Is your dog scratching her ears? Shaking her head? Does she have a sour, yeasty smell? She could be one of the two out of five dogs who suffer from chronic, recurring ear infections. The cause is often a combination of allergies, bacteria and yeast. One major source of allergies could be the ingredients in your dog's food. What you feed your pet could cause an allergic reaction that inflames his ears, causes him to scratch and creates an infection that is painful, persistent and difficult to treat.
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Symptoms
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Dogs and humans share mast cells which release histamine compounds when irritated. Dogs' mast cells are on their skin, so when confronted with an irritant like fleas, pollen, dust or a food allergy, their skin inflames and ears secrete, causing severe itching. When you inspect your dog's ears and find the skin swollen, painful and emitting a yeasty odor, it's time to take her to the veterinarian to find out the cause and get treatment.
Causes Are Complex
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"The most common ear problem we see in dogs is painful, odorous ear infections caused by a combination of allergies, bacteria, and yeast," says Roger Ross, DVM and author of the website animalpetdoctor. All three must be treated for a cure. He says some 20 percent of canines with chronic recurring ear infections that make dogs miserable and smelly have food allergies. These cause an initial inflammation that when scratched by the dog, allow yeast and bacteria to invade the site. While the ear infection responds to medication, it returns when the treatment is over. A food trial is the best way to find out the cause of your dog's misery.
Dog Food
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Commercial dog food contains a host of ingredients which could cause allergies in dogs. Your dog may be allergic to more than one. Each pet is an individual, so you may have to try more than one hypoallergenic diet food before you find the right one for your dog. Dr. Ross recommends a hypoallergenic food that has therapeutic levels of omega fatty acids to soothe the infected skin. In some cases, your dog could be referred to an allergy specialist for testing and desensitization.
Food Test
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The first thing to do on a therapeutic test diet is to stop feeding your dog any human food, all treats and all edible toys like rawhide or dental treats. His diet should be restricted to hypoallergenic dog food that contains an exotic protein your dog has never eaten and limited artificial preservatives and coloring. This trial could last six weeks and the food cost an extra $20 per month, but keeping a strict regimen will expose the food allergen soonest and relieve canine distress for about 40 percent of dogs, says Dr. Ross. He cautions that new commercial dog foods that claim to be hypoallergenic may not be effective. Simply switching supermarket or pet store brands or buying more expensive food won't work, because they all share similar protein ingredients, he says.
Results
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About two-fifths of dogs with diet-caused ear infections improve on hypoallergenic food and snacks, says Dr. Ross of the FoxNest Veterinary Hospital in South Carolina. Dog foods using rabbit, salmon or duck protein with potato are often allergy-free. Ear infections should be treated with regular ear cleaning, says Organic Pet Digest.
One the ears are clear, there are choices. One is to keep feeding the hypoallergenic diet food. Another is the challenge test where dairy, beef, wheat, corn and soy are reintroduced into your dog's diet one at a time, a week at a time, to find the ingredient your pet is sensitive to. Or you could switch to a less expensive brand of nonprescription diet food for pets with sensitive skin. Whichever you choose, you have given your pet relief from painful ear infections.
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