All About Abby's Allergic Ears

Meet Abby, a lovely 4 year old spayed female golden lab owned by Kurt S. Dr. Garnett met Abby in 2008 when Kurt brought her in for an exam of her ears. He reported that she had been having chronic ear infections for quite a while. She had been treated by other veterinarians with many ear products but just did not seem to be getting better.

Dr. Garnett did a thorough physical exam from head to tail, and then focused on the ears. They were swollen with reddened tissues and a huge amount of dark debris down the canals. They were very painful to Abby and she cried when they were cleaned.

Dr. Garnett’s goal at that time was to get an ear smear and run cytology to try and determine whether she had a primary yeast or bacteria problem, or a mixture of both. On the smear, it was interesting that the yeast seen were in fairly mild numbers, unlike what was expected with that amount of debris. What that often means is that this dog has an underlying problem that is the true reason for the ear infection. In Abby’s case, Dr. Garnett suspected she had a food allergy since it was winter and not many outdoor allergies were prevalent in the winter.

Allergies in dogs are usually expressed as skin problems (the skin is the allergic organ in the dog – not the eyes and nose like in people.) Other underlying problems that can often lead to chronic ear infections include low thyroid disease, inhalant allergies (allergic to something in her environment), an inherited problem with the ears (often seen in cockers), and a few other rarer problems that can lead to ear infections that cannot be resolved. The most common cause of chronic ear infections in Colorado in the winter, though is food allergy.

It was decided that Abby would be started on a cleaning and medicating treatment regimen, but that Kurt would put her on a food trial of Duck and Pea, a prescription food product designed to help animals with food allergies. It was assumed that Abby had never eaten duck before, so she should not be allergic to this product. Dogs and cats, when suffering from food allergies, are usually allergic to the protein portion of their food.

This protocol was followed, but later the debris came back. A thorough ear flush was performed under anesthesia and pictures were taken while the ears were being cleaned. Note below a picture of one of the ears prior to cleaning. Following the deep ear flush, Abby was put back on the duck food as well as routine cleaning s followed by medications.

Since 2008, Abby has had a few “flare ups” of her ears, with various foods incriminated to explain the infections. Recently, she sat on one of our chairs in the hospital to proclaim that her ears were feeling better. Dogs with food allergies must be careful to only eat the appropriate diet prescribed. They cannot eat rawhide chews or scraps from the table, and treats must have the same protein source as the diet that has been prescribed. Since most foods from the store contain many, many proteins (including meat byproducts, which can represent a wide variety of proteins), owners cannot purchase over the counter foods for food trials. Once a diet is found that works, it is generally adopted for the rest of the pet’s life so the skin can stay healthy and ear problems can be avoided.

Luckily, Kurt is very committed to the well-being of Abby and keeps vigilant watch on her ears, as does Kurt’s mom, Jan, a longtime client of Care Animal Hospital and a wonderful “grandmother” to her “granddog.”