Chronic Ear Infections and Hypothyroidism

Hypothyroidism in dogs occurs when your dog’s thyroid gland fails to produce enough thyroid hormone. The thyroid hormone is essential for regulating your dog’s metabolism, so when your dog doesn’t produce enough of it your dog usually starts to exhibit some noticeable symptoms:

• Your dog may become lethargic
• Your dog will probably gain weight without a change in appetite
• Your dog may develop bacterial infections on his skin
• His skin may become dry
• There may be hair loss, especially on your dog’s trunk and tail
• There may be a darkening and thickening of the skin where your dog has lost hair
• Your dog may not be able to tolerate the cole and may look for warm places
• His heart rate may slow
• He may become aggressive
• He may become depressed
• He may develop chronic ear infections

Some of these symptoms, such as hair loss, bacterial infections and chronic ear infections, are similar to those found when a dog has allergic reactions If your dog suffers from chronic ear infections it can sometimes be difficult for an owner to determine the cause.

Why Hypothyroidism?

Hypothyroidism can be inherited but it can also be triggered by pollutants, allergies and other environmental factors. It usually begins in dogs around the age of 2 to 4 years of age, though it can occur in dogs as late as 10 years old. Some breeds, such as Golden Retrievers and Doberman Pinschers are more likely to be hypothyroid than other breeds. Hypothyroidism is rare in toy and small breeds.

Clean ears regularly

If your dog has frequent ear infections you should make sure that you are cleaning his ears with a good ear cleaner regularly. A good ear cleaner will help keep the ears at the proper pH level to discourage bacterial and yeast growth. Cleaning the ear will also remove debris that can trigger infections.

You should also make sure that you keep the hair inside your dog’s ear trimmed or plucked. This allows air to circulate inside the ear which helps to keep the ear drier. Infections can develop when the ear is moist, so a drier ear is a less hospitable environment for things to grow.

It could be allergies

If you suspect that your dog may have chronic ear infections because of allergies then you should make sure that he isn’t bedeviled by fleas or other parasites. Some dogs are allergic to fleas — even the bite from one flea can send them into a gnawing, scratching frenzy. An allergy to flea bites can result in flea bite dermatitis which leaves the skin red and raw and subject to infections.

Your dog could also be allergic to something in his food so you can take the sensible action of reading the ingredients and changing to a food that contains something different. Many dogs are allergic to corn and wheat so you could change to a food that contains rice or oatmeal, for instance. Food allergies are a frequent cause of chronic ear infections.

Let your vet decide

If your dog does have chronic ear infections and you suspect either hypothyroidism or aller gies, your best course of action is to take your dog to your veterinarian for a definitive diagnosis. Although serious, the condition can be easily treated. Your vet can determine if your dog is hypothyroid (or if he has autoimmune thyroiditis, the other name for hypothyroidism) with some blood work. If your dog is hypothyroid the condition can be treated with an inexpensive daily thyroid pill. You can see improvement in your dog’s condition in just two to three weeks. When a hypothyroid dog is on regular medication the dog should live a normal life with no side effects. And, all chronic ear infections and other symptoms should disappear.

In the meantime you can treat your dog’s dry and irritated skin with a good oatmeal shampoo and conditioner that will ease the itchiness and add moisture back to the skin and coat and your dog’s ear infections with an all around product like Ear Aid , that will cleanse and moisturize, heal and protect.

So, if your dog has chronic ear infections consider whether he has any of the other symptoms of hypothyroidism. If the ear infections are due to hypothyroidism you can treat the problem and help your dog very easily just by getting the right diagnosis from your vet.

Floppy-eared dogs like Copper are more likely to get ear infections.

Ear infections may be caused by yeast and bacteria

by Carlotta Cooper

Dogs can have ear problems for several reasons, but one of the most common reasons is due to bacterial and yeast infections. That’s when you’ll see the following results:

• dog shaking his head
• scratching at his ears
• Inflammation
• a bad smell coming from his ears
• ears that are hot and painful when touched

Do your ears hang low?

