[jwemt81]

At least our vet wants us to. Tucker has had ongoing problems with yeast infections in his left ear since he was a young pup. We have tried several different antibiotics and ear cleaners without much success. His thyroid was tested and it was completely normal. We had him on California Natural lamb and rice in the early part of the year for about 2-3 months and he did well, except for having very loose stools the entire time he was on it. We finally ended up Eukanuba in the early part of the spring and his stools firmed right up and his ear even cleared up for a short time, but now we're having problems with it again. Our vet is now strongly suggesting that we give grain-free another try. I absolutely hate changing foods since Tucker has otherwise done so well on the Eukanuba for the past 6-7 months that he has been on it, but our vet really wants us to give California Natural another try to see if that helps with the ear problems that we have been dealing with for so long. We had a long discussion with our vet today (who is also a golden owner) and he thinks that since Tucker is a bit older now, he may be able to tolerate the grain-free diet a little better than he did several months ago and not have the loose stools with it. We're going to make this food change VERY slowly.

Instead of the lamb and rice forumla that we tried several months ago, we're debating between the chicken meal and rice formula and the herring & sweet potato. DH thinks that we should go with the herring, but my head is spinning. Any suggestions? DH is picking up the new food tomorrow on his way home from work, so I need to figure out which formula of CN to go with! :doh:

 

[Penny & Maggie's Mom]

A chicken meal and rice formula would not be grain free. I wasn't aware that California Natural is grain free?????? Just looked ... Cal Natural is NOT a grain free. The Natura line that is grain free is EVO. There is also Wellness Core or my favorite Acana that are grain free.

 

[Bock]

If you wanted to try cali nat again, I would recommend the herring and sweet potato version out of the 3.

Natures variety has 3 different grain-free foods-duck, chicken, and rabbit.

 

[Ash]

I would highly reccomend one of three grain free formulas that Acana has out. It's a good quality food and is not too high in protein like Orijen and EVO can be.

 

[LibertyME]

I know you bathe Tucker often...
Are you be super-duper careful about drying his ears...keeping his ears trimmed etc.etc.etc.?
Have a feeling the answer is yes....but thought I would toss it out there just in case...

 

[jwemt81]

I know you bathe Tucker often...
Are you be super-duper careful about drying his ears...keeping his ears trimmed etc.etc.etc.?
Have a feeling the answer is yes....but thought I would toss it out there just in case...

Oh yes! I'm always extra careful not to even get his ears wet at all. He gets bathed once every couple of weeks and I always trim his ear hairs back to make sure he gets plenty of air flow. He's had this problem since he was only a few months old. He was on Pro Plan for the first few months of his life and had even worse ear problems then than he has now. It got a tiny bit better on the Eukanuba, but it's not resolving. We've tried everything, so really the only thing that's left to try is a food change. We decided to go with California Natural Herring & Sweet Potato. Our fingers are crossed! :crossfing

 

[2golddogs]

grain free

I also switched to grain free back in February. I have an 8 year old that has had ear infections and the occasional hot spot. He has been on Taste of the Wild prairie formula and hasn't had an ear infection since being on this food. We also have our puppy on this formula and he is doing great. Both have shiny coats and so far no ear problems.

 

[missmarstar]

Good luck with the herring and sweet potato food!! When Sam was on a kibble diet, the formulas that worked the best with his food allergies were the fish formulas. Hope it works out well for your boy!!

 

[Doodle]

Hi. Just wanted to point out that none of the California natural brands are grain free. The brands other have mentioned (wellness core, acana, evo, TOTW) are.

 

[Bender]

Just watch with the Acana, they have the grain free and then a whole line of food with grain in it.

Lana

 

[Florabora22]

I would definitely go with the fish formula, which is what you've seemed to decide on. My vet told me that some dogs have allergies or some sort of negative reaction to chicken, and that can cause loose stools. Ever since I switched Flora over to a salmon food (first she was on Pro Plan, now I have her on TOTW due to ProPlan containing menadione, although I guess TOTW may contain ethoxyquin ), she hasn't had ONE loose stool.

Good luck with Tucker! I'm sure he will do fabulously.

 

[jwemt81]

We went with the Herring & Sweet Potato formula. DH picked up a 30-pound bag of it on his way home from work this morning. I started mixing it in with the Eukanuba for Tucker's breakfast. He seems to like it and his first stool was totally normal. I realize that California Natural isn't totally grain-free, but it doesn't have any corn or wheat products or any other byproducts/fillers in it, which are main ingredients that our vet wanted us to stay away from for a while to see if Tucker's ear issue resolves. The only grain I see listed in it is oatmeal, but I'm really not too worried about that. I suspect that the corn is what has been causing the ear problems. Hopefully we'll start seeing some results within a few weeks. :crossfing

 

[arcane]

Have you used the ear solution with monistat, if it is indeed yeast????? just curious

 

[arcane]

Healthy Ear Recipe

1 tube Monistat (generic is fine)
1 tube Polysporin (use the real deal - it's inexpensive)
1 tube Cortaid (generic works here as well)

Use tubes of similar size. Mix all three together in a container that can
be closed well. It takes a bit to incorporate because the Polysporin is a
bit like Vaseline. Once incorporated, it stays mixed.

If ears are gunky, inflamed or smell bad, start with using a pea sized
dollop twice a day. Use your finger to gently push it into the ear. Rub.
Dogs will only shake their heads once or twice! It's a creamy, very
soothing mixture. Once you have the ears under control, lessen how often
you use it till you're only using it once a week. Once a week keeps ears
from getting bad again.

 

[jwemt81]

Have you used the ear solution with monistat, if it is indeed yeast????? just curious

Sure did! We used that for quite a while, but still had ear problems. :no: We also just finished a round of Zymox with hydrocortisone ear drops, which we have been using pretty much all summer, but the infection always comes right back within a week or two.

 

[arcane]

okey! good luck with the food change, if that fails I have some chinese herbs that I have successfully used to deal with yeast!!!!!! Yes my dogs have a NHP!!!!!!!! ( natural health practitioner!)

 

[jwemt81]

okey! good luck with the food change, if that fails I have some chinese herbs that I have successfully used to deal with yeast!!!!!! Yes my dogs have a NHP!!!!!!!! ( natural health practitioner!)

I'm just about ready to try some herbs at this point! I have been religiously using the health ear recipe since January, but his left ear is so stubborn!

 

[arcane]

http://vidomanaturals.com/details.asp?ProductID=295&Category=7&uflag=False

this is also a product I have had alot of success using....and I love the smell!!!!!!!!

 

[jwemt81]

http://vidomanaturals.com/details.asp?ProductID=295&Category=7&uflag=False

this is also a product I have had alot of success using....and I love the smell!!!!!!!!

I'm ordering some! That's cheaper than the Zymox antibiotic drops!!! It's about half the price!!

 

[arcane]

Tauri has a heck of a time after puppies, its like her hormones are all out of wack! Hotspots, ear probs etc, I have used that in her ears and it clears right up almost immediately! Good Luck!