Hello All
Some advise please.
We have a choc lab 9 months old.
4 weeks ago she started scratching and flapping her ears more than usual.
We went tot he vets and they said that she had an ear infection and build up of wax.
For the 1st two weeks they gave us 2 sets of drops. 1 for the wax and 1 for the infection which we gave 3 times a day.
3rd week after this treatment and a return visit to the vet they said to continue the treatment as still infected.
Now, today after the 3rd vet visit they are saying there is still debris in one ear and to try different antibiotic drops for a week or to have her sedated to flush her ears and then a week of drops.
Tonight as it stands we are opting for another week of these new stronger drops.
Has anyone been through the same thing - any advice much appreciated as we are not 100% sure that we are doing the right thing by keep putting this liquid in her ears.
It's Summer time at last and she is not allowed in the water which is torture for her and for us trying to keep her out of it!

I think you have to go along with the vet at the moment, sometimes these things take a while to clear.
Surely you can take her somewhere to paddle, she doesn't have to swim to cool off

Some ear infections can be frustrating! You definitely need to keep treating until it is 100% cleared up. If we stop too soon we can end up with a resistant infection.

You may want to ask your vet about having a culture done. This is where they send a sample to the lab to determine if there are any bacteria growing that may need a combo or a special type of antibiotic. However, in order to do a culture your dog may need to stay off of medicine for a week or so.

Hope things clear up soon!
Dr. Marie.
Online Veterinary Advice - Sick Dog? Vomiting Cat? Limping puppy? Get vet advice here.

What are the ear drops they've prescribed?

Indie had an ear infection as a pup, and it never cleared up properly, despite the vet repeatedly prescribing AB drops. I changed vet due to a disagreement (I didn't agree with their service basically) and the new vet took swabs from inside Indie's ears while she was under for something else, had them analysed and then prescribed the appropriate treatment.

My concern would be that they actually know what they're treating? If it doesn't clear up properly it can return, as it did with Indie.

I regularly use thornit powder with her now to prevent any recurring infection.

Good luck with your girl, hope you get the problem sorted out.

__________________
The British Association for Shooting & Conservation
Countryside Alliance



Follow my art here http://tarimoorart.blogspot.com/

Of course you must take your vet's advice and keep treating the ears. Short of taking a swab for culture they have to guess on which antibiotic will work, hence the change of drops. In spite of what some people think most vets dont want to charge you for unneccessary things so go for the cheapest option first and will only go for expensive lab fees if it doesnt clear up with normal treatment.

agreed,this is waht happened with my dog,the drops he was originally prescribed weren`t right for the bacteria involved,he had swabs and then the correct ear drops given,it` cleared up in a week after that

__________________
My name is Niccie and i work in rescue
National Animal Welfare Trust

Fudge,my American Cocker Spaniel

We have a 2 year old lab, hes persistantly bad ears on and off all his life. You definatly are doing the right thing with the drops, we have found with Ted that Otomax are the best, they are prescription only , the vet possibly may have given you these already? Ted has also had Canaural(leo) drops when the otomax hasnt quite shifted it. He has had his ears cleaned twice under aneasthetic at the same time as a different procedure

once you have the infection under control it is essential that you use a good ear cleaner a few times a week to keep the ears nice.squirt it in and give the ears a good massage , then wipe them out with some cotton wool.(it might be usefull to use a cleaner before the AB drops, but ask your vet first to make sure they are ok to be used together) Ted has Sancerum ear cleaner, although ive got canaural cleaner at the moment as the sancerum was out of stock.

I would guess its something you will just have to learn to deal with, a downside of those gorgeous flappy ears

hope it clears up soon, one of mine used to allways get ear infection, but allways cleared in a week or two, with the right antibiotics,

__________________

I may have come across as slightly cynical about vets, but unfortunately not all vets are as good as others, as I've found out in the past; I've even lost a pet due to a vet giving the wrong dose in a course of treatment.

And when you add up the cost of all the cheap treatments, sometimes it can be more expensive than just biting the bullet. I paid out around £30 each for three lots of AB drops over the course of a year, which doesn't sound much, but when the new vet took swabs and actually got the problem sorted, I only paid £60, because the rest was covered by insurance. And the most important thing was that Indie's ears were sorted

__________________
The British Association for Shooting & Conservation
Countryside Alliance



Follow my art here http://tarimoorart.blogspot.com/

Thanks again everyone
We are now using Otomax for another week, twice a day so fingers crossed