look at his ears

shell76 · 02-26-2008, 07:25 PM

Ok i got Diesel a week ago fri and i love him. The man i got him from said he had dry skin from the cold. ive never had a doberman but i knew it didnt look right. We took him straight to a vet at petsmart they said it was from food alergys. I took him to another vet Said ear infection severe dry skin due to alergy but not what kind the gave me a list of possiable treatment for things it Might be 500+ for treatment ive been giving him the antibiotic and cleaning ears i ask about putting something on his ears like an ointment they said it could make it worse.his ears look so much better they were really fat. They look real red but they are not . any sugestions as you can see the rest of him looks good.

dobes4us · 02-26-2008, 07:52 PM

When you say his ears look fat leads me to think of an ear hematoma. Did they just clean his ears or did they drain them? Allergies can be very though. My Riggs has them and we were hoping with the sign of winter, (and we have a lot of the white stuff today,) that he would be better and he is not. I have tried vet diets and "over the counter" diets. He was allergy tested again (I know some on the forum will disagree with doing them) but we are at our last straw. Our vet works with the local derm vet and she does the allergy test. Given the time of year here he should be better with the food changes we have made and he is not. My next switch will be to raw... I would give Diesel time to adjust to his new home, his new food, saw from another post you were trying Natural balance duck, and his ear cleaning before jumping into anything else. The Nat'l balance may or may not be the trick, sometime it is trial and error. Try foods with the least amount of ingredients. Check out Dog Food Reviews - Main Index - Powered by ReviewPost if you haven't already.

Good luck and welcome to DT! Love the pictures!

**BackInBlack** · 02-26-2008, 08:53 PM

That looks very painful

Poor Guy.

I dont know what to tell you.

If your looking for a food with very few ingredients, you might try California Natural.

reddobes · 02-26-2008, 09:23 PM

Without specific allergy testing, it would be impossible to know what all your dog is allergic to. Unfortunately, with allergies, it is not just ONE thing that they are allergic to, but rather multiple things. Most common allergies are inhaled allergies - pollens, molds, dusts, etc. - just like people, only in dogs they typically get itchy skin instead of watery eyes, sneezing, etc.
Food allergies can be a part of the picture, but it is rare for it to be the only thing.
Allergies are the most common underlying cause of otitis externa (inflammed/infected ears). Allergies are not something that can be cured, but rather controlled with antihistamines, omega3 fatty acids, steroid antiinflammatories, hyposensitization (allergy shots), shampoos, diet, etc. Most pets are treated w/ a variety of different things depending on the degree of the allergies and their response.
Sometimes underlying hormone imbalances can contribute to skin/ear issues as well - hypothyroidism, cushings, etc.
If you are questioning the diagnosis/treatment, I would recommend a second opinion from a board certified veterinary dermatologist.
acvd / Find A Dermatologist

**dobermansrule** · 02-27-2008, 11:33 AM

Advise, stay away from Banfield at Petsmart. Its the 'HMO' of the dog world - corporate medicine. Go with a reputable private practice vet, even if it costs a little more.

As to the ears - its possible the previous owner did some funky things, for example, some ignoramouses actually tape ears with duct tape. I've seen pictures of dobe ears taped too tight with duct tape with the whole top part of the ear dead from having the blood circulation cut off. Your pictures look like some sort of infection, but hard to tell.