Expert: Dr. Louis N. Gotthelf - 7/28/2005

Question
My poor beagle has recurring yeast infection in his ears.  Because he is an extremely difficult dog (i.e. cannot tolerate a vet visit)is there any home remedy I may use to keep it under control ?  I think that if I take him to the vet he will have to be sedated in order to get to his ears.  He needs sedation for nail trimming !

Help please!

Thank you

Answer
Yeast infections are caused by allergies.  So you need to have those treated somehow.  If you can't get the dog to the vet, perhaps that is a mobile service in your area or your vet can give you some tranquilizers to calm him down before the visit.  The ears need to be examined, cleaned out properly, and treated.  That will require a short acting anesthetic. At home you can mix vinegar 50:50 with water as a daily ear flush to try and control the yeasts.