same time the trouble started after her being on the same diet for 8 years

also, i only clean her ears twice a week unless she is in distress because of being full of ickyness (poor baby)

Our dear departed Sandy went through a phase several years ago when he was very lethargic for several weeks. We took him to THREE vets before the third one asked if we had changed his diet. Sure enough, we had been giving him a high-protein dogfood (duped by the commercials!) I was doubtful but within days of changing him back, he was back to his old self. The vet said only working dogs need a high-protein diet.

I hope the new diet helps! What a hassle for both you and your sweet dog!

the other two are doing fine on the new food, so I'm going to get a small bag of the old stuff and see if it helps

My doggy Boo Boo had many ear infections his first year, until a new vet told us to feed him nothing but cooked lamb and rice for 12 weeks. Ears cleared up. Put him on Nature's Recipe Lamb and rice for 8 years, not one ear infection.

He developed an allergy to the lamb and rice, he was itching, so he's now on catfish, duck and potato. Ears are fine. Here's a link:

http://www.blackwoodpetfood.com/BLACKWOOD_5000.htm

and have the dog's thyroid checked. My best friend has a golden that has the same problem, gooey eyes, chews his paws (allergic to grass) they put him on a special diet, and the vet discovered he had a thyroid problem (hypothyroid) so now he is on thyroid meds.

Good luck, hope you find a solution to your doggies' problem.

My dog's bed had some cedar chips in it. It turned out she was highly allergic to cedar.

Certain carpet cleaners, and vacuum up powders are triggers too.

The acidic cleaners can cause problems too by continually irritating the already inflamed skin. Some dogs are more sensitive than others in this regard. Try a non-astringent cleaner and a topical antibiotic gel with lidocaine in it. Check with your vet first.