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.