# Ear scratching?



## Bosse (Jun 16, 2012)

For the most of her life our two years old female has been scratching her left ear.. _Only_ the left..
Three vets and four treatments haven't helped.. We even tried some aloe vera-cream from some nature-treatment lady on an animal trade show..

First we treated her for ear infection - vet #1 (hormone drops)
Then ear mites - vet #2 (who didn't care to test her first? - neck drops)
Thirdly for "a habit" - vet #3 (who gave us cleaning drops and hormone pills) 

We really doubted it was just "a habit", but the vet insisted because she showed no other signs of allergies. Especially the fact that only one ear was itchy and that her fur and everything was normal.. 

We put her through a test for allergies anyway, feeding her allergy-food anyway for a couple of months (making sure she didn't have anything else). It didn't help a bit... 

Now she's started on raw food, which she loves.. Still no change in the scratching though.. 

Then the nature-lady said, that maybe it was just a dry ear.. Seemed pretty obvious due to all the treatments and we got this $ 25 cream which helped a little.. No major change 

SO here we are - dog scratching her left ear once in a while (maybe two or three times a day, some days not at all).. If she hurts the ear because she has a sharp claw, she will begin to scratch more often.. Eventually we give her ear-drops and it goes away for some time - from days to over a week..
She never shakes her head, tilt it or show other signs of itching - she just scratch it 

No vet can tell us what it is - vet #3 has now come around to thinking it's allergy though really arguing it wasn't half a year ago.. Since we already tested for that and the symptoms hasn't changed or worsened, I think it's safe to say it isn't allergy.. Also, he was a little too eager to sell their insanely expensive in-clinic allergy food full of grain'n'stuff
(I mean we have a butcher make 28 little bags of fresh, raw food and a feeding plan for less than one bag of this allergy-food costs)

We simply don't know what is wrong. While it's not a big problem for our dog, it's still something we wonder a big deal about... 

Any ideas? (and sorry for wall of text)


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## michele (Jan 12, 2009)

I'm off to the vets tomorrow with one of mine,have given her ear drops for mites and ear cleaner,she's also bringing up bile.So will let you know what happens


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## Huly (Mar 5, 2012)

Can you put a finger in her ear to see if anything brown comes out? If it does it might be a yeast infection. The best ear cleaner around for that (remember I have Basset Hounds) is homemande swimmer's ear solution. 

Here’s a quick and easy “recipe” that does the same thing with cheaper ingredients that should be accessible in whatever country you find yourself diving in. Just mix equal parts white distilled vinegar with isopropyl alcohol (preferably 100%, but use whatever you can get your hands on). The alcohol is a drying agent, sucking the moisture out of your ear. The acid in the vinegar kills bacteria to prevent infection, as well as helps with the drying.


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## Chihuahuasloveme (Jan 8, 2010)

Huly said:


> Can you put a finger in her ear to see if anything brown comes out? If it does it might be a yeast infection. The best ear cleaner around for that (remember I have Basset Hounds) is homemande swimmer's ear solution.
> 
> Here’s a quick and easy “recipe” that does the same thing with cheaper ingredients that should be accessible in whatever country you find yourself diving in. Just mix equal parts white distilled vinegar with isopropyl alcohol (preferably 100%, but use whatever you can get your hands on). The alcohol is a drying agent, sucking the moisture out of your ear. The acid in the vinegar kills bacteria to prevent infection, as well as helps with the drying.




How much do you put in a chihuahuas ears and how often? I think prada might have yeast in her ears


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## Huly (Mar 5, 2012)

The noram ear canal is an L shape so you cant hurt their ear. I was a Vet Tech so things don't gross me out if it does use a cauton ball paper towel etc. I just put the very tip in and feel around. Here is an image of the ear canal so you can see what I am talking about

Ear Infections


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## pupluv168 (Mar 7, 2012)

Good tip Christie! I use ear wipes from the pet store to clean Toby's ears and he doesn't have any problems. My beagle who passed away years ago had chronic ear infections/yeast. Wish I'd had this tip then- we spent so much money on cleaners and treatments. Any recipes for just cleaning their ears if nothing's out of the ordinary?


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## Bosse (Jun 16, 2012)

Huly said:


> Can you put a finger in her ear to see if anything brown comes out? If it does it might be a yeast infection. The best ear cleaner around for that (remember I have Basset Hounds) is homemande swimmer's ear solution.
> 
> Here’s a quick and easy “recipe” that does the same thing with cheaper ingredients that should be accessible in whatever country you find yourself diving in. Just mix equal parts white distilled vinegar with isopropyl alcohol (preferably 100%, but use whatever you can get your hands on). The alcohol is a drying agent, sucking the moisture out of your ear. The acid in the vinegar kills bacteria to prevent infection, as well as helps with the drying.


