On 31 Jan 2007 22:59:50 -0800, wrote:

My 1.5yr old King Shep has ear troubles. He gets nasty smelling brown
gunk in
there that irritates the heck out of him. He's 130lbs and not fat,
although I suspect
at least 35lbs is hair.

I'm no expert, but I -have- wrestled with such an alligator ...

His 1st vet visit for this was at 8mo's old. We got a thorough ear
cleaning, a
7 day course of cipro, antibiotic ear drops, and a $175 bill (meds
included).
Vet told me that this big breed dog will likely have future problems.

Certain breeds are known for ear problems.

He advised that
moisture in the lower end of the ear canal doesn't dry out and is a
breeding ground
for bacteria.

It's like a petrie dish for, IIRC, bacteria, fungus, etc.

The fact that I live on a lake and this started soon
after dogs first
week of swimming puts it all in perspective.

Since then I've used hartz ear cleaner on a weekly basis. Fill,
Massage, Shake, done.

As I recall, the "massage" part requires a "touch". Did you watch
-very- carefully when the vet did it?

It's kept him clear for the most part, but theres always more brown
gunk coming at
our weekly cleanings than I think should be there...I suspect that
the Hartz formula
is good at breaking up/dissolving the crud, but doesn't dry up.

He's off to the vet this week as he's obviously got another infection
in there. No swimming
recently though. As stated, I figure the Hartz stuff was doing a
marginal job.

Watch very carefully while the vet treats the ears. Ask questions ...

Whats a better weekly treatment/product to manage his ear health?
Whats BEST for
a dog with over productive ear glands that are at the bottom of an
ear canal that would
challenge a swiss keebler elf to descend?

I'm open to product recommendations or home-remedies.

I'm guessing that if you let the dog swim, you're going
to continue to have problems.

Consider taking a personal trimmer to the underside of the
ears. The more hair you remove, the more air that can penetrate.
Promote ventilation and prevent swimming and you *may* solve
the problem.

I got good mileage from Oti-Clens Ear Cleaning Solution
(i.e. at http://www.healthypets.com/oticlens.html) some
years ago.

I'd check his/her ears every nite until they show clean.

Hope it helps.

Puddin'

"Life is nothing but a competition to be the criminal rather
than the victim."
- Bertrand Russell