Accepted Answer

Dogs that lick very often at their front paws and have chronic ear infections, are usually suffering from something called atopic dermatitis. This is the most common type of allergies in dogs. If a dog is untreated for atopic dermatitis, they are usually going to have chronic ear infections.
Unfortunately, most dogs do require steroids and antihistamines to remain comfortable. For some dogs this period is only in the warmer months, but for many it is an all year-round problem. Most of my atopy patients are well-controlled on a drug called Temaril-P, which is a combination of an antihistamine with a small amount of prednisone.
There are other treatment options that do not involve chronic use of steroids. One that is easy to try is a straight course of antihistamines. Different dogs will respond differently to different drugs, so it may be the case that several antihistamines must be tried before the right one is found. The most common ones used are benadryl (diphenhydramine) and chlorpheniramine. Many dogs will not respond to antihistamines alone, and another modality must be added. The most common is to use a special shampoo designed for allergic dogs. Because allergens that affect dogs do so by landing on the dog's skin (instead of being inhaled, as they do in people), the allergies can be decreased with frequent shampooing with an appropriate product, such as Histacalm. Your vet can recommend an appropriate product for you.
Another option is allergy testing, either using a blood profile or intradermal skin testing. With either of these tests, the dog can be evaluated for sensitivity to specific allergens, and then a unique "vaccine" is made for the dog to treat these. The animal is usually given gradually increasing amounts of the allergy serum over the course of many weeks to months. This is called hyposensitization therapy, and has the least side effects of any allergy treatment. This works in about 67% of dogs.
There is a new drug available now for allergic dogs called Atopica. This is designed specifically for veterinary use. It can be very effective, and does not have the negative side effects of using long-term steroids, however, it is also quite expensive. If you are interested in trying this, you should talk to your veterinarian about ordering you some.

As for the chronic ear infection component to this problem...your dog is going to need daily cleaning with the cleanser that contains acetic acid. I recommend using Epi-Otic or Vet Solutions. You can buy these at some pet stores or on-line at pet pharmacy sites. I am going to attach a handout that I use in my practice that discusses how to throughly and effectively clean out a dog's ears using this solution.

Click Here

Since you have been to so many general practitioners that have not seemed able to fix this problem, I recommend that you ask your current vet for a referral to a specialist in veterinary dermatology in your area. The specialist will be much quicker, and more accurate at diagnosing and dealing with this problem. This has gone on for so long, that I think this would really be your best bet.

I am attaching some more information about both of these problems so that you can be as educated as possible about them when you see the specialist. Until then, get the ear cleaner and start doing the cleanings at least once a day. You may notice a big difference just from the cleanings alone.

Atopic Dermatitis
Otitis Externa

I hope that this information has been of some help to you, and better equips you to ask appropriate questions of your vet. Please let me know if I can be of further assistance.


Dr. K

Expert:	Dr. K
Pos. Feedback:	100.0 %
Accepts:	343
Answered:	5/11/2008

Veterinarian

8 years experience as Veterinarian