Applying antiseptic ear solution to dog's ear?

[Somewhere_In_The_Clouds]

Assuming the vet is an option yes it's always great to consult a professional

Phone calls make advice like this pretty accessible thankfully.
Using a cotton ball *may* work or it may not be administering anywhere near enough medication to be effective and be a waste of time. A vet may also be able to provide tips on administering the medication, if needed, they have the most experience in this.
I regularly applied an aural meditation to a dog that wanted to bite me, because that how it needed it to be administered. If a dog doesn't take kindly to having it's ears mess with, a quick unpleasant squirt into the ear is absolutely going to be the better option than messing around with other methods that may not even work.

 

[Mirrium]

Phone calls make advice like this pretty accessible thankfully.
Using a cotton ball *may* work or it may not be administering anywhere near enough medication to be effective and be a waste of time. A vet may also be able to provide tips on administering the medication, if needed, they have the most experience in this.
I regularly applied an aural meditation to a dog that wanted to bite me, because that how it needed it to be administered. If a dog doesn't take kindly to having it's ears mess with, a quick unpleasant squirt into the ear is absolutely going to be the better option than messing around with other methods that may not even work.

This is true however (in my experience at least) veterinary practices will usually refuse to advise over a phone and insist they see the animal in question. And with checkups alone costing upwards of $80 here it's not always feasible to pay out that much every time we have an inquiry.
I've had the ear mite stuff a couple of times before with previous pets and even in office I've watched them use a cotton ball to do what op is asking. The fact of the matter is that if ops dog is refusing the medicine by squirting it in then the best they can do is the cottonball method and something is always gonna be better than nothing even if it just ends up being a wipe down with a cotton ball and water to clean the ear it'll at least help a little and possibly bring some comfort.

 

[Somewhere_In_The_Clouds]

This is true however (in my experience at least) veterinary practices will usually refuse to advise over a phone and insist they see the animal in question. And with checkups alone costing upwards of $80 here it's not always feasible to pay out that much every time we have an inquiry.
I've had the ear mite stuff a couple of times before with previous pets and even in office I've watched them use a cotton ball to do what op is asking. The fact of the matter is that if ops dog is refusing the medicine by squirting it in then the best they can do is the cottonball method and something is always gonna be better than nothing even if it just ends up being a wipe down with a cotton ball and water to clean the ear it'll at least help a little and possibly bring some comfort.

I don't think you are quite understanding my posts. The OP hasn't provided anywhere near enough information to determine whether this is a suitable method. We don't even know the product here, which could be completely different to the one you saw the vets use.
Also, in my experience, working at a vet clinic, they will (or should, no, not all clinics are equal) provide you basic product information and advice over the phone, for no charge. No one can force you to take your animal in, there is honestly NO reason a phone call can't be made. If they do choose to not offer advice then you can try a different clinic or explore different options. You lose nothing but a quick phone call.

 

[AinaWGSD]

Sometimes the ear cleaning solution is cold and that's what the dog is objecting to the most. You could try warming it by letting the bottle sit in a cup or bowl of warm water.

Why do you think your dog has ear mites? I was a vet tech for more than 15 years and at least 90% of the time when owners made an appointment for "ear mites" the dog actually had an ear infection caused by yeast (most common) or bacteria. Dogs  can get ear mites, but honestly I only remember like 2 cases where it was actually mites.

If it is ear mites, ear drops/mite cleaner is not an effective way to treat. Ear mites can live outside the ear canal, so treating it with drops usually just causes them to move out for a little while.

As for cleaning, never use water! The shape of the ear canal means it doesn't dry out quickly and you will cause an ear infection. There are tons of cheap, effective ear cleaners on the market. If you absolutely must use something you have on hand, look up a recipe for home made ear cleaning solution (typically involves vinegar).

 

[pac]

Best stuff on the market for cleaning ears and knocking out yeast infections. Even bacterial infections.
I apply it to my dogs as part of the nails, ears, bath treatment. In this case, preventative medicine is better than the alternative. Even dogs with upright ears should have them cleaned now and then.

Not that this will work on mites, but it's better than anything a vet ever gave me for infections.
A pet owner should have it on hand.

https://www.amazon.com/Liquid-Healt...sprefix=liquid+health+ear,aps,143&sr=8-1&th=1

 

[Mirrium]

I don't think you are quite understanding my posts. The OP hasn't provided anywhere near enough information to determine whether this is a suitable method. We don't even know the product here, which could be completely different to the one you saw the vets use.
Also, in my experience, working at a vet clinic, they will (or should, no, not all clinics are equal) provide you basic product information and advice over the phone, for no charge. No one can force you to take your animal in, there is honestly NO reason a phone call can't be made. If they do choose to not offer advice then you can try a different clinic or explore different options. You lose nothing but a quick phone call.

I'm not saying my knowledge perfectly matches onto ops situation I'm just giving the best advice I can based on my experiences. I completely agree with you that if op can call a veterinary practice then they should. If they can't and the practices are like they are here then the next best thing is to get a general consensus of what people here have experienced and then extract collective data to make a decision for themselves.
That's all I'm doing here giving my opinion and experiences so op can use them as a building block to make their decisions. Nothing against either of you I know there's not a lot of information to go off of so I'm just doing what I can, wish I could be more helpful tho.

 

[pac]

Your animal hospitals sound like the ones around me.
You call, state your purpose and if you can speak to a vet, and the vet calls you back right before they close and does not give useful advice. If it is even pertinent at that point. And this is even with the animal hospital(s) you use.

All the "old school" vets are in retiring mode

 

[Mirrium]

Your animal hospitals sound like the ones around me.
You call, state your purpose and if you can speak to a vet, and the vet calls you back right before they close and does not give useful advice. If it is even pertinent at that point. And this is even with the animal hospital(s) you use.

All the "old school" vets are in retiring mode

I'm lucky if I get a call back the same day honestly, usually it'll be the day after if they call back at all! And then when I call to say I'm still waiting on a phone call back I just get "sorry it seems you were lost in the system" or "oh I was just about to call"

 

[pac]

Oh I've got some stories, but that might step on some toes here

 

[Mirrium]

Oh I've got some stories, but that might step on some toes here

If you wanna dm I'd love to hear your experiences