Question by ~Lizzy~: My dog has a horrible ear irritation and it won’t go away?
I have taken him to 3 different doctors over the past year and a half and none of them has been able to cure whatever it is. The first doctor said it was E-Coli in his ear and gave meds, nothing happened, the second doctor said it was a bacteria, gave meds and nothing, and this last doc said it is swollen from all the scar tissue and wants to do surgery! What is the scar tissue from? I am at a loss, I just want his ear to be better again… should I continue to see this past vet or find another doctor yet again? Could it be a food allergy?
He is a 9 year old Black Lab
He is currently using an ointment and oral medication

Best answer:

Answer by gabe
wow it could be so many things ranging from ear mites to bacteria… i would go with the last vt.. yes if there is scar tissue you might need to remove it but you need to get to the underlining cause.. and it might be allergies as you asked also… but what meds have you been on?? oral, ear ointment, ear liquid, etc.. do you have the names?? did the docs tell you to keep them immaculately clean?? and DRY?? what kind of dog do you have?? some types of dogs have bad ears no matter what.. I have worked at vets offices that I have seen dogs come in and/or get meds refilled non-stop during certain seasons and some get ear ointment year round…. good luck and stick with the last doctor.. did any of them do a scraping and look under the microscope??? that would be the 1st thing I would want done, then a deep deep flush and get on the proper meds which might include oral AND ear ointment depending on what the doc sees under the microscope… smile good luck!!

EDIT: Labs are one of the worst for ear infections… its almost a swimmers ear… soes he swimm alot?? even if he doesn’t still sounds like you a are on the right track.. don’t forget the meds and ear cleaning, not even one day of it. be religious about it… he will probably become to hate the treatments/cleaning so make sure you reward him for letting you do it with a small treat… try baby carrots… labs will usually eta anything, make a big deal about the baby carrot like its something really really really special.. use that high squeeky voice.. sliced apples, green beans, bananas, etc. etc …. labs can get fat easy so try something healthy as tat “special special” daily treat… well, good luck you have a long road ahead of you.. smile!!!

****also not sue if I agree with food allergies unless youu just changed his food… its probably just plain allergies.. as it is that time of year… and some Labs even have ear issues all year-round….the scar tissue is from the infection not being treated properly and it builds up the scar tissue….

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Question by SHLOVE: My Dogs Severe Allergies/Eye Irritation….?
It has been an adventure with my 2.5yr old yorkie. He has been suffering from what appear to be allergies. 3 different Vets have prescribed him the same ointment, which I cant use on him on a regular basis because it causes damage to his retina.
My Dog has been wearing a cone to keep him from scratching his eyes… and he’s on an elimination diet…. YET NOTHING is changing. He is really suffering with the itchyness of his eyes, and since he’s wearing the cone to protect himself from scratching its very sad… can you imagine what torture that is for him???
I’ve done everything I could think of doing.
1-Changing his diet, to an elimination (so I can find if any foods are triggers)
2-cleaned all my apartment, with Organic crap so that no chemicals could be triggers.
3-I stopped the treats just in case he was allergic to those or something in them
4-I’m even giving him filtered water
5-The vets all say “its allergies” and give me an ointment that in long term use causes retina damage, so I try not to use it.
6-I changed his shampoo to other shampoo, to homemade oatmeal water!!!

I think there is a really expensive test that I may have to resort to, but I dont even know how effective it is… so I’m hoping I can get some advice from anyone first.
I mean, what else can the test tell me? It cant possibly be his diet as he’s already having this “no grain or any other meats he had before this elimination diet” Diet.
It really cant be the chemicals in soaps I use to clean the house cuz I even tried using limited amounts of the organic stuff.. just in case…
I gave him a bath in Oatmeal water ….
Which let me remind you he doesnt seem to be itchy all over only his eyes, maybe nose… but not really….

Best answer:

Answer by uncle ben
you must have to use the test that will pinpoint exactly what the allergen is, but it can cost thousands of dollars.

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Question by SHLOVE: My Dogs Severe Allergies/Eye Irritation….?
It has been an adventure with my 2.5yr old yorkie. He has been suffering from what appear to be allergies. 3 different Vets have prescribed him the same ointment, which I cant use on him on a regular basis because it causes damage to his retina.
My Dog has been wearing a cone to keep him from scratching his eyes… and he’s on an elimination diet…. YET NOTHING is changing. He is really suffering with the itchyness of his eyes, and since he’s wearing the cone to protect himself from scratching its very sad… can you imagine what torture that is for him???
I’ve done everything I could think of doing.
1-Changing his diet, to an elimination (so I can find if any foods are triggers)
2-cleaned all my apartment, with Organic crap so that no chemicals could be triggers.
3-I stopped the treats just in case he was allergic to those or something in them
4-I’m even giving him filtered water
5-The vets all say “its allergies” and give me an ointment that in long term use causes retina damage, so I try not to use it.
6-I changed his shampoo to other shampoo, to homemade oatmeal water!!!

I think there is a really expensive test that I may have to resort to, but I dont even know how effective it is… so I’m hoping I can get some advice from anyone first.
I mean, what else can the test tell me? It cant possibly be his diet as he’s already having this “no grain or any other meats he had before this elimination diet” Diet.
It really cant be the chemicals in soaps I use to clean the house cuz I even tried using limited amounts of the organic stuff.. just in case…
I gave him a bath in Oatmeal water ….
Which let me remind you he doesnt seem to be itchy all over only his eyes, maybe nose… but not really….

Best answer:

Answer by cobaltspero
it sounds like it really is allergies but since you have the ointment, you have to use it as prescribed by the vet in order for it to work properly. long term use means that you give it to him every day for the rest of his life for this which is not the case. it is only temporary and if used properly will not cause damage to his retinas, i promise. the vet would not tell you to use it for a temporary amount of time if it was going to cause more damage to the dog. use the ointment as prescribed for the amount of time the vet told you to. by not doing this you are causing the dog to go through more torture and suffering for a longer amount of time. my dog is getting eye drops for her eyes because of allergies

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the irritation causes his skin to be very red and is now developing some scabbing. he has been to the vet numerous times.. checked for mites, fleas. has been on steroids and the irritation gets a little better, but as soon as he finishes the cycle the irritation gets worse again. he has lost the hair on his neck bc he scratches it so much. could it be his diet? or allergies? please help!

My 2 yr old springer spaniel has seasonal allergies. Food allergy as been ruled out. He receives monthly cortisone shots and daily benedryl to control but he can still get quite red and irritated on belly and chest at times; and always after a bath. Scratching and licking causes hair loss. Is there any safe topical sprays to use during severe outbreaks?