Continual scratching right ear

[ohyeahkate]

My 2 year old Frenchie, Nola, has been having major itching issues since last June.
Nola started itching her right ear like crazy in June of last year. So bad that she tore up her neck and foot from the incessant scratching. It took a while to get those areas healed, and she is now wearing a cone, but still scratching like crazy, only to her right ear.
She has been to multiple vet appointments. Her regular vet had her on an Ultamino diet, Apoquel for 3 months, Cytopiont injection for 1 dose (didn't help at all), several ear mite and skin testings, antibiotics, but nothing helped. He suggested a dermatologist, so in January of this year we were finally able to see them. The dermatologist stated that the "allergies" could be caused from her ears, I guess they are bumpy inside. He put her on a dose of sterroids that is given every other day along with atopica allergy medicine every other day, and a medicated ear drop every day. We have since then put her on a raw diet. Nola is still the same. She continues to scratch her right ear, and nothing seems to help.Is there anyone that has been through this same situation or could help me figure out what direction to go? Seems like one day she "might" be getting better, then the next all she does is itch non stop. I feel awful for her, and concerned about her quality of life.
The dermatologist suggested we try a different sterroid but I'm concerned she could have more harm with continual use.
Any suggestions would be so helpful!

 

[2BullyMama]

Welcome! It could be env allergies too

i put my two on raw and our bulldog, Lambeau gets a Cytopoint shot every month because without it, he is constantly at his ears and they get , dirty, waxy and infected .

@helsonwheels might have an essential oil suggestion to help with ears. I think it was a drop of lavender but I can’t remember

 

[ohyeahkate]

I could definitely try the cytopoint again. Did it take yours a while to get adjusted after the initial injection?

 

[Bulldog2001]

My 2 year old Frenchie, Nola, has been having major itching issues since last June.
Nola started itching her right ear like crazy in June of last year. So bad that she tore up her neck and foot from the incessant scratching. It took a while to get those areas healed, and she is now wearing a cone, but still scratching like crazy, only to her right ear.
She has been to multiple vet appointments. Her regular vet had her on an Ultamino diet, Apoquel for 3 months, Cytopiont injection for 1 dose (didn't help at all), several ear mite and skin testings, antibiotics, but nothing helped. He suggested a dermatologist, so in January of this year we were finally able to see them. The dermatologist stated that the "allergies" could be caused from her ears, I guess they are bumpy inside. He put her on a dose of sterroids that is given every other day along with atopica allergy medicine every other day, and a medicated ear drop every day. We have since then put her on a raw diet. Nola is still the same. She continues to scratch her right ear, and nothing seems to help.Is there anyone that has been through this same situation or could help me figure out what direction to go? Seems like one day she "might" be getting better, then the next all she does is itch non stop. I feel awful for her, and concerned about her quality of life.
The dermatologist suggested we try a different sterroid but I'm concerned she could have more harm with continual use.
Any suggestions would be so helpful!

I’m so sorry to hear the situation your in with your Frenchie!

I actually have 2 dogs(I have 3 dogs) but 2 of them have bad allergies, one of them have been going thru the same situation as you. It’s horrible seeing them in the cone!
My dog would create ear hematomas and scratch non stop and chew all her paws and had to wear the cone for 2-3 months!
I switched her to raw and she was the same, but then we eliminated all the treats and ‘extras’ and put her on Artisan HYPOALLERGENIC raw diet(salmon and beef formula and it’s good for yeast issues too). If your in Canada you should try it.

We had her on Apoquel for 5 years and it didn’t help at all at the end, and was doing more harm than good. I gave her bovine Colostrum and Goats milk and the raw diet.

She has been on this formula for 2 months and ears are NOT swollen or dirty at all or itchy, no paw licking either and no cone!!
She has bad environmental allergies and the bovine Colostrum helps greatly! We have tried Atopica and Cytopoint as well as the apoquel and some steroids and NO improvement at all. Ear meds too but the problem kept coming back 10X worse! They were so swollen I couldn’t even get a thin cloth down there to clean them(I can usually put my finger in the ear).

Rotate proteins too to prevent new food allergies(they can become allergic to what they eat every day. But I would try if for 2 months or 3 months then try adding goat in variety for 1 month and watch her to make sure she isn’t allergic, then rotate Rabbit in the same way.

What Raw is she on???
Are you in Canada??

Kin Kind ear wash is great too for cleaning the ears(try 4 drops first in the ear since she has smaller ears).

-I use Bovine Colostrum on my dogs, helps with environmental allergies and bossy immune system
-goats milk for probiotics to help improve immune system too.
-herring oil for inflammation for omega 3
-Artisan Hypo raw diet

Rotate thru eventually:
-Carnivora Rabbit diet
-Carnivora Goat diet

Hope she gets better!

