EAR INFECTION IN DOGS - NATURAL TREATMENT - PART 1

by Dr. Peter Dobias, DVM

DRUG AND STEROID FREE HOLISTIC APPROACH

I must say that even a day ago, I was not planning to write about ears. In fact, most vets find ear infections in dogs the black abyss of veterinary medicine.

THE CONVENTIONAL COURSE OF EVENTS USUALLY GOES LIKE THIS:

ear flush – antibiotics – steroids – ear flush – antibiotics – steroids – ear flush – antibiotics – steroids – ear flush – antibiotics – steroids – ear flush – antibiotics – steroids – ear flush – antibiotics – steroids – ear flush – antibiotics – steroids – ear flush – antibiotics – steroids

The best case scenario is that the suppression with steroids will eventually make the ears better but the overall health of your dog worse.

The worst case scenario leads to ear surgery – called partial or full ear ablation – which is in other words is a removal of the ear canal and sometimes the whole ear. I am shivering just thinking about this. Imagine the agony, no wonder that these poor dogs often end up being nervous wrecks.

And so I am here, typing away with hope that if I write about ears for the next few weeks, I will make a difference in at least a few canine lives.

WHAT IS COMING

My plan is to rock the conventional ear treatment world foundations. In fact I need to, because the use of antibiotics and steroids does not address the core of ear problems and so many dogs suffer unnecessarily.

In the course of the next few weeks, I will share with you the following:

1. True causes of ear conditions

2. Step by step guide to treatment of ear conditions.

3. Diet and supplements addressing ear problems

4. How to look after healthy ears

5. and more….

TRUE CAUSES OF EAR CONDITIONS

I must be honest here. As soon as I wrote the title, I realized that this could be a book and not just a simple newsletter.

But then I thought, wait a minute, how about if I simply write about what I have learned about the causes of ear problems.

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FIRST I WOULD LIKE TO START WITH WHAT EARS ARE NOT CAUSED BY VERY OFTEN:

1. Ear mites (less then 5 percent in dogs, in fact, almost never).

2. Frequent swimming (it is not a cause because most dogs swim and have no ear problems.)

3. Not enough ear cleaning

4. Allergies (allergies are a sudden reaction to a food item and people often mistake it with food intolerance)

EAR PROBLEMS APPEAR TO BE CLOSELY CONNECTED TO THE FOLLOWING:

1. Liver balance

2. Diet inappropriate for dogs – processed food

3. Neck injury (trauma, collar)

4. Tightness in the temporal-mandibular joint (dogs often scratch the ears when this happens)

5. Lumbar injury (which affects the intestinal tract and therefore the ears)

6. Too much ear cleaning (very frequent mistake)

7. Too much and too frequent treatment (repeated drug administration cause bacterial resistance and severe deep infections)

THE RED LIGHT

Most people see ear infections as a problem that relates only to the ears themselves. However, the reality is that the ears only signal that the body is out of balance, in distress. They are the ‘warning light’ that something is going on on the systemic level.

THE BIGGEST MYTH ABOUT EARS

is that when they get waxy or infected, cleaning will help. In fact, the only time I recommend cleaning is once at the beginning of the treatment and then wait and see.

Frequent ear cleaning often disturbs the ears and also introduces more resistant pathogenic bacteria such as proteus or pseudomonas which are very difficult to treat.

The discharge or wax that you clean out usually builds up again quickly and if you try to clean it out over and over again, your dog will slide in a vicious cycle of never ending ear problems possibly will end up like this.

The rule of thumb is – when your dog’s ears are sore, focus on the overall health and the ears will follow.

I know that this recommendation is contrary to some practitioners who suggest frequent cleaning. In my experience, this approach makes ear problems worse.

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WHY ARE EAR PROBLEMS SO CHALLENGING TO TREAT?

Most people have a pre-conceived idea what ear problems are about. Bacteria, too much water in the ear, not enough cleaning etc…

The first step to addressing your dog’s ears successfully is to open your mind to the likely possibility that your dog’s ear problems are systemic and that the local treatment is unlikely to help without causing more damage systemically. It can be compared to “washing your car instead of fixing the engine that leaks oil”

Of course, this is just a metaphor.

TAKE PART IN OUR NATURAL EAR TREATMENT CHALLENGE!

If your dog is suffering from ear problems and you have had an exam done by your care provider to make sure that your dog is ok otherwise, I invite you to try our ear tune up protocol that works for a majority of dogs with ear problems.

All I am asking you for to keep your mind open and see what happens. At the end of this few weeks long “ear problem course,” I hope to have an online gathering to share your experience and ask questions.

ACTION PLAN FOR A DOG WITH EAR PROBLEMS

Originally, I intended to introduce you to feeding all natural diet because it is so important but then I decided to postpone it to Week 2

Today, I will focus on gently detoxing your dogs body

I mentioned this before that when ears get inflammed, it is usually a signal that something else is going on. Commonly it is a signal that the body is toxic. My experience is that dogs are exposed to increasingly higher amounts of toxic substances from medication, food and the environment. Treating ears can be relatively easy when you use the following

Start your dog on Livton - Liver Cleanse formula that is time tested to be safe and beneficial to dogs. Keep your dog on this treatment for 2 months.

Collect your dog’s hair and get HairQ Test to check his or her mineral and heavy metal levels.You will receive your results in 3-4 weeks.

Start GreenMin – a chlorophyll, amino-acid and mineral rich formula to gently cleanse the digestive tract and provide missing nutrients.In order for your dog’s ears to start healing, you need to ensure that the digestive tract is in top notch condition and that your dog gets essential nutrients. I cannot emphasize this enough. No matter what food you feed, it is depleted of essential nutrients because of today’s intensive agriculture and soil depletion.GreenMin is a simple and also economical solution to this problem. In fact GreenMin is a human grade all natural product that both myself and my dog Skai take every day.

If you would like more details on the above mentioned products and supplements click here.