Food for Dog with Allergy

[JJWISE]

My Boykin gets ear infections and the vet said it could be an allergy, and recommended we try changing foods. Currently using Victor Hi-Energy and used to use Purina Pro Plan, he has had ear issues while on both. Any recommendations?

[shags]

How long has your dog been having ear problems? Has the vet read slides made with gunk from the ear? Does the dog also have runny eyes or lick its feet?

I'd explore other avenues before going through a mess with a gazillion dog foods. I had a rescue dog that had constant ear problems. Vet saw yeast and bacteria on the smear slides, and gave us meds based on that. No results after several tries. So we went to the next level and did a culture and sensitivity. Turns out the infection was coming from an oddball bacteria that was sensitive to only one antibiotic. After a round of that med, no more ear problems ever.

IME allergies have caused more than one symptom; for instance my current dog is lightly allergic to something, and has a runny eye and a need to rub his face if off his meds. Other dogs in the past had maybe itchy skin plus ear irritation.

It cost about $90 for the C&S on my dog, but in the long run saved plenty in vet visits etc.

Good luck, these things are tough to deal with.

[JJWISE]

Thanks for the advice shags. My wife took him to the vet yesterday and it doesn’t sound like any tests were done other than a visual examination of the ear. It happened when he was about a year old, gave him drops and it went away until a couple months ago when it got bad again. They gave him drops a few times and it would temporarily go away, then return after the drops ran out. This time we were given 3 sets of pills, hoping these will do the trick. I don’t notice any issues with his eyes and feet, though he does get red bumps on his chest occasionally (don’t seem to itch or anything).

[Sharon]

I see you have a boykin - long ears hanging down if I remember rightly. My JRT gets the same thing... feet too. It goes away in the winter. My vet believes it is because they are so close to the ground running through bush, weeds etc.that irritation happens ; then they lick and scratch them. (My JRT hunts. )

I use drops off and on ( Burrows Solution), and that solves the problem.

[Urban_Redneck]

Owning a big eared dog, I've learned she needs her ears cleaned once a week or more when she's running the fields or swimming.

Yeast feeds primarily on sugars that come from carbohydrates. A carbohydrate free, raw diet is the solution for that.