Hi, our newf likes getting his ears cleaned by our other newf, unfortunately this is causing infections and we have tried every thing from bitter sprays to stop the ear licking and various treatments from the vet and its still not stopping it. Even tried separating them to no avail!!
Any one have any surgestions on this as its costing me a small fortune in medical treatment, plus the newf with the sore ears is the one instigating the ear cleaning so any surgestions on how to break this habit will be welcome.
cheers
Jackie:nod:
The fact that the dogs are trying to clean the ears suggests there is an infection already present rather than being caused by the licking. The licking is probably keeping the infection from being even worse.
Ears should be checked and cleaned by using a baby wipe. You can go down in the ear as far as an adult finger will permit. If there is a lot of gunk, then an ear flush should be done. Use the same equipment and technique as for a human. Any vet tech or registered nurse can teach you how to do this and the equipment (bulb syringe and kidney bowl) are available in pharmacies. Whether the ear flush is needed or not, full strenth plain white vinegar should be sprayed down the ear canal three or four times a day for a week or two. If the infection is cleared up then clean the ears weekly with the baby wipe along with a spray of vinegar into the canal. After the spraying the dog will shake his head vigorously and this is good as it spreads the vinegar. For dogs that have chronic ear problem you may have to do this daily instead of weekly.
Vinegar works by lowering the ph to a level that yeast/bacteria can't grow in.
In conjunction with the above symptom treatment/control you should check the diet. Safest is to use a grain free kibble or feed the ancestral diet, whole uncleaned fatty fish or just fish heads and the guts.
Swimming in polluted inland water may cause an infection whereas swimming in salt water will prevent such
http://www.hannibalkennels.on.ca/articles/breedlines/2007_07.htm .
