# Ear Drainage



## sharpei (Sep 18, 2010)

My sharpei has had issues with clear water like drainage from his right ear the past 2 years. The vet has never seen this before, and as a last resort I have scheduled surgery to straighten the ear canal. Just before it drains, you can tell he is in pain. He has been on prednisone and cephalexen and will be now til surgery. The vet now wants him on hypoallergenic dog food, but Science Diet d/d is so expensive, and is only available at the vet's around here. Vet thinks the drainage may be caused by allergies. I have been online looking for an alternative dog food, but there are so many options. Anyone ever experience this type of drainage or know of a good hypoallergenic dog food?


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## k9capture_16 (Aug 23, 2010)

First they need to find out what the dog is allergic to and most vets seem to think SD is a magical cure and if the dog is still reacting to SD food then its not allergies. Natural Balance is a good line I know has allergy formulas...


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

What have you been feeding your dog? Lets start from there.


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## sharpei (Sep 18, 2010)

He has always been fed Pedigree with no problems. I'm not real sure if he even has allergies. This was something that was brought up by a vet who just graduated from vet school. Brew is almost 8 years old. I'm more than willing to give him hypoallergenic dog food, I just want to know what everyone else recommends. SD is very expensive.


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

Well, pedigree is full of corn and fillers and it very well could be an allergy of sorts to grains, there are alot of food out there that are grain free that will be alittle more expensive but you don't need to feed as much because the dog utilizes more of the food.

You could go to dogfoodanalysis.com and look at the different types of food and see what you think and then come back and ask some more questions.


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## sharpei (Sep 18, 2010)

Is there any particular brand you recommend? I will have to order the product online because the only place besides grocery stores in this area to buy dog food is Walmart.


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## moon (Jul 15, 2010)

One of my dogs had this - in the morning I would notice a wet spot on her bed from her ear while I had her on Pedigree. Then she developed an ear infection... Probably because of the extra fluid in her ears. (Her ears stand up, so you wouldn't think she would get ear infections!)

I've got her on Acanna and she's doing extremely well now. 

Also: for a dog with allergies I recommend to stay far-far away from giving her Pup Peroni treats.


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

Where is that you live? Acana is a great food and one that I recommend often, in fact it is one that I use to transition new rescues to before going raw. You'd be surprised that there might be some boutique stores around you and you didn't know it.


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## sharpei (Sep 18, 2010)

I'm in NW Iowa. I googled Acanna to see if I can order it online or find a fairly local seller. I haven't had much luck. Any suggestions?


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## bdb5853 (May 21, 2010)

Do you have a tractor supply (TSC) or a feed store around you? They often carry good foods.

Taste of the Wild is a decent food as is TSC's food 4Health. I'd check out the farm and feed stores in your area. Some of them even carry Innova or Evo.


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## moon (Jul 15, 2010)

I order mine from HeartyPet.com their prices are good, they're fast, and will give half off of shipping if you get on a regular order schedule - You get to choose the schedule and can change the order anytime... I'm on their every 90 day schedule. And I misspelled Acana (sorry). 

We have a Southern States Co-op but they don't carry anything good at all.


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## sharpei (Sep 18, 2010)

Thank you everyone for your advice. I really do appreciate it. I've just started on this forum and have learned so much. I just wish I would have found this site a long time ago. I have ordered Acana from Hearty Pet, and hopefully that will help. We are empty nesters, and Brew is very much a part of our family. I hate to see him hurting.


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## k9capture_16 (Aug 23, 2010)

Be prepared for your vet to tell you this food isnt good. If your vet pushes SD for everything like mine, he may try to convince you nothing is good like SD. Mine likes to guilt people...

Acana is a great food I have used it before


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

Great choice, just make sure that when you transition over that you do it slowly as this is a grainfree food and will be richer than your dog is used to. Also don't feed by the guidelines on the side of the bag because it is too much, start out on the low end and then go from there. Good Luck!


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

Have you checked the store locator, there seems to be only 3 cities that carry it (not suprising)
Champion Petfoods | ACANA | Locator


But if you want to keep buying from heartypet, they should start sending you a coupon for 50% off shipping, which helps with a cost a bit, you can also find coupons at this site:
http://www.retailmenot.com/view/heartypet.com

If Acana gets too expensive, I also second Taste of the Wild, since its widely available through most feed stores:
Taste of the Wild : Dealer Locator


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## moon (Jul 15, 2010)

Everyone is right! Taste of the Wild is a good food too, and I tried it, also tried Wellness Core, but in my babe's case I saw the biggest change when I switched to Acana. Do take it slow when switching over... Although you soon may see her picking just the Acana out of the bowl. And it did take a few weeks to get all the bad food she'd eaten out of her system... And she did put on weight on Acana and I had to cut back how much she ate though even though she's very active! I kept feeling guilty feeding less than what's on the bag, like I'm starving her, but she is so much better now (as are my other dogs) that I bought a bag for my son's dog and gave it to him. After all, seeing is believing!

Hearty Pet sends me coupons every week. After I thanked them for being so fast with their service, the Hearty Pet people e-mailed me that they hear a lot from people who have dogs with ear/allergy problems that they seem to do better on Orijen or Acana.

I've had such a year with my girl with her ear problems and my boy with his hot spots! Good luck with Brew! I hope she feels better soon!


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