Q: My Shar-Pei has brownish gunk in his ear, What is going on?

A: Due to the nature of the Shar-Pei ear, folded tightly to the head, the inner ear has a hard time getting fresh air to circulate continuously. That brown waxy discharge is just part of having a Shar-Pei. Some dogs are more prone to produce more than others. However don't discount the possibility of ear mites. You can tell if you work some of the gunk out with a q-tip and see white moving specks in it. Regular cleaning, which I perform just after they have been bathed will keep the discharge to a minimum. I simply use the towel that I am drying them with to wipe out any of the gunk I can reach. I don't try to reach too deep nor do I put q-tips deep into the ear. I feel that you can push the wax back down into the ear canal and cause more problems than it is worth. The ear wax will be warmed up after a bath and will wipe out pretty easily.

Q: I think my Shar-Pei might have ear mites, what can i do?

A: There is a medicine that you can get at the pet stores to take care of the ear mites if the dog does have them. Follow the directions on the bottle and those ear mites will be gone pretty quick.

Q: I notice that my Shar-Pei's ears smell bad, what is happening?

A: Your dog may be suffering from a yeast infection in the ear. Again due to the structure of the ear, this is a common problem. There are two ways to take care of this. The first thing you have to do is get rid of the infection in the ear. See your vet and ask for a product called TRESADERM. If your vet does not carry this product, ask him or her to. You apply 4 or 5 drops in the ear twice a day and then rub the ear to get the product to travel down to the ear canal. Shar-Pei are not particuarly fond of this and will shake their head for several minutes afterward, but TRESADERM will cure the yeast infection very quickly. OTOMAX will perform the same job but it is more of a paste and is harder to apply to a dog that is not fond of you messing with their ears in the first place so I don't use it. Both these products contain steroids that keep the itching down and proper use of topical steroids is ok in my book. They also contain medicine to get to the yeast infection and cure it.

A2: Once the yeast infection is taken care of, there are some measures you can take to prevent further occurences. One: When bathing your dog, put a cotton ball in each ear to prevent water ingress to the ear, this will take some experimentation to see which cotton balls are the ones you want to use. The cotton ball should be packed tightly in the ear. Don't expect your dog to enjoy this, and be prepared for them to shake them out. They will get used to them eventually.

Two:This tip comes from Virgina Tache of Tache's Shar-Pei and Vicky McBeth of Shar-Pei Canadiana. Yogurt can be added to the dogs food. This should help to keep yeast infections down. Again, experimentation is the name of the game. Your dog could be allergic to it so go slowly, but if you don't notice any problems, they can be given the yogurt as much as you please. My dogs seem to like it and don't seem have any problems with it. It was told to me that it is especially helpful to give the yogurt after a dog has been on antibiotics to help restore intestinal flora in the correct proportions.