My 4 goldens and 1 cocker all are shaking their heads.

The most common cause of these crazy ear problems is allergies, especially with some breeds. These allergies could be from grass, contact with a cleaner or chemical or could even be food related. The allergy part is sometimes tough to treat but there are some simple things that you can do.

1. Talk with your vet about a low allergy diet. Rabbit and potato is my favorite and my dogs do well on it.
2. Get the dog started on frontline to eliminate the chance that this is a flea allergy. If he's already on it, keep in mind that it only takes ONE flea to get the cycle started if the dog is allergic to fleas.
3. Use a prescribed dose of benadryl when this gets bad. My vet recommends 1 mg per lb of dog given every 8-12 hours as needed when the itching starts

When the dog abrades the skin by pawing and clawing at the ears, this opens up the body to infection. Many dogs need antibiotics because of this.

See the vet so that they can get the dog started on antibiotics if you suspect this.

Many dogs also need a shot of prednisone to control the itch and give the skin time to heal.

The only thing that will give her immediate relief is the benadryl.

When all else fails, I suggest allergy testing (your vet can do this) so that you can find out EXACTLY what she's allergic to.

For the ears:

The problem with ear infections is that they can be bacterial or fungal in nature. If you put the wrong medication in the ear, you can actually do more harm than good so you want to be sure of what you are dealing with before you put anything in the ear.

There's only one home remedy that I can recommend.

Just mix:

• 1 Bottle of rubbing alcohol
• 22 drops of gentocin violet solution
• 4 tbsp of boric acid.

Shake it up well and put it in the ears twice daily. You will see her stop shaking her head almost immediately. Continue with this twice daily for 2 weeks. Then you can go to once a day for 30 days. Then once a week for a lifetime.

Let me know if you want to discuss this more.

I hope this helps!

the problem is there are NO fleas in north AK--this involves all 5 of my dogs. Started with one and now all 5 shake their heads. All same allergies??? Think the alcohol solution will work? Doesn't look/smell like mites.

Adult dogs don't usually get ear mites so you can strike that one off your list. If the vet has looked at the ears and ruled out ear infections (bacterial and fungal) allergies are the most likely cause. It's not common to see it in ALL the dogs unless they all share an allergy or share the habit.

The alcohol solution has always worked for our rescue dogs who come in with ear issues.

The dogs are 11, 9, 7, 7 and 2 yrs. Could all of them all of a sudden share the same ailment? The 11 yr old is the worst. Could any be copycats--just imitating the others? I've had ear problems in the oldest 2 for the past several yrs, but have always been able to control the problem with the Tresaderm and regular cleanings. This is so different that all are displaying the same shake of the head. How much of the alcohol and such solution should be applied the the ear? Is it then wiped out via cotton ball?

where can I get the violet gentocin?

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