Ear Problems

My chocolate lab Storm has had a re-occuring ear infection since 2008, and it's particularly difficult at the moment to treat, as no matter what we do, drops, ear cleaner, antibiotics and painkillers, we don't seem to be able to get rid of it.

Constantly at the vets and we keep doing everything which the vet suggests, but not getting anywhere. You can imagine that with the warm weather, its irritating him, as he's constantly shaking, rubbing his head on the floor and scratching...now getting desperate to try and sort this problem, as when it does flare up he can't go in the water, so probably not a bad thing he's on short walks as well at the moment...

Any ideas!! ???

 

Re: Ear Problems

Poor Storm!

Ok this is going to sound mad but give it a go - you may be surprised. It's from a technique called Thought Field Therapy, I'm a qualified practitioner on people and I know it can work on animals too. I used it last week to clear some neuralgia in the side of my face...although most of the time I use it to reduce stress and anxiety using different tapping points.

This is much harder to describe than do. First practice tapping the side of your hand - using the first few fingers of one hand tap the outside edge of the other hand between the wrist and the base of the little finger. (If you can't visualise this it's demonstrated in the first 15 seconds of this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4EDgTc0AyQ

We call that the karate point. To work on Storm put one hand on or near her ear and tap thinking about her healing and getting completely better then tap the Karate point. Do this in short bursts of 10 - 15 seconds as often as you can. If she won't tolerate your hand on her ear place it somewhere else on her body or hold a paw. You may initially notice the symptoms get worse as the inflection surfaces then clears. The best thing is you can't do any harm at all with this and it's free but it can and does work.

Good luck

 

Re: Ear Problems

Thanks for this information, its very much appreciated.

Shall give it a try later tonight when he's settled down.

Thanks again Clair

 

Re: Ear Problems

Very interesting!!

i think I may well give this a try. Monty has constant problems with his ears - though not infections. He's always riving at them. It's thought to possibly be an autoimmune issue. At one time I would have been sceptical of trying something like this - but since changing Monty to an holistic vet I am certainly more open-minded about complimentary therapies

 

Re: Ear Problems

Hi Carole
that's really interesting that you recommended TFT, I've not used that, but I have used EFT (emotional freedom therapy) and have found that really helpful on myself and other people and I know you can surrogate for animals. Similar, but there is prescribed pattern of tapping to follow which is available on EFT websites.

Spirestorm, you mentioned that Storm started with this problem in 2008. Did anything happen at home at that time - eg did you get another dog, anything that could upset emotionally, make him feel he didn't have a 'say'?. I am a Bi-Aura therapist (another type of energy therapist which is applicable to animals as well as dogs) and ear problems can be related to the throat chakra (if you are familiar with the energy centres of our bodies?!) The throat chakra is concerned with issues of communication, creativity, listening, resonance and finding one's own voice. Was there anything Storm's life at that time that could have had an affect in this area. Although identifying the cause doesn't necessarily help with the cure, but there are some related affirmations that you maybe could use with TFT ' I hear and speak the truth' and 'I express myself with clear intent'.

 

Re: Ear Problems

Hi Sam

Of course you have to say it, the only reason I didn't mention the words "see your vet" in my post was because in this case the Vet has already been consulted but it's worth reiterating for anyone else thinking about giving tapping or anything else a try. Also you need your vets permission before any practitioner or therapist of any type works with your animal.

Also as a practitioner (for people, I won't work on animals other than mine) I will say the reason there is no scientific evidence for TFT is that there is no one prepared to pay for the research something the TFT professional body is trying to remedy. There is plenty of clinical evidence however. TFT is an NHS Trust approved complementary therapy and in theory available from the NHS. (EFT isn't) In practice most GPs haven't heard of it.

Carole

 

Re: Ear Problems

Fair enough, I won't refer to complimentary therapies again on this forum .

 

Re: Ear Problems

Hi,
Having had one of my Labs constantly troubled with ear problems, my friend suggested I try Thornit powder available through the internet. After only a few days the ears started to settle down and once the condition was under control I just used it every so often for maintenance. Sadly my dog has now passed away but I just wish I'd have known about Thornit sooner.
I still have three labs and use this on them perhaps once a month, using only a pinch at a time so its very economical.
Hope this helps.
Gail

 

Re: Ear Problems

Hi Gail and welcome to the forum

I too have heard good reports of thornit. It is intended for the treatment of ear mites but seems to be good for relieving itching generally. Helps with itchy paws too. Here is their info page http://www.thornitearpowder.com/

Ear mites often go undetected and can be a really persistent problem. You can even buy thornit on Amazon now!
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Original-Thornit-Ear-Powder-20g/dp/B00560R08Y/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1310577912&sr=8-3
(is there anything you can't buy on Amazon??)

Pippa

 

Re: Ear Problems

Nick and I also have had great results using Thornit as part of our labs ear cleaning/maintenance regeme. Just a pinch in each ear seems to keep them happy.