As the owner of a long-haired, floppy-eared breed of dog, I always have to be concerned about my dogs’ ears. (English Setters already have to be on guard against deafness — like we don’t have enough problems with ears!) Any dog with floppy ears is more likely to have ear infections because the long ears cut off some of the circulating air that would otherwise keep the ears dried out. The hair keeps moisture trapped in the ear. Prick-eared dogs, with their ears exposed to the air, have fewer ear infections.

You’re growing what in your ears?

Yeast and bacteria love to grow in the ears of flop-eared breeds. They also like to grow in the ears of dogs that have very hairy ear canals, like long-haired dogs. Poodles are said to be particularly prone to ear infections because they have a great deal of hair in their ear canals.

Not immune to infections

If your dog has allergies, such as dog food allergies, he is also more likely to express that allergy by having ear infections. According to one source, some 25 percent of dogs with food allergies have ear infections as their only symptom. Those ear infections are likely to be yeast infections. If your dog has allergies then his immune system will likely be affected, making him unable to fight off yeast when it takes up residence in h is ears.

Yeast and bacteria are typically present in your dog’s ears all the time. When they grow out of control it means that your dog’s immune system was not able to fight them off. Your veterinarian will be able to provide you with medication for your dog’s ear infection — most likely drops to be used and a good ear cleaner .

The primary difference between a bacterial infection and a yeast infection (to laymen) is that a yeast infection can spread to other parts of your dog’s body. A yeast infection can also develop a secondary bacterial infection. If your dog scratches at his ears relentlessly he could make them raw and they could become infected with a bacterial infection of their own. This infection would have to be treated separately from the yeast infection.

You will also need to do something to build up your dog’s immune system like giving him a supplement with vitamins and herbs designed specifically to strengthen the immune system. Your vet should also make sure that your dog is not suffering from any kind of allergies that could have triggered the ear infection, especially if your dog has recurring ear infections.

‘Ear’s some tips

There are some things you can do to try to prevent ear infections from yeast and bacteria:

• Clean your dog’s ears regularly with a good ear cleaner .

• Keep the hair inside the ear and around the opening of the ear trimmed to allow air to circulate.

• Feed a good quality food without corn, wheat or other carbohydrates that have been linked to food allergies. Look for foods high in meat protein.

• If your dog swims you should use cotton balls to gently dry out the inside of your dog’s ears afterward. Clean your dog’s ears following a swimming session.

For most dogs ear infections are preventable with regular ear cleaning . If your dog does develop an ear infection it’s best to see your veterinarian. Left untreated, or not treated properly, ear infections can become very hard to clear up and may even require surgery. Keep those ears clean!

by Carlotta Cooper

Ear problems? Could be food allergies

Years ago my sweet dog Avery started having inflamed ears when he was just a puppy. I couldn’t figure out what the problem was. I cleaned his ears as often as I cleaned my other dogs’ ears. I kept the hair around his long ears trimmed. I used a good ear cleaner that my vet had recommended. I even took Avery to the vet and we went through a couple of rounds of antibiotics. His ears would clear up but, as soon as the medicine was gone, the inflamed ears and yucky stuff would be back again. Believe it or not, Avery had these ear problems, off and on, for years.

That was a long time ago, before people talked very much about food allergies in dogs. The very idea that dogs could be allergic to regular dog food? Preposterous! But now we know that it not only happens, but it’s actually not uncommon at all. And one of the signs of food allergies is recurring ear infections.

Your dog’s ears provide a warm, moist, dark environment — perfect for things to grow. When your dog’s immune system is healthy his body (and his ears) can regulate all of the proteins, carbohydrates, starches and other nutrients in his diet. If your dog’s immune system is out of whack because his body is having a reaction to his food, that reaction can manifest itself in an ear infection — or in hives, itchy skin or other allergic reactions.

Changing food often helps your dog’s ears, especially if you are upgrading the food to one that’s higher quality. Animal protein is usually a better choice than vegetable proteins, such as corn, since it’s easier for your dog to digest and produces less waste in his system. Corn and wheat, found in many dog foods today, have been linked to many allergies.

