My ears itched ALL THE TIME! UGH! I would lay next to the bed and scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, whine!!, scratch, scratch, scratch all night long. Dad would clean my ears with solution & q-tips (q-tips are nommy, by the way) and mom would spray anti-itch stuff in my ears.
After several vet appointments, timed right when I was itchiest, and monitoring ALL my snacks, the vet suggested that I might be allergic to beef. It turns that that many dogs are allergic to beef and their parents just don't know it.
Here is an article that talks a little about beef allergies in dogs: http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+2082&aid=143
Beef allergies are often misdiagnosed as mange or ticks or just itchy skin. Some of the symptoms might include itchy ears, hot ears, pink ears, red eyes, lots of drooling for no reason, itchy feet, etc. My ears were itchy, red, and HOT to the touch after I had a beef bone.
So, no more beef cookies, rawhide chews, mom's shoes (well, those were ALWAYS forbidden), beef bones, steak bones, beef juice, pieces of steak, etc. This was really a difficult change for me because I LOVE the flavor of beef but now I know I don't get any. Instead, I get some green beans or chicken or carrots or something else fun to snack on.
My ears don't keep everyone up all night anymore and we're all very happy that it was such a simple remedy.
