Ear infections, swollen by eye, hematoma...

[Jorsher]

Has anyone experienced frequent ear infections? She will get one, and I'll put in medication for a week or two, and she'll be good for a week or two, then it comes back. She's had at least 20 ear infections in the 4 years I've had her...

Also, she has a hematoma in the same ear she had one just a few months ago. The ear is already scarred so that it doesn't lay normal, but I'm curious how she's getting them.

Last, today the pink thing on the inner corner of her eye is swollen. Can anyone tell me what it's called so I can look into it? Any idea why this would happen?

She's going to the vet, again, tomorrow. Hate to see her so miserable.



The ear on your left (her right) is the now-scarred hematoma ear, and the eye on the right is the one with the swollen corner.

[Shoshana]

Aww what a cute dog!

Have you tried taking her to a different vet for a second opinion? Have you asked your vet why this is happening? What kind of infections are they?

Does she have any allergies? (Peanut never gets infections normally but we once switched her food and she had 3-4 staph infections in less than 6 weeks, on the bottom of her tail, her belly and both ears. We switched back to her old food (Blue Buffalo) and hasn't had a problem since. The food she had a problem with was Organix by Castor & Pollux)

[Murfins]

My senior came to me with all sorts of infections and will get ear infections easily when he is eating something that he cannot tolerate - diet seems to play the hugest role for him, that and we try to enhance his immune system with supplements like kelp and salmon oil.

[Jorsher]

Shoshana:

Thanks, and no I haven't tried a different vet, although I've been seriously considering it. Just hard knowing if I'll end up somewhere better or worse, but I guess it's worth a shot.

She does have bad allergies. She's on Atopica which she gets 100mg every other day, but I think I'm going to switch her back to daily dose. If I don't give them to her, she gets extremely itchy. If I do give them to her, sometimes she pukes and/or shakes for up to an hour as if she's cold...

She's currently on TOTW. She was on Blue Buffalo before, a couple years ago, and the Blue Buffalo seemed to make her coat oily within a week or two, while TOTW keeps it "fresh" for weeks.

Murfins:

I may have to look for these supplements.

As a puppy she was fine and the only sign of allergies I ever noticed was hives when she walks through deep grass... She's been on Atopica for a year or two, and I've been giving it once every other day. She used to lick her paws raw, had sores between her toes, a lot of spots with thin hair, etc, and is a lot better now, but I think I will bite the bullet and give her a daily dose again...

Edit:

For some reason when I quote I get a forbidden error? Odd.

[starrlamia]

her eye looks like cherry eye, its when the gland in the corner prolapses, some come and go and others need to be operated on. My BT mix gets this every now and again in one eye, you can either leave it alone and wait to see if it goes away or you can gently push it back in. My girl has allergy issues also but I havent found any connection between cherry eye and her allergy symptoms, she mostly has yeasty feets.

[Jorsher]

She took a nap, and the swollen eye thing disappeared. There's a little discharge by that eye. I was cleaning today so maybe an allergic reaction...

[Misskiwi67]

Do you have the ears rechecked to make sure the infection is totally gone before you stop medications?

Your vet should be looking at the ear wax under the microscope to make sure EVERY bacteria and yeast is dead before you stop the treatment. Just because she feels better doesn't mean the infection is 100% gone...

In my experience, most infections take 2-4 weeks to treat to full resolution. Most dogs feel better after a couple days because most ear ointments contain potent steroids.

[ilovetyson]

Jade had serious ear issues the first cpl yrs I had her. We figured out it was a serious food allergy. Once i switched her to a fish protein food with no grain.. no other protein.. it took about 8mo to get where it is now .. Slowly. But she is fine now. No issues with her ears. I still take it seriously. I dont let her get water in them (I use a wash cloth on her head for baths) And she cant have Any treats unless I Know what they are.. to make sure it is only the ingrediants She can have.

So, I would see if changing his food.. may help.. But, again I am not vet, so maybe bring that idea up to the vet and see what they say.

[AllisonPibbleLvr]

Also, have they done cultures on the ears to make sure they're using the right meds for that bacteria?