# Keeping a Vizsla's ears clean and healthy!



## goleafsgo22

Hello! I just had my V neutered a week or so ago at 14 months old. About 3-4 weeks prior to this vet appointment, I noticed that his ears were getting quite itchy for him. He would scratch and itch them throughout the day (not all day long but enough for me to notice it/hear it from his crate in the mornings). He did have minor scabbing around the inside/outside of his ears and had this subtle odor coming from his ears too! Moreover, he also had dark brown "gunk" in his ears - the vet does not think it was ear mites. He's the only pet in my house and doesn't really have any contact with any animals other than at the dog park!

My vet is very well known and reputable around the city that I live in and many travel from far away to utilize orthopedic surgery specialties so I trust his knowledge and advice but he stated that I should not have to clean his ears anymore than once a month with gauze pads.

My vet believes that it was a yeast infection but as you can't know for sure, it may have been caused by the weather or the food scraps my Dad gives him when I'm not around (so frustrating!!!). So we're at the trial and error stage, hoping this does not come back. 

My V was perscribed Otomax drops for a period of 10 days. It has been 6 Days and his ears are entirely cleared up (no more dark coloured gunk and no more minor scabbing). 

Does anyone have any suggestions/tips/opinions/comments in regards to keeping my dog's ears clean and free from this infection? I know that this breed has issues with allergies and its ears but I'm all "ears" on hearing what you guys think!


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## gingerling

Well, being an orthopedic specialist doesn't mean they're good at every day things.

Anyways, V's are prone to yeast infections b/c their ear flaps keep the environment warm and moist, which is fertile breeding grounds for yeast..especially if yours swims. You can tell if it's a yeast b/c there is a copious amount of gooey brown gunk that seems to just keep coming and the smell, it's like bad cheese. Note that normal ear wax is brown, but it's usually dried, and not very much, and although it has a unique odor, it's not really gross.

The best prevention is to go in there with a dry cotton ball after bathing or swimming, and gently dry the ear out, don't enter the canal or his head, just get what you can see. The vet should have given you either ear wipes of liquid (Basically a diluted boric acid solution) which you could then use on a weekly basis to keep things clean.


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## einspänner

My V has the gunkiest ears of any dog I've owned. My vet thought it might be an intolerance to chicken, so we minimized that in her diet for awhile, but basically routine cleaning and plucking out the hairs in her ears has helped immensely in improving her ears. I use a homemade solution with white or apple cider vinegar, tea tree oil, coconut oil, aloe, and water.


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## R E McCraith

? WHY DOES A V NEED EARS -they never LISTEN LOL


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## texasred

There is a way to test for yeast. Its very simple, and I don't know why regular vets don't do it. A piece of clear tape laid over the suspected area, then removed and looked at the tape under a microscope.The only vets I know that do this are dermatologist.


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## harrigab

Elvis had the gunkiest ears in the world, like einspanner I plucked out the inner growth (on advice of vet) and she gave (well sold, they're good at selling!) some ClenAural solution that worked very well but I was having to clean them at least twice a week. My breeder recommended Thornit powder, far cheaper and boy, does it clean out the canker!, probably only have to clean them once a month now


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## momofboys

Copper has this problem but it seems to be only with his right ear. When I had him in for his check up the vet gave us some drops to use that seem to help clear this up he seemed to think it was ear mites. I started using it again as I noticed his right ear never seems to be clean when its been several weeks since I cleaned his left and its still perfectly clear. I also try to clean their ears every couple of weeks to keep an eye on them, again the vet gave me a liquid solution that you put in their ear and then use cotton to clean and dry them with.


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## MCD

I just bought a container of ear wipes from the pet store or Walmart. I periodically clean Dharma's ears out. It's like having to take her to get her nails ground or cutting the cat's nails. It just becomes part of the routine.


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## einspänner

I don't know why we don't have thornit powder over here, but I've heard probably a hundred recommendations for the stuff. I should import it and make a small fortune.


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## Bob Engelhardt

einspänner said:


> I don't know why we don't have thornit powder over here, ...


Maybe here:
http://www.karbostore.com/order_canine.html#thornit

I say "maybe" because they call it "Earclear", "Originally known as Thornit". It's still called Thornit everywhere else, so why they call it Earclear isn't clear.

Bob


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## einspänner

You are amazing, Bob! Thanks for the link.


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## Abahn

I've received the ear clear product and was wondering how you guys apply the stuff, and how frequently?


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## Abahn

Anyone? BEULLER


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## harrigab

Abahn said:


> Anyone? BEULLER
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I sprinkle it on the blade end of a pair of tweezers then pull Elvis's ear open then just sprinkle it inside then give his ears a rub.


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## Abahn

Ok cool, so you try to get it inside, and not just around the ear canal?


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## harrigab

Abahn said:


> Ok cool, so you try to get it inside, and not just around the ear canal?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I don't try to get it into the ear canal, no.


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## Abahn

Ok cool... Thanks!


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## PinDave

Hey folks,

Maui’s at about 13 weeks, and at his 12-week vet appointment, the vet noticed the dark gunk in his ears. She recommended a cleaning solution called PRO-Otic, which is an ethanol (10%), lactic acid (1.78%), benzoic acid (0.15%), and salicylic acid (0.1%) solution. She showed me how to pour a good amount in the ears and gentle squish the ears to ensure cleaning. She used cotton balls, and swabs to clean out the gunk, and told us to do this daily for about a week until the ears weren’t producing the gunk anymore. After the cleaning, we drip in few drops of Mometamax (Antibiotic/Anti-inflammatory/Antifungal).

When we did it ourselves the next day, and despite how gentle we were, he was yelping in pain. Upon closer examination of his ears, we noticed that there were raw spots that almost looked like canker sores. I called the vet, and she advised to stop using the PRO-Otic to let the raw spots heal up, and just use the Mometamax.

The vet said, as others in this thread have, that swimming is likely going to trigger a yeast infection of this type. Does this mean that I should never take Maui swimming, or merely that I need to carefully dry out his ears after swimming?

Thanks in advance for any advice from all of you more experienced with this wonderful breed!


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## texasred

Some of the ear cleaners, also have a drying solution in them. You just use it to dry out the ears after swimming.
So take your pup swimming, just use the drying solution afterwards.


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## PinDave

Just a follow up...

I asked the breeder about these ear yeast infections... he confirmed what others have here, that dogs with big floppy ears are more prone to yeast infections, and that drying after swimming is important.

He also suggested adding a capful of apple cider vinegar to his food each meal to raise his ph level, and cleaning the ears with olive oil. I don’t know if this worked or the infection ran it’s course, but Maui’s ears are back to normal.


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