Hi,
When I was grooming my 18 month old Mastiff, I noticed a VERY bad smell coming from her ears. I cleaned them out but the smell is still there. Has she an ear infection? Would ear drops help? She is also moulting excessively.....I could stand all day and brush her and the hair would STILL be coming out! She's really out of sorts at the moment, and she's also off her food. A previous trip to the vet proved inconclusive. Anyone help? Thanks.

Colloidal Silver is really good for treating ear problems, soak cotton wool pads in it and then clean around the ear, if after a couple of days you still have a problem, it might be worth seeing the vet.  But from my experience Colloidal Silver works really well and quickly.

> She is also moulting excessively

> She's really out of sorts at the moment, and she's also off her food

It seems that nearly every dog owner I've spoken to this week has said their dogs are moulting a LOT and off their food!  We've had very hot muggy weather this week and my boys are a bit flat too.  Neither of them seem very interested in walking and just plod along beside me - I've decided not to bother today and they've both been asleep since breakfast.  I'm hoping they'll improve after the thunderstorms we are promised.

One of my boys has ear issues so I'm pretty observant to changes.  If you've cleaned your dogs ears and they aren't improving it may be worth a quick trip to the vet to check and they can give you some drops.  Is she scratching them too?  If mine has ear issues I'll often flip them open whilst he is sleeping just to let the air in - this way I can tell if he has a more persistant problem!!

>> It seems that nearly every dog owner I've spoken to this week has said their dogs are moulting a LOT and off their food!  We've had very hot muggy weather this week and my boys are a bit flat too.  Neither of them seem very interested in walking and just plod along beside me - I've decided not to bother today and they've both been asleep since breakfast.  I'm hoping they'll improve after the thunderstorms we are promised.

my dog is exactly like this in the summer when it is hot.  she won't eat until evening and unless the walk is to the beach or first thing in the morning she won't go.  She will walk a few houses up the street and stop looking at me pleadingly until I cave in and we go home.

> She will walk a few houses up the street and stop looking at me pleadingly until I cave in and we go home.

I love dogs!!  I take them for a walk because that's what they usually want, and need, but mine droop along like a pair of naughty schoolboys on their way to detention.    Oh, and heaven help me if I take them out late at night when it's cooler.  Oh no it's dark and scary - take me home quick!!  It's a dawn outing and nothing past 9.30am...

Dogs?! - yeah love em. 

HiThanks for the advice - will certainly try your remedy! Hopefully, no more smelly ears!!!

Hi,
Thanks for your reply. I hope it is just the weather! I've never known a dog to shed so much - she should be bald! This is our first Mastiff, so we're working blind as it were! Hopefully things will sort themselves out!

> She is also moulting excessively.....I could stand all day and brush her and the hair would STILL be coming out!

Yep, tell me about it - I knew before getting Buster that 'mastiffs shed alot', but it really is suprising. I am astounded at the amount of hair he's loosing, it doesn't matter how mush I brush him.
My old dog is also shedding much more than normal this year, as is my sisters boxer, in fact all the people I know with dogs are commenting on the shedding this year.

> She's really out of sorts at the moment, and she's also off her food.

Buster is not enjoying this hot weather atall, it would take much more than that to put him off his food though - he's a complete pig!!!!, he enjoys an ice-lolly mid-day (plain water iced, not a flavoured lolly), this helps cool him down. I also have a fan on in the livingroom during the day to cool it down, the kitchen stays quite cool anyway and if Buster is getting a bit hot & bothered he'll lay on the cool kitchen floor.

She could be getting close to her season. Hormone changes can cause ear problems. All my bitches get gammy ears around 3 weeks before they come into season and also after whelping. I use Thornit Powder.

I use thornit too works great