Dickie started with an ear infection about a month ago which was initially treated with cleaning the ear and applying Otodex ear drops. I took him back last week as I wasn't happy that it had cleared it up and when looking in the ear the vet decided that as it hadn't responded to the drops a flush would be necessary. So he stayed in, was sedated and had a swab taken and the flush carried out at which time they discovered a ruptured eardrum. :(

We've been back today to get the results of the swab, which turns out to be a yeast infection, but because of the ruptured eardrum they were waiting to hear form a dermatologist as to the best way of treating it.

This is the e-mail from my vet:

"He has suggested treating the yeast infection with an oral antifungal treatment called Itraconazole. This drug is not specifically licensed for the treatment of Malassezia (yeast) infections in ears in dogs so it would be used off licence. It would need to be given once daily for 2 weeks then on two days a week for a further month. The dermatologist also advises a general anaesthetic to examine and clean the ear canal every 2-3 weeks alongside the oral treatment. Possible side effects which can occur with this drug include vomiting, diarrhoea, reduce appetite, salivation, lethargy and toxic liver disease."

Does anyone have any experience of treating the condition another way as I'm not happy about subjecting the poor chap to a GA every 2-3 weeks and am not sure about using an off licence drug? The little man is only 6 months old and has already had the ordeal of having his extra teeth removed and the sedation last week for the flush. Am waiting to speak to my Vet but wonder if anyone else has any ideas.......

I've heard of Itraconazole being used to treat fungal infections in dogs before - but only when other treatments have been ineffective and a resistance to all other antifungal treatments has been built up.  But your pup is so young I cant see how that is the case. I can understand them knocking him out to completely clean the ear canal at the start of treatment and at the end of treatment to see the effectiveness but to do it every 2-3 weeks seems a bit odd?  Any chance you could get a second opinion because the treatment does sound pretty extreme in one so young.  Hopefully someone on here will have personal experience with a ruptured eardrum - my only experience is from ear infections caused by allergies without damage to the ear drum/canal. But I would be a bit worried about the course of treatment offered on one so young.

Poor baby, at such a young age. :( I have only had one experience and that was in a cat a couple of years ago, but because of that, if I had it happen again, I'd go for the most aggressive treatment available. My cat ended up having to be put to sleep as the infection just did not clear and in the end it affected her balance so badly that she could not even sit up or eat, let  alone walk. She wasn't even 2 years old. Had I known from the start how bad it could get I would have asked for more aggressive treatment.

I've spoken to the vet and she hopes that only one more GA will be necessary. The itraconazole is recommended as the best option because of the ruptured eardrum, nothing can be administered to the ear itself, so I've agreed to start him on the drug when it comes in tomorrow and book him in for a GA in 2-3 weeks.

He is such a sweet, kind boy I feel awful that he's having to go through all this at his age, and he's not showing any discomfort at all, he's still a bouncy, playful puppy. I've had plenty of experience of ear problems with my late Sussex, Winnie, but didn't for one minute think I'd be going through ear problems with a young Goldie. :(

>am not sure about using an off licence drug?

Don't worry about this; it only means that the manufacturers haven't paid a small fortune for the drug to jump through all the testing hoops to be licenced for animals. Piriton is off-licence for animals, but nobody turns a hair about giving it. Many drugs are known to be effective for animals but are off-licence; vets are allowed to prescribe them when any equivalent licenced product has failed.

I wish you the very best of luck with this. Goldens are very prone to ear, and skin, problems. My older girl's ears respond well to EASOTIC which is easy to administer with a pump action dispenser. It does recur in a few months but clears up again with another EASOTIC. At least she doesn't run up the garden to get away from the treatment as I always have her dinner in her bowl waiting whilst I administer it.  Try not to worry as I am sure it can be cleared up.

Poor lad hope you get it sorted

It's got to be the most expensive treatment ever! £275 so far for the medication, which will last about 2 weeks, then a GA for a flush and to see how it's responding, then another month (although the dosage is reduced) of medication and possibly another GA and flush.

Think Xmas is officially cancelled......

Obviously it's to be hoped that your vet 'knows best', but there's no way I'd be happy for one of mine to need a g/a that often!!    Would they be able to achieve what they need to using just sedation - and could you be right there to steady him?   I know anaesthetic is much safer these days, and presumably he'd only need to be lightly under but ..............    Hum.   A Basset we bred and who went to a breeder in Holland via the fellow-breeder I'd sold her too (unfortunately) here in the UK, ended up with a chronic ear infection once in her final (that made 4 homes !!) retirement home.   Unable to sort this out, she eventually was so bad that she had to be euth., according to her then owners who had been in touch with me, from Belgium, from the moment they got her.  Because of the language problems, I didn't have all the details.   However I have always gone for a swab, culture and identification with stubborn ear infection, so at least the correct medication can be used.

If you are not happy with the treatment, you are always entitled to take a second opinion, or switch vets totally even if that may mean starting from the beginning, and be more cost.   The original vet should pass on the medical history however.

But basically no, I'd not be happy with the need to give a general anaesthetic that often!!!

The problem isn't just the ear infection, but the fact that the eardrum is ruptured meaning that it can't be treated via the ear with the usual drops etc. The swab has identified the problem (yeast) and he is having to be treated orally with the off-licence drug. I said to the vet I wasn't happy about him having loads of GAs and she hopes to be able to get away with another 1-2 (maybe under sedation would be possible, that's how they did the first flush, but from my understanding it's easier to bring round from a GA should there be a problem).

I have been having ear problems with my flat coat on and off for the last six months the process we have used lately is swab , antibiotic drops and ear cleaner twice a day , yeasts and bacterial infection present followed by  swab GA and ear wash. In our case the swab has now shown aspergillious so we are having more drops and I am asking for a referral to check this out as this fungal infection which is usually in the nasal passages is nasty  causing serious illness fits and possibbly death if untreated. ear drum appears intact
In your case I would hope the orally meds for the particular infection and one GA for ear wash preceded by another swab I would hope is sufficient. I was also going to ask for a further swab after the further treatment to make sure its all gone and not rely on just the clinical signs.
I personally preferred the ga to sedation as I was concerned from reading that the sedation would not stop her feeling scared just prevent her from being able to do anything  I think that also depends on what drug the use  as the one my vet was going to use was acp and i was bit unsure.