The American Bloodhound Club Bulletin An article from the fall 1996 issue

Bloodhounds unfortunately have an ear designed for trouble. Those wonderful long, low set ears are great at trapping debris, moisture and heat producing the optimum dark environment for bacteria and yeast to grow. If you notice a foul odor or debris in the ear canal when you lift up that soft, long ear flap or if they are shaking their head, scratching at their ears, or rubbing their head on the floor or furniture, your hound my have an ear infection (or otitis).

The most common culprits of ear infection are yeast (often a very dark brown buildup in the ear canal) or bacteria such as E Coli, Staph or Pseudomonas. There are many predisposing factors to ear problems, other than their ear conformation. Activities like swimming, or always laying on one side to sleep can result in an ear problem. Foreign bodies (weeds, grass, etc.), tumors, or polyps can also lead to ear infections. Underlying systemic problems such as hypothyroidism or allergies, can often show up as only an ear problem.

Ear infections can progress from the outer ear into the middle or inner ear with serious consequences such as a head tilt, vestibular disease (balance problems), or facial nerve paralysis. With chronic ear problems, the ear canal can become very irregular and narrowed, and may even require surgery for relief. The best treatment is prevention. You should routinely check and clean your hounds ears at a minimum of once a week. The best way to clean the ears is with the help of an ear cleaning solution made for use in animals. There are many available, but some of my favorites are R-7 ear cleaner, Oti-clens, Oti-Calm, Novalsan Otic and Epi-Otic.

Open up your dogs ear by holding the ear flap upward to form a sort-of funnel, to see the opening of the ear canal. What you see is the opening of the vertical canal. Squirt a good amount of the ear cleaning solution into the opening. Close up the ear by placing the flap over the canal opening. Gently massage the base of the ear near the skull. You'll hear the solution squishing around (as well as your hound moaning and groaning). Take a cotton ball and place it over the tip of your finger and gently wipe out any debris from the ear canal. Let your hound shake his head (you may want to step back a bit). This will bring debris up from deeper in the ear from the horizontal canal to the vertical canal where you can wipe it out. If the cotton ball is still very dirty, repeat the process.

Common Treatments for Ear Conditions
Panalog	Yeast
Otomax	General bacterial infection +/- for yeast
Gentocin Otic	E Coli, Pseudomonas, Staph
Liquichlor	Strop, Staph, E Coli
Synotic	Allergic otitis, inflammation
Tresaderm	Mites, yeast

It will depend on what is growing in your hounds ears as to what medication to use. It is best to have your vet do a smear from the ears and look under the microscope to determine if it is mites, yeast or bacteria. If there is bacteria growing in your hounds ears, it may be necessary to do a culture and sensitivity to determine the best medication. Sometimes it is necessary to also use an oral antibiotic in conjunction with topical medications used inside the ear canal (especially with Pseudomonas infections). Some of the common ear medications used are listed in the table below. For medicating the ears, always clean them first, instill the medication, then massage the base of the ear to distribute the medication deeper into the ear canal. Check your hounds ears routinely and keep them clean!

Karen Leshkivich, DVM