There IS some brown stuff that I usually pick out with a Q-tip... The vet didn't comment on it, so I guess we thought it was just normal ear wax.. 
Thanks for the tip...!


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## carrieandcricket (Dec 6, 2011)

Thank you so much for posting this. I gotta do Cricket's ears as she has been doing the same thing. We did some ear drops a few months back, but she is still scratching.


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## Huly (Mar 5, 2012)

If you have a dog with floppy ears like my Bassets you can also take a scrunchie and pull their ears up in the scrunchie on the top of their head to let some air in their ears as that helps too! Normal ear wax should be clear. Brown junk is either yeast or dirt if you have a digger.


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## carrieandcricket (Dec 6, 2011)

How many drops per ear?


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## Huly (Mar 5, 2012)

carrieandcricket said:


> How many drops per ear?


I would do 3 per ear and swish it around then adjust as needed. It will not hurt them.


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## Huly (Mar 5, 2012)

Huly said:


> I would do 3 per ear and swish it around then adjust as needed. It will not hurt them.


The vet I worked for use to prescribe it as a regular ear cleaner for all breeds rather than selling the stuff that gets pushed on them. It has worked for my bassets for 13+ years


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## Bosse (Jun 16, 2012)

Holy smoke.... Well it isn't much, just a few brown dots which I've cleaned out once in a while.. Figured she had a higher production in that ear because she keeps rubbing it, or that she might just be drawing it out..
Sometimes you just face-palm over those vets.. I mean we paid something like $ 2000 for vets in less than two years because the insurance wouldn't cover _any_ of the treatments (and only cover 80 % with a risk of $ 200 so whatever, anyway).. I really hope this works out, but I have my hopes up high!


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## Huly (Mar 5, 2012)

Bosse said:


> Holy smoke.... Well it isn't much, just a few brown dots which I've cleaned out once in a while.. Figured she had a higher production in that ear because she keeps rubbing it, or that she might just be drawing it out..
> Sometimes you just face-palm over those vets.. I mean we paid something like $ 2000 for vets in less than two years because the insurance wouldn't cover _any_ of the treatments (and only cover 80 % with a risk of $ 200 so whatever, anyway).. I really hope this works out, but I have my hopes up high!


It can't hurt, it is very hard to tell with ears as it could be anything. skin, allergy, inner ear etc the list just keeps going


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## woodard2009 (Aug 4, 2010)

I think I'm going to try it with Midgie since it can't hurt!! She is constantly scratching her eyes which I know is allergies, but maybe it's dirty ears bothering her & not just her eyes. Thanks for the tip!!!


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## AussieLass (Mar 1, 2012)

I'm very confused .... if she's only scratching it 2 - 3 times a day, and some days not at all, I'm struggling to see a problem or that there's anything abnormal happening. Maybe Aussie dogs just fiff faff around more than o/seas dogs


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## Bosse (Jun 16, 2012)

AussieLass said:


> I'm very confused .... if she's only scratching it 2 - 3 times a day, and some days not at all, I'm struggling to see a problem or that there's anything abnormal happening. Maybe Aussie dogs just fiff faff around more than o/seas dogs


Yea, it isn't much of a problem, but considering it's only ever the left ear and she sometimes scratches it to the point where she bleeds from small marks of claw, as well as trying to put her foot into her ear, licking it and then again attempting to reach as far in as possible, I think it's safe to say that something is out of the ordinary...
As long as we have a tube of drops to take the inflammation which occurs from scratching (and the yeast?) and a glass of hormone pills to take the itching if she makes a scar, she could have a fine life with the condition..
I'm just hoping that some day, someone can tell us how to treat it properly.. So now I'm hoping this solution will prove effective!


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## Huly (Mar 5, 2012)

This is a pretty good read:

Ear Infections in Dogs and Cats – Natural Treatment and Prevention © | All Natural Pet Care Blog

Help for Itchy Ears
Natural remedies 
Herbal and homeopathic remedies have also proven to be extremely beneficial in providing symptomatic relief for ear problems that often affect pets. These natural remedies are gentle enough to use for your pet without the harsh side effects of conventional medications. Carefully selected herbs such as Melaleuca alternifolia (Tea Tree Oil), Rosmarinus officinale (Rosemary), Calendula officinalis (Marigold) and Verbascum thapsus helps to maintain overall ear health, soothes itchy, scratchy ears and keeps ear canals free of blockages.


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