"vet recommended CD prescription food so they Maximus & Lola would loose weight and help Lola with UTI's."

Max should not have been put on CD unless he was having urinary problems. It is a specific diet for the UTI's, not weight loss. That said, my dog with crystals in her urine couldn't eat CD either. Her ears flared up within a week on that food.


"My wife eats home made popcorn every night and they love it I also wonder if that is some cause of the problem.We also do give them table food not much but they get some.."


Stop the popcorn. Corn and could very well be causing the ear problem. Plus, if she puts butter on it, that could make them very sick.

Food is food and little nibbles and bites of people food do count, no matter if it is "just a taste." If you were allergic to peanut butter and you just tasted it, you would have a reaction. Same goes for bites and tastes given to the dogs.

You have to stop all the table food. Keep out some of their kibble when you are eating and give them a piece of that. They won't know the difference and it will be more healthy for them. I have little containers of each of my dog's kibble out on my kitchen counter. I say, "Cookies!" and they come running. Nobody cares what they are getting as long as it is something to eat.




I don't rescue animals because I want to feel better about myself, or morally superior to anyone. The best part of my life with animals is the humility they teach and the humanity the foster.
Jon Katz "Soul of a Dog"

I had a rescue I put on Canidae Lamb and Rice. He got yellow gunk in one of his ears within two days. I immediately changed him to Natural Balance Duck and Potato and his ear cleared right up.

I have another dog who does just fine on the Canidae. In fact, her ears flair up on most other foods I've tried her on. Every dog is different and you have to keep trying until you find something that works. Give it a few days, not months. No reason to keep a dog on a food that he/she is obviously having a reaction to.

It's allergic reaction to what you are feeding. Change it.


I don't rescue animals because I want to feel better about myself, or morally superior to anyone. The best part of my life with animals is the humility they teach and the humanity the foster.
Jon Katz "Soul of a Dog"

Belle got a horrible cyst on her front foot! It was/is the size of a pea between her first and second toe. Poor thing. It's really painful. I took her off the c/d last week when her ears flared up, before the cyst popped up. I suppose it was caused by the food because she has never had one before.

I took her off the c/d and put her back on her regular food, Canidae Lamb and Rice, under the advice of the vet because she was concerned about Belle's ears. She felt it was better to keep her ears clear at this point. (Belle was close to having ear ablation surgery a few months ago when I was trying other foods. Seems the Canidae is the only one that she tolerates well-- other than the fact that she developed urine crystals.)

Now she is back on her Canidae and taking a med to help get rid of the urine crystals. She gets nothing other than her dog food.

No, I don't recommend the Canidae to prevent the UTI's. I wish I could find different food that Belle's ears could tolerate because I'm not sure the Canidae didn't cause the crystals. Right now I'm in a hold pattern because I don't know what to do.

Try substituting people food for the kibble snacks! That really solved the problem of my hubby feeding the dogs. I could not get him to stop feeding them, but I was able to convince him to feed a nibble of their kibble rather than a bite of his burger or whatever. The dogs are perfectly happy as long as they are getting a bite of something.

Good luck!


I don't rescue animals because I want to feel better about myself, or morally superior to anyone. The best part of my life with animals is the humility they teach and the humanity the foster.
Jon Katz "Soul of a Dog"

Hi Elaine....Im lola and Max mom (Luis wife)
The CD food was ONLY prescribed for Lola and main reason was consistant UTIs. Seemed to clear that problem up well.

Yes I was snacking on popcorn and shared it with my bullies each night. Stopped doing that,she started getting cyst in her feet we didn't know if it was the food or popcorn or perhaps both. BUT...they and especially Lola had this consistent ear problem even when we fed them different food. It has been going on now for quite awhile at the very least 6 months to a year.

I agree completely with you about each dog is different. What works for Lola does not normally work for Max and I have tried to explain this to Luis. Max since he was a pup has a very sensitive and gassy stomach. Where Lola has a stomach of stone....BUT she has consistently given us issues with UTIs and Smelly gooey ears and nose roll.....we were given a anti-fungal medicine once from her ophthalmologist to give her for 30 days....cleared it all up. Yes she had dry eye issue too and we had the lid surgery done for her which helped immensely. Our poor Lola she just seems to have it all! Your dog that had the UTIs also that you gave CD to did you see foot cyst or ear problems come about....? Do you recommend the Canidae for her and will that also not cause the UTIs to come back? Thanks for all or anyone's help!

food or contact allergies going on.....ears are the first sign of a problem.....try to see what is new or different in their environment and remove it...older dogs get more intolerant or grains and detergent....
second make sure your not pouring any solution down the ear canel....hold your thumb at the base and use a cotton ball not a q tip and wipe the outside...i would use a vingear and water solution...this will kill the yeast infection....
by placing your thumb at the base of the ear no fluid goes in as this will casue bad infections if not all the liquid is gotten out....vets are horrible at training people to clean ears safely...
it may be best to go to boiled chicken and brown rice for a month to give the ears a chance to heal...no other food allowed....no cookies...no no grain treats...bake some liver cut in strips and freeze for treats....hearts are also good cook cut and frozen....
i would also go on 500mg vit c....

