Dog ears are still itchy 2 weeks after medication from vet. What else could it be? Thanks. Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Medium (23 - 60lb) | Female | spayed | 37 lbs

Hi there, It would be helpful to know what Elsa what tests were performed, what was diagnosed, and what medication she was prescribed. It may be that her ear infection is truly secondary to underlying inflammation from a food allergy (cutaneous adverse food reaction), and she may need a change in diet, or an environmental allergy and in need of chronic allergy medication to reduce her itchiness. Some dogs also require long term regular ear cleanings and topical ointment applications to keep comfortable. I would recommend scheduling a recheck appointment with Elsa's veterinarian to get to the root of her ear infections. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

I understand your frustration with recurrent ear problems. Most ear infections are caused by underlying allergies (to food, the environment or fleas) and are not contagious between dogs. There can be hereditary components to some allergies and may be involved if your dogs are related. With many ear infections, dogs shake their heads or scratch to the point of causing significant irritation. The only way to treat an ear infection is to have your vet microscopically diagnose whether the infection is due to bacteria, yeast, or mites (uncommon in dogs). Once the type of infection is established, a vet is able to prescribe an appropriate antibiotic and/or antifungal topical ear medication. Oftentimes, we need to prescribe corticosteroids or other anti-itch medications to control the itch while the ear medication is working on treating the infection. In some cases, the bacteria in ear infections can be resistant to a variety of antibiotics and require a culture to identify the most appropriate antibiotic. Unless the underlying allergen is identified and controlled, ear infections have a tendency to recur. Make sure all of your dogs are receiving a high quality flea preventative (such as Nexgard, Bravecto, or Advantix) once a month year round. Some dogs are allergic to flea saliva and can react after only a bite or two. Another consideration would be to change all dogs over to a novel protein diet (Dick van Patten's Natural Balance limited ingredient diet is one example) where they only get one protein source and one carbohydrate source. If you choose to try this, make sure you choose an unusual protein that they have not had before (such as duck or venison) and exclusively feed this diet with no other treats or table scraps. It can take 2-3 months to see if a novel protein diet is successful in cases of food allergies. Anytime you make a change in diet, do so gradually over 5-7 days. At this point, the only thing you can do to initially stop the itching is take all of the itchy dogs to the vet and treat the underlying infection. Unfortunately, there are no over the counter medications that will effectively treat ear infections.

Ear infections in dogs can be caused by bacteria or yeast in addition to ear mites, so it may be Max has itchy ears due to those causes and not ear mites. There are no OTC treatments for ear infections caused by bacteria or yeast in dogs, he needs to see a vet for this problem. The vet can take an ear swab and examine the debris from his ear under a microscope to diagnose what is causing his itchy ears. Once a diagnosis is made, the vet can discuss treatment options with you. I'd call the vet first thing in the morning to make an appointment for him. Best of luck.