Expert: Charlotte Sherrell, DVM - 9/9/2008

Question
My dog has an ear infection for about 4 years.  My wife and
I have gone to about 4 or 5 vets and they either say it's
ear mites or a bacterial infection in the ear.  The dog has
itching and scratching of the ear (yelps when scratching
ear), a very horrible smelling odor from the ear if the ear
isn't cleaned every so often.  It is not ear mites, the dog
does not respond to ear mite medication at all which we
have tried about 3 times.  One vet looked at the black
residue under a microscope that originated from the ear and
did not see any mites.  One vet suggested that we need to
come in every so often to get a cleaning and new medication
to treat the infection.  I don't understand why the
wouldn't be able to cure it if it's a bacterial ear
infection, and it seems like they want to absorb more
money, which we don't have much of in the first place to be
throwing away at 50 different vets to tell us it's ear
mites.  I've looked this up online as well and everything
thing I've seen says some type of parasite.

This started when we lived in Germany, we now live in the
US (thank god), and the condition continues.  Needless to
say the Germany vets didn't know a damn thing and would
suggest mites every time despite the dogs lack of getting
better from the medication.  

Not sure what to do, and the dog has a possibility of being
put down because he is obviously in pain.  Thanks.

Answer
Jason -

Four or five years with an ear infection is too long.  Your dog must be really suffering. However, there are many options that can prevent you from putting your dog to sleep because of his ear infections.  

Ear mites in dogs are not common in the United States.  Unfortunately, I cannot diagnose your dog's ear problem because I do not have the benefit of a physical exam.  However, my suggestion is that you feed your dog a premium diet such as Science Diet Sensitive Skin (Hill's) or Nutro for Skin. If you are feeding certain diets (especially the cheaper ones) there is the possibility that your dog's skin may be reacting to the cheaper ingredients.  

There is also the possibility that your dog may have seasonal or dust mite allergies. Often, ear infections are the result of allergy and can be controlled with antihistamines and antiinflammatory medications.

You can also have the exudate (brown gunk found in the ear) cultured to find out if you are dealing with bacteria and what kind of bacteria is actually infecting the ear.


I wish you luck - treating ear problems can be a challenge.    Realizing that most people do not have an endless amount of money to spend on an animal, I will still suggest that you have a specialist examine him a  general practitioner cannot find out why his ears are continually a problem.

Remember to always feed premium food.  Food is usually the key to ear problems - it can cause ear problems  but the right food can also help heal ear infections.

Best Regards,

Charlotte Sherrell, DVM