Keep us updated!
I’m happy to help😊

 

[Bulldog2001]

My 2 year old Frenchie, Nola, has been having major itching issues since last June.
Nola started itching her right ear like crazy in June of last year. So bad that she tore up her neck and foot from the incessant scratching. It took a while to get those areas healed, and she is now wearing a cone, but still scratching like crazy, only to her right ear.
She has been to multiple vet appointments. Her regular vet had her on an Ultamino diet, Apoquel for 3 months, Cytopiont injection for 1 dose (didn't help at all), several ear mite and skin testings, antibiotics, but nothing helped. He suggested a dermatologist, so in January of this year we were finally able to see them. The dermatologist stated that the "allergies" could be caused from her ears, I guess they are bumpy inside. He put her on a dose of sterroids that is given every other day along with atopica allergy medicine every other day, and a medicated ear drop every day. We have since then put her on a raw diet. Nola is still the same. She continues to scratch her right ear, and nothing seems to help.Is there anyone that has been through this same situation or could help me figure out what direction to go? Seems like one day she "might" be getting better, then the next all she does is itch non stop. I feel awful for her, and concerned about her quality of life.
The dermatologist suggested we try a different sterroid but I'm concerned she could have more harm with continual use.
Any suggestions would be so helpful!

Also how long has she been on raw diet for ??

 

[oscarmayer]

Has your dermatologist done testing...intradermal skin testing or RAST(blood test)? There is a cost to these tests and both have pros and cons. IMO, a dermatologist that only treats a symptom is no dermatologist at all.

 

[Bulldog2001]

My 2 year old Frenchie, Nola, has been having major itching issues since last June.
Nola started itching her right ear like crazy in June of last year. So bad that she tore up her neck and foot from the incessant scratching. It took a while to get those areas healed, and she is now wearing a cone, but still scratching like crazy, only to her right ear.
She has been to multiple vet appointments. Her regular vet had her on an Ultamino diet, Apoquel for 3 months, Cytopiont injection for 1 dose (didn't help at all), several ear mite and skin testings, antibiotics, but nothing helped. He suggested a dermatologist, so in January of this year we were finally able to see them. The dermatologist stated that the "allergies" could be caused from her ears, I guess they are bumpy inside. He put her on a dose of sterroids that is given every other day along with atopica allergy medicine every other day, and a medicated ear drop every day. We have since then put her on a raw diet. Nola is still the same. She continues to scratch her right ear, and nothing seems to help.Is there anyone that has been through this same situation or could help me figure out what direction to go? Seems like one day she "might" be getting better, then the next all she does is itch non stop. I feel awful for her, and concerned about her quality of life.
The dermatologist suggested we try a different sterroid but I'm concerned she could have more harm with continual use.
Any suggestions would be so helpful!

My dog also is seeing a dermatologist, they did Intradermal skin testing for environmental allergies which is the most accurate but they are much better than regular vets that just try to treat the symptoms. Dermatologist was a huge help for my dog with severe skin and eye and eye infections.

They can be able to help more than a regular vet.

 

[ohyeahkate]

I’m so sorry to hear the situation your in with your Frenchie!

I actually have 2 dogs(I have 3 dogs) but 2 of them have bad allergies, one of them have been going thru the same situation as you. It’s horrible seeing them in the cone!
My dog would create ear hematomas and scratch non stop and chew all her paws and had to wear the cone for 2-3 months!
I switched her to raw and she was the same, but then we eliminated all the treats and ‘extras’ and put her on Artisan HYPOALLERGENIC raw diet(salmon and beef formula and it’s good for yeast issues too). If your in Canada you should try it.

We had her on Apoquel for 5 years and it didn’t help at all at the end, and was doing more harm than good. I gave her bovine Colostrum and Goats milk and the raw diet.

She has been on this formula for 2 months and ears are NOT swollen or dirty at all or itchy, no paw licking either and no cone!!
She has bad environmental allergies and the bovine Colostrum helps greatly! We have tried Atopica and Cytopoint as well as the apoquel and some steroids and NO improvement at all. Ear meds too but the problem kept coming back 10X worse! They were so swollen I couldn’t even get a thin cloth down there to clean them(I can usually put my finger in the ear).

Rotate proteins too to prevent new food allergies(they can become allergic to what they eat every day. But I would try if for 2 months or 3 months then try adding goat in variety for 1 month and watch her to make sure she isn’t allergic, then rotate Rabbit in the same way.

What Raw is she on???
Are you in Canada??

Kin Kind ear wash is great too for cleaning the ears(try 4 drops first in the ear since she has smaller ears).

