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Recurrent ear infections

JulieAr

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I am new to HA, but I am not new to Dr. Jeff and homeopathy. My dog's name is Koji. He is a neutered male and he will be 3 years old in November. He is an English Cream goldendoodle weighing about 60 pounds. He is raw fed and eats mostly venison and also beef, lamb, pork, and duck. He has some liver and kidney each day and raw bone every other day. He has good energy - he has two walks a day and a playtime with his friends once a day. He has a great appetite and always eats his meals right away. His mood is mostly calm, but sometimes he can get overly excited or frustrated. He has separation anxiety which we have been working on for more than 2 years now with only some progress. We tried many, many "natural" calming supplements and other things like this and nothing helped. We have worked with three different trainers for this. He does not have other anxieties, or fears and gets along well with all dogs and people, and is not hyper attached to us. We finally put him on fluoxetine because we seemed to be out of other options but it wasn't helping much and he has recently been weaned from this. He did not have any vaccines until he was four months old, and then had only the basic rabies, distemper and parvo. He has not had any since then. He did have emergency surgery three weeks ago to remove a sharp piece of plastic that he had ingested and it became close to puncturing his intestines. After that operation he was on meds for pain and to calm him. He recuperated quickly. He loves to swim and is prone to ear infections and seems to have one now. So far I have been following the advice of the "regular" vet. I am wondering how to help cure the one he has now and prevent future ones. The vet has suggested that we continue using Epiotic drops until she can see him.
 

Dr. Jeff

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Hey Julie!

I'm super glad to see you here and to get to talk about Koji! ? :dog2:
I am wondering how to help cure the one he has now and prevent future ones.
Great question!

You and I have already discussed many of the energy-raising and balancing strategies, so I wonder specifically what's going on now with his BEAM, ear redness, discharge nature, etc.?

Also, you'll find lots of resources about ear soothing resources in the HA! member area (just search on ear).

At this time, what does Koji like doing (or eating) the most?

Has he had any health challenges besides his anxiety?

BTW-Have you used these ear wipes for daily ear maintenance:

 

JulieAr

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His ear is red and inflamed and there is some dark brown gunk in there. Yes I have been using the wipes and I get brown stuff each time I wipe them. I have been using the epiotic drops as per his vet. I don't know if I should continue using this.

He loves all his raw food and loves cheese too. He did have a major heath challenge three weeks ago that I wrote about.
 

JulieAr

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Also, I can't seem to find any ear soothing resource info in the member section.
 

JulieAr

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I finally found the resource section. I'm not sure if I should put something in the ear or not. The use of colloidal silver seems very controversial. I am guessing that I should not have the regular vet treat this again. I don't know the name of the meds she used the last time, but it was something that you put in the ear once and then you can't get the ear wet for 30 days. He was also treated for a different ear infection about 2 years ago and I'm quite sure this was an antibiotic. This is his third ear infection now.
 

Dr. Jeff

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He did have a major heath challenge three weeks ago that I wrote about.
Regarding the surgery, I wonder how commonly he eats non-food items?

Also, is he on a probiotic like The Wolf, Fido's Flora, etc.?

How's his BEAM? Is he shaking his head or scratching his ears more than a few times/day?

Regarding putting stuff in his ear, it depends on how moist it already is in there. A moist environment favors bacterial and yeast overgrowth.

The likelihood of any "infection" is primarily related to the balance of his inner terrain:


If the ear is moist, powders like the one below may be preferable:

 

JulieAr

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One of his favorite activities is ripping up toys and he has been known to eat parts of them so we are very careful with this. The thing that was inside him that needed to be removed was a sharp on the edges square piece of hard plastic that we cannot identify. The only supplements he is on is fish oil and colostrum powder. Should I add in a probiotic? He is not really bothered by the ear. It is not as red as it was yesterday. He is not shaking his head, it doesn't smell bad, and he is not scratching at it. There is still brown gunk inside that I have been wiping out once a day. I can't really tell how moist it is in there. He does have floppy ears and hair inside the ear which I try to remove some of it without hurting him. His BEAM is good. Playful and energetic and calm after walks. Great appetite.
 

