Dr. Wise answers two questions regarding ear infections in dogs.

Mandy, our 14 month-old standard poodle, has had ear problems since she was four months old. We clean her ears three times a week, but the redness and infection continue. Months ago, our veterinarian said the problem was yeast. What can I do?

If your veterinarian hasn’t seen Mandy lately, I suggest a return visit. I recommend that the visit include a repeat of the cytology and possibly a culture of Mandy’s ears to see if a bacterial infection is part of the problem. It also would be wise to make sure Mandy’s ears are her only problem. Your veterinarian, for example, may check for skin allergies (either inhalent or food allergies) and hypothyroidism which could be responsible for the situation.

If the veterinarian found signs of yeast months ago, he very likely will now find a severe bacterial infection secondary to the yeast. If this is the case, the laboratory processing the culture will test it to see what antibiotics will be most effective against the bacteria.

You probably will need to apply the appropriate antibiotic deep down inside the external canal of each ear. It will take at least two weeks of application to destroy the bacteria. You should ask your veterinarian whether or not oral antibiotics are necessary. If yeast also is found, this should be treated as well.

After the first 14 days, you should have your veterinarian recheck Mandy. Hopefully, her ears will look good. Then you can direct your long-term treatment toward cleaning the ears regularly with a solution to decrease the pH on the surface of the ear and dry the ear canal and thus prevent the yeast and bacteria from growing. If we can inhibit the yeast from damaging the surface of the ear, I think we can prevent the bacteria from being a problem.

You will need to be very observant and always watch for problems in the ears. With a poodle, it is always very important to keep the hairs pulled from the ears so they don’t prevent air from getting down into the canal and also so wax doesn’t build up in the canal.

Our dog constantly shakes her ears and has a brown, smelly discharge in the ears.  We have been using some medicine for ear mites that we got at the store, according to the label directions, but it isn't helping.   What should we do?

You should have your dog seen by a veterinarian to examine the entire ear canal and to determine the cause of the discomfort and discharge.   If the infection/inflammation continues without clearing up, the dog will develop chronic problems of the ear canal.  While dogs (and cats) can get ear mites that will irritate the ears and cause a brown discharge, not all ear irritation is due to ear mites!   Ear infections are actually just as common, if not more common, than ear mite infestation.  Ear infections can be due to bacterial infections, yeast infections, or combinations of both.  Other causes of ear discharges, although less likely, are ear canal tumors and polyps.  Underlying allergies may also play a role in the development of ear problems.

Your veterinarian can also take a swab sample of the discharge, examine it under a microscope and determine the type of infection present.   Once the cause of the infection is known, then the proper medication can be dispensed to clear the infection.  For dogs with stubborn or recurrent ear infections, a regular ear cleaning/preventative maintenance schedule may also be suggested.

This information, prepared as a public service by the Rhode Island Veterinary Medical Association, answers problems Rhode Island veterinarians currently are seeing in their practices, as well as new developments in animal care.