-I use Bovine Colostrum on my dogs, helps with environmental allergies and bossy immune system
-goats milk for probiotics to help improve immune system too.
-herring oil for inflammation for omega 3
-Artisan Hypo raw diet

Rotate thru eventually:
-Carnivora Rabbit diet
-Carnivora Goat diet

Hope she gets better!

Keep us updated!
I’m happy to help😊

Thank you so much for your support and suggestions! I will definitely get her on Bovine Colostrum and Goats milk. We give her herring oil already. Her raw food we use is Tuckers Raw Food, from our local pets food, in the US. I'll also look into the Carnivora diet you suggested! Thanks so much!

 

[ohyeahkate]

My dog also is seeing a dermatologist, they did Intradermal skin testing for environmental allergies which is the most accurate but they are much better than regular vets that just try to treat the symptoms. Dermatologist was a huge help for my dog with severe skin and eye and eye infections.

They can be able to help more than a regular vet.

I'll have to take her back to the Dermatologist. They just looked at her symptoms and had her try sterroids and ear drops, so no intradermal skin testing as of yet.

 

[ohyeahkate]

Also how long has she been on raw diet for ??

We have been giving her the raw diet since January. She was previously on an Ultamino diet since July of last year.

 

[Bulldog2001]

We have been giving her the raw diet since January. She was previously on an Ultamino diet since July of last year.

Does she get variety too?? Like rotate the proteins??

Are you currently feeding chicken?

I just looked up the Tuckers raw food you said you feed, there are lots of added amino acids, ideally you don’t want any(or just minimal), cause those come from the meat which company’s can use low quality meat and have the add it back in(that’s why we try to avoid it).

Since your in the US I don’t know if Carnivora or Artisan is available there. I know there is a company called Darwin’s raw food, and there is also Primal brand or Vital Essentials. These are available in US.

But if you want to stick to the same company your currently feeding her, try a different protein options and rotate when you know she isn’t allergic to that protein, this prevents new food allergies(they can become allergic to the food that they eat every day).

How long has she been on herring oil??
If she has been on herring oil for a long time I would try either salmon oil or Pollock oil, or sardine oil incase she has become allergic to the herring oil from every day use.

It can take up to 12 weeks for the allergies to get out of her system if it’s a good allergy.

 

[Bulldog2001]

I'll have to take her back to the Dermatologist. They just looked at her symptoms and had her try sterroids and ear drops, so no intradermal skin testing as of yet.

Ok the Intradermal skin testing is the most accurate for environmental allergies and there is really no accurate test for food allergies(only 50% accurate-even the bloodwork test at the vet-our dermatologist we take my dog to told us this).

For food allergies just a raw diet that works best(some dogs might do best on a fish or some might do better on rabbit or goat for example). It’s trial and error with the food, it’s a matter of finding the formulas she does best on.

Steroids, allergy anti itch medications just mask the issue unfortunately and create more health issues.

The bovine Colostrum definitely helps with environmental allergies, even if you don’t know what she is allergic to, it boost the immune system and doesn’t suppress the immune system like the steroids and medications do.

 

[Bulldog2001]

Thank you so much for your support and suggestions! I will definitely get her on Bovine Colostrum and Goats milk. We give her herring oil already. Her raw food we use is Tuckers Raw Food, from our local pets food, in the US. I'll also look into the Carnivora diet you suggested! Thanks so much!

No problem, I’m happy to help😊

Hopefully the bovine Colostrum and probiotics(or goats milk) will make a difference for her!

Details on diet are in the other reply!

Keep us updated!😊

 

[helsonwheels]

I could definitely try the cytopoint again. Did it take yours a while to get adjusted after the initial injection?

Sadly dose of steroids along with atopica n others she‘s been on has destroyed her immune system. You recently put her on a raw diet so it will take a bit of time to catch up. I say this often add fermented sauerkraut or fermented to the meals. It will build up her immune system. I prefer food wise as supplements, a body will absorb only between 30-50%. The rest isn’t absorbed n peed out. Goes for humans too.

Like @2BullyMama mention, yes I use straight lavender essential oil for bad ear infections. 2-3 drops swipe ABOVE the ear canals as oil will seep on its own. Make sure it’s a quality oil like DoTerra or Young Living. Works well.

 

[helsonwheels]

Thank you so much for your support and suggestions! I will definitely get her on Bovine Colostrum and Goats milk. We give her herring oil already. Her raw food we use is Tuckers Raw Food, from our local pets food, in the US. I'll also look into the Carnivora diet you suggested! Thanks so much!

Carnivora also has Tripe. It smell like …….But it’s the best thing you can give any pet to Build their immune system. Because it’s tripe make sure you feed it frozen at least semi thawed.