Re occurring ear mites in dog

lazeedaisy

hi all,

We have 3 dogs, small (4), medium (6) and large (11).

The medium dog has always suffered with ear mites (from birth) which I usually treat with advantage,

Lately though it seems he is always suffering, had him at vet not long ago as it was worse than usual, but all he recommended was advantage.
Treated him about 10 days ago, and was ok.

Today I checked his ears and it's infested worse than ever. the poor fella, seems ok form though, but the gunk came out and I cleaned his ear but can't help feeling that the last few infestations have come too close. He has ears like a spaniel, big floppy hairy ears.

The other 2, greyhound as open ears and so does the little terrier, never seem to be affected.

What can I do, firstly don't want to use advantage again, but if I have to I will, he is so used to me checking his ears, I am always doing it. Any recommendations?

DBB

There's something amiss there with those constant infestations...
I think there is an argument that treating them with the same brand over and over eventually results in them becoming immune? So, perhaps alternate treatments? I wonder too if it'd help to keep his ears trimmed short?
There is also anecdotal evidence, and it is thus far only anecdotal as far as I know, that Thornit powder kills mites. It also helps loosen the ear hair so you can pluck it more easily. It's available online.
Perhaps one of our vet nurse posters have some more enlightened thoughts on this?

boomerang

Advantage only treats fleas OP, are you sure that's the product you've been giving?

Also, I'm wondering if the dog really does have recurring earmite infestations, or if it's not related to earmites at all? Can you describe the gunk? Is it waxy, sticky, dark granules? How does the dog react when you're cleaning the ear?

To break the earmite cycle, you have to give Advocate or Stronghold spot-on, and repeat after 17 days. Obviously if your other dogs have earmites you'll have to treat them all concurrently or they'll just re-infest each other. You'll have to keep the ears sparkly clean through the treatment time too, as a lot of wax and debris in the ear can insulate the mites against the effect of the treatment.

lazeedaisy

The vet said the only thing to clear the ear mites is advantage ?

The gunk looks like coffee grounds, which the vet explained what it was. I got about a teaspoon of it earlier.

He is used to me prodding and poking, I am always checking them while I play with them, or while they sit on my lap. Mind you, Sammy would let you cut his leg off with a rusty knife and never let out a whisper. He is very affectionate and very, very sensitive.

If the advantage do not work on ear mites, what should I get?

I always do the dogs together, the greyhound hates advantage but ear mites are very contagious. Always wash blankets and bed linen, making sure to have a minimum 72 hour turnaround time.

Sammy was the runt of his litter and was badly infected when we got him as a new puppy. That vet did tell us he would always have ear mite problems, not sure why. We moved and changed vet, the only time we see him is annual booster shots, but more recent with Sammy and his ears.

He never complains but you know when he is out of sorts.

They are all good dogs, give us so much fun,

lazeedaisy

D'oh

Only realising now .....

I meant advocate spot on, we can only get it in the vets, hence I always ask when I buy it,

Wrong name, sorry....

Tony H

surolan is whatt you need ,my golden retriever had a bad infestation of ear mites and my vet cleaned his ears with surolan and gave him stronghold spot on to stop it happening again,I had to clean his ears morning and night for two weeks and he's been fine ever since.

lazeedaisy

Thanks for the recommendation,

Will pop out and pick it up,

Hooked

lazeedaisy wrote: »

Thanks for the recommendation,

Will pop out and pick it up,

Surolan did the trick here too.

Outkast_IRE

But are you repeating treatment ?

I know my vet when dealing with various types of mites, will have a treatment there and then with a repeat after 10 days or so and then again 10 days or so later.

This breaks the repoduction cycle of the mites, as laid eggs etc will not be affected by the first treatment.

I know this is the sceanario for mites on skin and in hair, i am not sure does this apply to ear mites.

jimf

surolan worked for me as well recently

aonb

I had a dog who was very prone to EAR MITES too.
Strangely the other dogs NEVER got ear mites (from him)...
The solution I found was to pretty much clean his ears every evening for a couple of weeks (after initial treatment).
I have heard very good things about THORNIT (available online) too, but worth trying the Surolan.
My vet said something similar to us about the dog being prone to mites - he too had them from birth - why would that be anyone??

jimf

aonb wrote: »

I had a dog who was very prone to EAR MITES too.
Strangely the other dogs NEVER got ear mites (from him)...
The solution I found was to pretty much clean his ears every evening for a couple of weeks (after initial treatment).
I have heard very good things about THORNIT (available online) too, but worth trying the Surolan.
My vet said something similar to us about the dog being prone to mites - he too had them from birth - why would that be anyone??

a very uneducated guess aon would be litter runt being more prone for some reason or another

as a rule they will have a very slightly lower body temp

that's more of a question within an answer

boomerang

Tony H wrote: »

surolan is whatt you need ,my golden retriever had a bad infestation of ear mites and my vet cleaned his ears with surolan and gave him stronghold spot on to stop it happening again,I had to clean his ears morning and night for two weeks and he's been fine ever since.

Surolan is a funny one; it's licenced for the treatment of ear mites but it doesn't include a parasiticide; it's just the mechanical action of cleaning that helps clear out the mites. Unless the ears are inflamed or have a secondary infection, I don't think Surolan's necessary, so long as the ears are kept clean. Advocate or Stronghold are so much more convenient and I'd have more faith in them for earmites. But that's just IMO.

