Expert: Dr. Louis N. Gotthelf - 3/5/2011

Question
6 year old dalmation had occasional problem with left ear up until last summer,  I was given drops by the vet but it has now got worse, it got worse in the hot months when she also started to dribble urine when asleep, is this problem linked? I have seen some herbal remedies advertised, do you think they would help? Or would you suggest changing her diet. She has had several homes prior to coming to me and was in quite a state, she is now healthy in  every other way,

Answer
IF she has an ear infection on only one side, then I would not recommend a diet change yet.  Dalmatians need certain foods and it is hard to change them over to new foods without potentially causing problems.  I would have a vet do a good deep ear flush and a cytology to see what is going on in the ear and to see what type of infection she has.  Then proper ear therapy can be done.  I doubt that urine dribbling has anything to do with her ear infection.