Mioniature Schnauzer ear yeast infection

Question
My 9 month old miniature schnauzer was scratching his ears excessively and when we brought him to the vet, he told us to use a mixture of alcohol and vinegar. This nearly sent Kobi crazy because of the breaks in his skin so i went to the pharmacist who told me to use an antifungal cream such as Canesten or monistat from over the counter. we used for about a week and we thought it was cleared. Then i talked to a groomer who told me to use polysporin ear and eye drops but when i went back to another pharmacist, he told me that if it is indeed a yeast infection, that only an antifingal cream will work. What shouild i do? I just dropped him off to get groomed and the groomer said that his ears are quite dirty and hairy. I am hoping that this might help, but what course of treatment should i use when i pick him up later today?
Thanks  

Answer
Hello.

I would recommend a good thorough cleaning to get as much of the debris and hair out as possible.  Then you should maintain the ears with a DOG EAR CLEANER, which your vet should be able to dispense, or you can purchase one from a pet store that does not have alchohol in it.  Routine cleaning of the ears should be done 1-2 X a week, however, some dogs need daily cleaning.

Vinegar is indeed very useful to kill yeast, however, it is acidic and can burn (especially with the addition of alcohol too) and it should be diluted.  You can dilute it with aloe, which is very soothing to the ears.  Often times witch hazel is good to use in combo with the vinegar and aloe too.

I would highly recommend an ear medication approved for dogs such as Otomax, Tresaderm or Baytril Otic to be used in the ears twice a day for 10 days versus trying over the counter creams which are NOT intended for use in the ears.  Medications such as miconazole, clotrimazole and nystatin are good for yeast infections in dogs, and are available in the aforementioned prescription ear products.

Good luck,
Dr. Fry