Butterfield Grooming

Dogs and cats should always have clean ears. There should never have any discolored discharge. Discharge, redness, and inflammation are signs of infection. A very common ear ailment is yeast infection. Signs of this are a dark brown discharge, red inflammation, itchiness & sensitivity. There is often a foul odor. Yeast infections seem to be more common in dogs than in cats. Yeast infections tend to be reoccurring, especially when a pets has been bathed. The higher humidity will often change the pH balance in the ear canal, causing an environment that allow it to flourish. Because of that, it is important to keep the ear balance correct. I recommend the use of a product called Biogroom Ear Care . This product prevents yeast infections because it has boric acid in it. Boric acid neutralizes yeast activity. This product also balances the pH and keeps the ear environment dry. It is not greasy and can be used everyday, but I recommend at least once or twice a week for maintenance. For active infections we recommend first using a product called Zymox. This is an enzyme based ear product that treats yeast infection and otis externa, which is usually accompanied with yellow discharge. This product is used only once a day for a week, doesn’t require cleaning out the ear between treatments, and has a minimal amount of greasy residue. Chronic infections may need an additional week to work effectively. To prevent reoccurrence I recommend following up with weekly applications of Biogroom Ear Care. Cats who have dark ears discharge more frequently have ear mites. I have found that treating the cat with frontline plus has been effective in eliminating this problem. Although they tend to reinfect again it is usually recommended to keep up a regular coarse of treatment.