Go Back   Pet forum for dogs cats and humans - Pets.ca > Discussion Groups - mainly cats and dogs > Dog health - Ask members * If your pet is vomiting-bleeding-diarrhea etc. Vet time!

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old July 2nd, 2008, 02:19 PM
szelynn's Avatar
szelynn szelynn is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Markham, ON
Posts: 45
How much yogurt to give?

Kali recently had some surgery, and was on 2 bouts of antibiotics...now I think she might be getting a yeast infection in her ear.

Can I just give her yogurt and she if it improves (she's shaking her head a bit, and it's little red in one ear - i know she has had them before from her previous owner) or does that warrant a visit to the vet?

Also, either way how much should I give her? I'm in the middle of transitioning her from Wysong Senior to Orijen Senior, and she's a 78lb Lab.
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old July 2nd, 2008, 03:55 PM
hazelrunpack's Avatar
hazelrunpack hazelrunpack is offline
The Pack's Head Servant
Chopper Challenge Champion, Mini KickUps Champion, Bugz Champion, Snakeman Steve Champion, Shape Game Champion, Mumu Champion, Mouse Race Champion
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Just east of the Hazelnut Patch, Wisconsin
Posts: 53,771
Not sure if it will help an infection that's already taken hold, but for our 45 - 65 pound dogs, we usually would give them a tablespoon in each of their two daily meals. We've since moved to a probiotic in both meals and 1 TBSP of yogurt in the morning meal just because after a hard winter of antibiotics, we found we needed something a little stronger than just the yogurt.

Meanwhile, about the infection. If you have any ear cleaner (Epiotic, OtiFoam, Nolvasen, etc.) clean the ear twice daily with that. A drying cleanser is the best because you don't want to leave the ear wet if you're fighting yeast. I think I remember reading a post on the board saying that they use red cider vinegar to clean their dog's ears...but my connection is too slow to be able to do a search You can try it though by using the Search function up in the blue menu line

If it doesn't clear up in a few days, best to have it checked by a vet and get some meds. Infections can become chronic and actually result in permanent damage.
__________________
"We are--each of us--dying; it's how we live in the meantime that makes the difference."

"It's not what you gather, but what you scatter that tells what kind of life you have lived!"

"Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle."
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old July 2nd, 2008, 04:07 PM
szelynn's Avatar
szelynn szelynn is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Markham, ON
Posts: 45
Thanks for your fast reply!
I love that there are so many people on here, and I don't have to wait days for a response!

Yes, I've read about regular vinegar and red cider vinegar working against yeast as it doesn't like vinegar. I've never done that before, I'm not sure if I feel comfortable doing that to her without any direction...I'm also not 100% sure that's what it is and I mostly believe so because her previous owner said that's what it probably is and she just got off antibiotics last week...would it hurt her if I were to try a vinegar solution?

I'm also thinking of getting some green tripe for her to try, as I've read this can also give her some probiotics?

All this started last night, all I could hear all night was the flopping of her ears because she kept shaking her head...
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old July 2nd, 2008, 04:18 PM
hazelrunpack's Avatar
hazelrunpack hazelrunpack is offline
The Pack's Head Servant
Chopper Challenge Champion, Mini KickUps Champion, Bugz Champion, Snakeman Steve Champion, Shape Game Champion, Mumu Champion, Mouse Race Champion
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Just east of the Hazelnut Patch, Wisconsin
Posts: 53,771
Can you see anything in her ear canal? You might need a flashlight to see deep enough. Dark brown waxy material deep in the canal where it disappears from view could indicate an infection of some type. White lumpy stuff in there would most likely be yeast. Red, hot ear canals would indicate an infection, as well.

If you see white lumpy stuff or if the ears are red and hot, the infection is pretty extensive and you should probably take her in to see the vet.

If it's just the waxy brown stuff, cleaning is worth a try. I've never used vinegar, just saw the post here. But I don't recall if there were instructions or just a general comment that vinegar was used. Usually, what I do with the cleaning solutions is soak a cotton ball or even a piece of kleenex with the solution, then gently clean out the canal. If there's a lot of stuff in the bottom of the canal, I'll squirt a little of the liquid in there, massage the ear (keep them from shaking if possible for 30 - 60 seconds), then let them shake and dry the ear with more tissue.

I suspect that's how you'd approach it with vinegar, too. But vinegar would sting a sore ear and I'm not sure you should use it full strength. Maybe another member will chime in soon with a suggestion for how strong a solution of vinegar to use
__________________
"We are--each of us--dying; it's how we live in the meantime that makes the difference."

"It's not what you gather, but what you scatter that tells what kind of life you have lived!"

"Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle."
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old July 2nd, 2008, 04:21 PM
hazelrunpack's Avatar
hazelrunpack hazelrunpack is offline
The Pack's Head Servant
Chopper Challenge Champion, Mini KickUps Champion, Bugz Champion, Snakeman Steve Champion, Shape Game Champion, Mumu Champion, Mouse Race Champion
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Just east of the Hazelnut Patch, Wisconsin
Posts: 53,771
WoooHooooo! Just managed to run a search (praise the phone line gods!) and found some info:

http://www.thedachshundnetwork.com/earcare.htm

A little way down the page it talks about swimmer's ear...they used a 1 part isopropyl alcohol, 2 part vinegar mix...

I've never used it so try at your own risk. It'll sting and you'll need to be careful to keep it away from your dog's eyes.
__________________
"We are--each of us--dying; it's how we live in the meantime that makes the difference."

"It's not what you gather, but what you scatter that tells what kind of life you have lived!"

"Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle."
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old July 2nd, 2008, 04:56 PM
rainbow's Avatar
rainbow rainbow is offline
-
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Beautiful BC's Kootenay Country
Posts: 34,757
I would take her to the vet. Chronic/recurrent ear infections are one of the symptoms of hypothyroidism which is common for middle aged dogs so I would have her checked for that. Good luck and keep us posted.
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Forum Terms of Use

  • All Bulletin Board Posts are for personal/non-commercial use only.
  • Self-promotion and/or promotion in general is prohibited.
  • Debate is healthy but profane and deliberately rude posts will be deleted.
  • Posters not following the rules will be banned at the Admins' discretion.
  • Read the Full Forum Rules

Forum Details

  • Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8
    Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
    vBulletin Optimisation by vB Optimise (Reduced on this page: MySQL 0%).
  • All times are GMT -5. The time now is 05:45 AM.