@NickNack
Hi again!
You are welcome! Your furbaby is such a cutiepie!!
Is she on Duck & Sweet Potato for allergy reasons?
If so, a few other things could be causing the ear issues:
- a food allergy
- yeast issues *starches incl grains, potato, sweet potato, carrots, peas, etc will make yeast issues worse*. My Shih Tzu and countless fosters, rescues, etc had these issues. Untreated, this can lower the immune sytem, and lead to DEMODEX mite issues (which will cause bald patches). A grain free LOW GLYCEMIC diet, PROBIOTICS, EFA Supplementation (omega 3 & 6s), & digestive enzymes will help with this.Plan on a minimum of 6 months to treat.
CAUTION:
If your vet diagnoses her with any yeast issues, and recommends the oral medication KETOCONIZOLE, my advise would be to try the above mentioned, first. In all my years involved in dealing with yeast issues in dogs (going on 20+ years), I have NEVER seen ketoconizole not make things worse. It works, initially. But then the yeast comes back with a vengeance! and it will take much longer to help the dog get over the yeast issue. MUCH longer. Plus, ketoconizole is very harsh on the liver. Sadly this medication is widely overused by the show dog community in long haired breeds, as a way to grow coat fast on a dog with yeast issues (yeast overgrowth will cause hair fallout and poor coat). Probiotics are your best defense and cure for this condition, along with preferably a homecooked or raw diet (we homecook, as my furbaby did not do well on raw -- many yeasty dogs have weak immune systems). We have cooked for her for 13+ years (she had the yeast issues as a pup). We feed all of of our rescues/fosters a home cooked diet.
It took us around 7 mos with holistic treatments to get my own pup over the yeasty issues -- hers never showed in her ears, but her paws were a mess. Her feet smelled like Fritos -- a telltale sign of yeast problems. Smell your dog's little paws.
Vets will frequently treat this topically with shampoos, but that will not resolve the issue. Look to checking for food allergies (elimination diet), hypothyroidism, atopic allergy (pollens, molds, dust, etc), and more rarely perhaps a contact allergy (shampoos, grooming products, ec). Of course any underlying disease can supress the immune system and cause yeast overgrowth, but usually I have found diet, over vaccination, too many antibiotics or steroids, food allergy, or seasonal allergies, to be the most frequent underlying cause of yeast related dermatitis. Even a borderline low normal thyroid can lead to yeast. Your vet can do a paw scrape. Finding more bacteria than yeast, I have found to point more to allergy ...food or environment. More yeast than bacteria, is usually due to a weak immune system, low thyroid, and high glycemic diet (too many grains, starches ....they all break down into sugar). All dogs have demodex mites in their skin, but it is when there is yeast overgrowth that the demodex will get out of control. Diet, weak immune systems, low thyroid, and/or stress are the major factors I have seen in yeasty dogs. *adding a bit of kelp to her diet can help boost her thyroid. I usually just by Naure's Way Kelp caps, break one open, and pour about 1/3 of it into my 15 lb dog's food. A smaller dog can get 1/4 cap. Dogs over 35 lb can get 1/2 cap. Dogs 75 lb and over, we give 1 cap. We dose this to low normal thyroid dogs about 3 to 4 x week. Too much kelp can cause issues. The above at a few x week, are safe. There are also kelp/green algae dog supplements, BUT many have lead contamination, so I prefer to use people brands when possible. A product I do trust is BERTES GREEN BLEND. You can find this online at "b-naturals" website.
If her feet do smell like corn chips, and you would like some tips on how to resolve the yeast issue, feel free to contact me. Note that some dogs are able to completely get over the yeast imbalance and never have a reoccurance, provided they are given probiotics and a species appropriate diet. Others, due to underlying conditions stressing the immune system ongoing, will always need greater support to keep the yeast in balance. For those dogs, a life long supplementation protocol, while addressing the underlying disease, will be critical.
Colostrum is another supplement I would highly recommend for your pup, regardless of whether she has yeast issues or food allergy or seasonal allergy, or any other immune issues. It is made by Symbiotic. This along with probiotics, digestive enzymes, and omega 3 and 6s, has turned around more dogs for us . Colostrum is a powder cap which you can break open and mix into about 1/3 c of water, and oral syringe it. We use it as soon as we take in a rescue. Dogs have been able to survive on just this for a few days, when they were too weak to take any food in. They rally quickly, and then are able to take in blended food, until they can take in solid. Colostrum helps to strengthen a dog's immune system without risk of overstimmulating an autoimmune dog. If you suspect your dog has yeast or any other immune system issues, start with colostrum, probiotics, and EFAs (essential fatty acids...omega 3 & 6s). Then, add in digestive enzymes. To help combat a food allergy, you would need a 12 week elimination food trial, while using the above supplements. Also add in L Glutamine 500 mg caps, 1 x day for small dogs, or 2 x day for large breeds. You can add this to her food or water. Lglutamine helps to repair the intestinal lining in food allergy dogs.
I hope this helps!