I know how frustrating the "ear wars" are. We have been trying to get rid of Spanky's ear infection for several weeks now. Good luck!

per dr.s request... after i would clean then ear, i would put a very light coating of the ointment.... then take them for a walk so i could be sure it would have time to air out and dry... i know i am a little obsessive about ears but i know how frustrating it is when they are not right! good luck!

so what did you feed them prior to royal canin?

did you change anything around them within the last few months you have been having this reocurring problem?

either something they are eating? food, treats, food dish,

OR its something environmental? detergent? new park? new soap? ear cleaner?

kibby had reoccurring ear issues too. i got her as a rescue and the first thing she had was an ear infection, then i found her medical records and she had ear infections in the past too. foster mom was feeding her kibbles and bits, then i fed her royal canin diet food... then when she was done with diet, i fed nb duck/potatoe.. the ear wax turned darker.. and still kept coming... so then i switched to natures variety chicken/rice... which finally made the ear wax stop coming all dark and so frequent... this took me 9 months and 2 more infections to this figure out! keeping bully ears clean is like an art.

i would have to stop her everytime she scratched because then she would scratch until ears would bleed... then you figure that there was probably dirt in nails, so then it would make infection worse and itchier...so bottomline, you have to stop the cycle, stop her from scratching her ears as much as possible. i used a cold wringed out towel and press it in there to just soothe her ear , clean a little , but keep it dry. clean and dry is key to healing, i think!

here is how i clean her ears, i copied this from a post that i just put earlier ;someone else was just having some irritation with cleaning issues:

i dont drip the cleaner into the ear like the bottle says.. i use the flat cotton squares and i put the solution on there first, then clean the outside of the ear,then i take another and stick it in her ear, fold down her ear, and massage it around from the outside (i figure its loosening up the wax this way), then i take another- then use my finger behind the cotton to go around all the dips and crevices in deeper in the ear. use a good amount of solution on the cotton everytime, but not so much that it will drip alot into the ears.

i think with the dripping method, sometimes too much will get stuck in there and wont be able to get shaken out by the dog and will cause irritation. just keep checking the cotton after to see how much wax you are getting out, then you can figure how often you need to do this , so you dont do it too much or too little, i clean my dogs ears like once a week.

i dont really like the smell of the ear cleaner and my other dog likes to lick the inside of my bullys ears, so i do a quick once over with a wringed out wet rag to just get rid of any excess chemical left there.

Maybe your dogs accidentally knicked himself while scratching his ear with his nails? look in his ear to see if you see any cut or open wound first before using the ear cleaning solution. ears should be pink and clean looking inside... be sure to use all the antibiotics that the dr. gives so it can fully kill off the infection so it will have less chance of coming back.

Nutra Nugget Lamb Meal & Rice Formula from Costco.I would notice that after my male would eat he would start licking and and biting his paws like they were itching really bad. So then when I took to vet they recommended CD prescription food so they Maximus & Lola would loose weight and help Lola with UTI's. Then after a month or so Lola started getting real bad sores or her feet so we figured that it has to much grain in so that is why we changed to Royal Canine to see if that will help.They both eat it. Lola normally will eat anything except for specific fruits and with the Royal Canine there has been days were she doesn't eat her food right away like she normally would.So not sure if she doesn't really care for it or if she isn't feeling well.The have been on Royal Canine for about 2 weeks now.Her sore seem to be going or gone away now. But now its all about the ears.My wife also says she notice that they are not pooping as much as before is it normal if they only poop once a day?My wife eats home made popcorn every night and they love it I also wonder if that is some cause of the problem.We also do give them table food not much but they get some.Don't give them any kind of treats. I have read that you have to wait at least 2 months to see if food is good or bad for them so that is what I am doing.Dr B showed me to feel up there ear canal with solution and then get the cotton to absorb it from there ears.I know that it doesn't get 100% out of there ear so now I will try the solution on the cotton pads first.I also put Ottomax after I use solution.