There are lots of dog foods on the market today which offer “novel” or “exotic” proteins. You should be careful about feeding your dog a diet that is based completely on yak meat or making him crave emu burgers. (That’s not very far-fetched.) If your dog does have allergies you should try to use a food with an easily-available meat protein. Save the extremely exotic meat proteins in case the more common proteins don’t work for your dog. Whether your dog has allergies or not, you always want to have some options for him in the future. If you feed him the most exotic foods when you don’t have to, you won’t have anything available that he can eat if he develops an allergy to those foods.

If changing your dog’s food doesn’t completely clear your dog’s ears up you can also try adding some supplements to his diet. Acidophilus tablets, echinacea, and Ester C can all help improve your dog’s ear problems due to allergies. Acidophilus works to improve digestion. It has active live cultures, similar to yogurt, and can restore any imbalances in your dog’s gastrointestinal tract. Echinacea, in particular, can give a boost to your dog’s immune system.

I wish I’d known about many of these solutions when I still had my Avery. We battled his ear problem all his life. I tried one topical solution after another but the ear problems always returned. There was one terrible time when I tried a potion with blue gentian in it. Avery jerked just as I was pouring the concoction in his ear and my poor boy had purple ears for a few weeks. I tried to keep my friends and family from laughing at him but they laughed anyway. Poor Avery! It was bad enough to have ear infections. Now he had purple ears and people were laughing at him.

At least now we know much more about dogs and food allergies. We can do so much more to eliminate these ear problems by attacking the cause. If your dog has ear problems that seem to keep coming back after every treatment, look at his diet! He may have food allergies.

The Ears Have It –

Our dogs depend upon us for all of their care. Some things are hard to forget. Your dog is not going to let you forget to feed him! If your dog’s breath gets too bad you may think about brushing his teeth. And when you hear a clickety-clack on your floor you may be reminded to trim his nails. Hopefully you do these things regularly. But when it comes to your dog’s ears he can develop a serious problem before you ever realize there’s something amiss.

‘Ear’s the facts

There are several obvious signs of ear disease:

• A bad odor coming from your dog’s ear(s)
• Scratching or rubbing the ears or head
• Discharge from the ears
• Redness or swelling of the ear flap or inside the ear canal
• Shaking the head or holding it to one side
• Painful ears
• Changes that go with these signs, such as depression or irritability

I hear you!

Unfortunately, ear disease, or otitis externa, is all too common in dogs. Veterinarians see if very frequently. It can occur for a number of reasons.

• Your dog may have food allergies
• Your dog may have ear mites (tiny, almost microscopic pests)
• Your dog can have a bacterial or yeast infection
• Your dog can have something stuck in his ear, such as grass seed
• Your dog may have experienced trauma to his ear — this can occur when he scratches and rubs his head too much
• Hypothyroidism can result in ear infections

There are other reasons why your dog can develop ear problems. Flop-eared dogs are said to be more inclined to ear infections than prick-eared dogs. This is because their flop ears cut off some of the air flow to the ear canal that keeps the ears dry. When ears are moist and dark they are more likely to encourage the growth of bacterial and yeast infections.

Can you hear me now?

Ear infections and other ear problems can make your dog miserable. Regular cleaning is the single best thing you can do to prevent your dog from developing ear problems.

Cleaning your dog’s ears isn’t difficult. You should clean your dog’s healthy ears about once a week. You can obtain a good ear cleaner from your vet or from a source that sells good dog products. Ear cleaners should not sting your dog’s ears so check the ingredients. You should fill your dog’s ears with the cleaner and massage the base of the ear for 20-30 seconds. This massage helps loosen the wax and debris inside the ear. You can wipe the ear out with a cotton ball. You may need to do this a couple of times until the cotton ball comes out clean.

Your dog’s ears will remain cleaner and less likely to become infected if you keep the hair inside the ears clipped. This will allow more air to reach the inside of the ear and keep the ear canal drier.

If your dog has ear infections because of allergies you can try changing his food but you may have to identify what your dog is allergic to first. If you suspect that your dog is having ear problems because of hypothyroidism you should see a vet and let him diagnose the problem. The ear problems will clear up when your dog’s hypothyroidism is properly treated.

If your dog is experiencing ear disease you should see your vet. Neglecting ear problems can lead to permanent loss of hearing.

Regular ear cleaning will prevent most ear problems. This is truly a case where an ounce (or less!) or prevention is worth a pound of cure.