Pitbull with chronic ear infection/yeast infection/skin problems/food allergies/extremely lethargic

Question
Hello, I have a four year old pure bread american pitbull terrior that adopted about 2 years ago. When we adopted him we saw he had a serious ear infection, when we brought him to the vet she said it looked like he had, had the infection for quite sometime. We got anti-biotics and the infection was gone for about two weeks and then came back, we have been giving him anti-biotics for his ears for about 2 years off and on. We also were told that the redness between his toes and around his eyes were due to food allergies so we have been feeding him a holistic dog food that does not have soy, wheat, diary or any meat meals. He is extremely lethargic and sleeps all day and does not like to be active. He is constantly shaking his head, and scratching at his face along with chewing at the pads of his feet. We have been to about five different vets and they all say the same thing and prescribe the same exact anti-biotics. He was tested for thyroid problems due to the weight he gained but they came back normal. we have spent thousands of dollars on vet bills and meds. I am at the end of my rope, he is such a wonderful part of my family and i would love nothing more than to have him healthy. Please HELP!!

Answer
Food allergies rarely affect the feet, so I would think of a condition called Atopic Dermatitis.  That is the allergy to pollens, molds, mites, grasses, etc.  Atopy is treated with some type of allergy shots based on allergy testing or steroids.  Atopic dermatitis will make the ear canal stay red and inflammed, leading to continued ear infections.

In my practice, I see so many dogs on antibiotics for=ear infections, when they actually have a yeast infection in the ears.  Antibiotics do not ill yeasts, so someone needs to do an ear cytology from each ear and look at it under the microscope to see what type of infection is present.

If there is a veterinarian in your area that specializes in skin and ear diseases, perhaps a visit there would help with some type of permanent fix to the problem.