Also OP, Surolan is prescription-only.

tk123

I've used Thornit on Lucy's mucky ear...but it was more yeasty than mites. I put it on twice a day for 5 days and it dried up all the wax -I removed some around the edges with cotton buds but then used an ear wash from petstop - the amount of crap that came out of her ear was shocking. The wash is better than any I've used before and really surprised me - it's kind of oily instead of alcohol based like the one I'd gotten in the vets which I thought was a bit too harsh for her. I'm using the Thornit every second week now and her ear is nice and clean. Her ears are much narrower than Bailey's and seem to have more hair inside (I bought a kid's otoscope on amazon lol ) so I think are just a breeding ground for gunk!

aonb

+1 for TK123s comment on a non-alcohol based cleaner for ears. I found the alcohol/'strident' based cleaners I was initially using were too harsh.

lazeedaisy

Thanks again,

I got Surolan! But the receptionist in the vets preferred to give me advocate, despite my protests that it was only used 2 1/2 weeks ago, she kept insisting I was not putting it on right and it had to be used every 4 weeks to the day. Aghh....

I usually use sensitive baby wipes on the dogs for whatever is needed. However I did buy a vey expensive ear wipes box and use them occasionally.

I am cleaning sammys ears every day now, the heat as calmed down, it can get quite hot, there is no hair to cut in his ears, it's just one f those things I have to be aware of.

My greyhound hates me using advocate on her, she always has a restless sleep afterwards. Both her, and the terrier have open ears and it's never a problem, one less thing to worry about with them.

I appreciate all the feedback and have had to be more conscious of Sammy and his delicate ears.

ABajaninCork

Maybe try Canaural? It's prescription only though, and does tend to make the fur on the ears greasy, but does work.

I'd also clean the dog's ears with just plain warm water and a bit of cotton wool.

the beer revolu

We've used glycerin to clean our cat's ears with good results.

boomerang

There's something going on here OP - there's just no reason why your doglet should be constantly reinfected with these mites. Do you treat all the dogs monthly? Not all dogs/cats will react to earmites. Is it possible one of your other dogs has earmites and it's gone un-noticed? They are spread by direct contact with another dog - or cat. Do you have a cat in the house? Just trying to get to the bottom of this for you because it's really insane that you're having to treat him monthly! Do you get the Advocate from the person on reception? How long since you've had a chat with the vet about the issue - is it long since he's seen your dog? I'm thinking this may not be an earmite issue at all.

And definitely four weeks is too long to wait to reapply the Advocate - the lifecycle of the mite is shorter than that. At most three weeks after the first application and 17 days is the ideal. So long as the other dogs in your home don't have mites, then there is no reason why your dog should ever need more than two applications 17 days apart to completely rid him of the mites.

I would certainly make an appointment to see the vet to examine the ear and take a sample of the wax/debris in the ear to check for earmites - he can do that straight away under the microscope.

lazeedaisy

Our vet saw Sammy in November after a particularly bad ear mite infection. Only recommended advocate.

Always treat the 3 dogs and bedding, go by a calendar month.

For whatever reason the original vet saw in him, said he would always suffer.

The Surolan seems to be working, today a good bit of debris in his ear.

We don't have cats but there are a few around, but mine are not fond of cats.

Because the greyhound gets affected, I did not like to use Advocate more often, I thought if its that potent I would not be keen to put so many chemicals in them since I try o be careful what they eat etc.

Since it was a new vet, they didn't pay particular attention to Sammy, just sent me off with advocate and happy to sell it every month.

I will be more conscious and start making a record just for my sake really.

The other 2 dogs have open ears, and easily checked, but with Sammy they are large And get vey hot.

boomerang

I am really baffled. It's like a vet saying your dog has fleas and will therefore have to be treated for fleas every month indefinitely... I don't understand the logic. You treat the mites, you make sure you also repeat after max. three weeks to treat the larvae that will hatch from the already-laid eggs, you make sure no other pets have mites, and that should be the end of it. It does sound as though he has otitis externa going on with the pain and inflammation. Poor laddo.

ABajaninCork

My cat used to suffer with ongoing ear mite trouble. Used to clean his ears with liquid paraffin. The amount of gunk that came out was unbelievable. At one point, I used to have to clean his ears daily.

Now I think about it, his condition must've been chronic - Flea'd him and my girl every month in the summer, but to no avail. Just had the routine of chasing the cat round the house, cleaning his ears, giving him his Prendisolone, then he'd follow me to the fridge for his bit of cheese or ham. Had to be Denny's mind. He hated Tesco's ham!

lazeedaisy

I think the daily cleaning for now, see how we get on, he loves the attention, so will make the most of it,

Thanks again for all the advice and responses, it's good to know I am on the right track,

Not sure about the vet, but we moved and had to change. I personally don't like to just medicate all the time, but I shall see how we get on, its gotta be something I am not factoring in, like maybe he goes out to play with the cats at night...... Ha ha....

He could have found the cats beds ...... Or we will just manage what we can, I am a known control freak but the poor pet will not get any better attention,

He is the midde dog, so that's gotta count for some of his neurosis.....

anamaria

I am finding this thread really interesting. I have a terrier with lovely floppy ears and is prone to picking up ear mites. One teeny weeny problem. There's no way in hell she will let anyone clean her ears out. She is a rescue and has a few issues so if I try to get near her ears, even when she is chilled out on my lap getting a cuddle, she bolts!

Any ideas?

OP I wish my dog was as calm about an ear cleaning as your's is!!