Dr. Jeff

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Should I add in a probiotic?
Yes. IMHO, any anti-biotic treatment is best followed by at least 1 year of rotating probiotics.

Perhaps start with The Wolf then move on Fido's Flora then...

 

Dr. Christina

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You are doing great work. One thing to remember about the ears is that if the vital force is healthy enough to create a balancing symptom on the skin (ear is skin) it is less likely to create life threatening ones unless the skin is suppressed (symptoms quickly resolve with no general improvements). Don Hamilton's chapter 2 & 3 in Homeopathic care of cats and dogs will help you understand that.

And I think you are right to be pushing away from whet the conventional vet is suggesting. Maybe read this article and find someone surprising locally to you, or begin again to work with regular appointments with Dr. Jeff or other virtual veterinary homeopaths.

Dr. Christina
 

JulieAr

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Yes. IMHO, any anti-biotic treatment is best followed by at least 1 year of rotating probiotics.

Perhaps start with The Wolf then move on Fido's Flora then...

I will add in the probiotic. Do you think the colostrum powder is doing anything or can I end that?
 

JulieAr

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You are doing great work. One thing to remember about the ears is that if the vital force is healthy enough to create a balancing symptom on the skin (ear is skin) it is less likely to create life threatening ones unless the skin is suppressed (symptoms quickly resolve with no general improvements). Don Hamilton's chapter 2 & 3 in Homeopathic care of cats and dogs will help you understand that.

And I think you are right to be pushing away from whet the conventional vet is suggesting. Maybe read this article and find someone surprising locally to you, or begin again to work with regular appointments with Dr. Jeff or other virtual veterinary homeopaths.

Dr. Christina
Should I stop using the epiotic ear drops? Is there something else I can use for after he swims to dry out the ears? He is not going to be swimming for now until his ears look good again. There is no one that I have found in my area that is a more natural vet and is good. I will use the 15 minute monthly appts with dr Jeff. Do you think that will be enough?
 

JulieAr

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I will add in the probiotic. Do you think the colostrum powder is doing anything or can I end that?
For Koji's weight The Wolf product should last 40 days. At that time should I switch to the other one?
 

Dr. Jeff

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Do you think the colostrum powder is doing anything or can I end that?
It could be helping. If he is gradually improving then perhaps just keep doing what you're doing.

Eventually though, he should not "need" any supplements to stay balanced.
Should I stop using the epiotic ear drops?
That choice is up to you Julie.
Is there something else I can use for after he swims to dry out the ears?
You can dry manually, use organic corn starch or a powder like the one I mentioned above.
Do you think that will be enough?
Ideally you'd also have full holistic/homeopathic vet appointments (usually 45 min. to 1 hour) at least 2x/year.
At that time should I switch to the other one?

Yes. Variety is key!
 

JulieAr

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I prefer not to use a product that has talc as the first ingredient. Will the organic corn starch do the exact same thing?
 

Dr. Jeff

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The. same as talc (without the other ingredients), yes.

There are other similar ear soothing products out there, I just remember their names.

Perhaps if you find any Julie, you can add them to this forum thread.

I look forward to speaking with you tomorrow for our HMDM call.
 

Dr. Jeff

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JulieAr

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Nope. Not that one. I can try it, but I doubt it will help with his SA as we've probably tried about a dozen other ones. I'm willing to give it a try though.
 

Dr. Jeff

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Julie, it would be wonderful for you to start using the most accessible and powerful energy healing modality that there is.

One of the HA! esteemed (and unfortunately now deceased) speakers, Dr. Suzan Seelye said it eloquently when she was sharing a webinar about the healing touch of Tui na.

The power of touch and intention is like "magic".

Learning how to do Tuina (Chinese acupressure massage) is easy. Dr. Seelye's webinar can be found in your HA! member area.

And best of all, you start employing the power of your intention today!!

He will respond to your actions in the next 6 months. That's virtually guaranteed, considering that animals like all of nature, will always seek balance.

Sadly, the human need to manipulate our environment (inside and out), creates energetic entanglements that result in dis-ease (imbalance).

He will rebalance as nature intends.
 

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