Dog ear infection home remedies

[claud]

My dog gets ear infections frequently. Does anybody have a good home remedy or at least a preventative for ear infections? His infections are bacterial.

 

[bwebb7]

Are you sure bacterial?
Most dogs that get frequent ear infections have allergies and it is yeasty ears.
I have a recipe that I use on the mastiffs and my scotty
(but she is white and looks like a clown after)
It is as follows:

Blue Power Ear Wash Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

16 Oz. Isopropyl Alcohol

4 Tablespoons Boric Acid Powder*

16 Drops Gentian Violet Solution 1% *

*(the boric acid powder and gentian violet at easiest to get at the "mom and pop" pharmacy-walmart and walgreens have to order them)

Mix together in alcohol bottle and shake well.

Please shake this solution every time you use it to mix the Boric Acid Powder. Either a baby ear syringe or a plastic squirt bottle work well for putting the solution in the ear.

DIRECTIONS FOR USE:

Evaluate condition of ears before treating and if the are inflamed and sore do not attempt to pull hair or clean out ear at all. Just flush and then wait until inflammation is gone, which will be about two days. Warm the solution and shake the bottle each time before using. The dogs will accept the treatment much better if you warm it up for them.

Flood the ear with solution (gently squirt bottle).

Massage gently, wipe with 100% cotton pad.

On first treatment: flood the ear twice, wipe with a pad, and leave alone without massage.

The dog will shake out the excess, which can be wiped with a tissue. (Note: the Gentian Violet does stain fabrics so you're best to do this outdoors.)

Treat 2x per day for the first week to two weeks, depending upon severity of ears.

After the 2nd or 3rd day you can clean out the ear with a tissue or cotton pad.

Treat 1x per day for the next 1-2 weeks.
Treat 1x per month (or even less frequently, depending on the dog).

note-
I usually use a shot glass to pour in his ear and I also get the cotton that hairdressers use to wrap around your perm and stuff that down in his ear-straight down towards his feet and then use the shot glass to fill his ear and massage well.

( Professional 100% Cotton Salon Coil)

 

[miss_thenorth]

Prevention is the best medicine. Make sure the ears are always dry, pull hair from the ear canal.

 

[2468Chickensrgr8]

Yes keep them dry .....my retriever gets the yeasty kind of infections and I try and keep his ears dry and sometimes when i catch him sleeping I'll flip his ear up so air gets to the canal...but the best thing for me is the prescription Vet ear drops and cleaning his ears also helps....wipe out as much yeast as you can....but dont over clean it...

 

[sunnychooks]

I second the Blue Power Ear Wash Recipe. Around here we call it "Magic Ear Wash". Your dog's ears will be blue for a while, but this is the best treatment we've found. Good Luck!

 

[claud]

Thanks for the remedies. He does get bacterial infections from what my vet says and they give me Otomax which is Gentamycin(for bacteria), betamethsone(for inflammation) and Clotrimazole(fungal). I don't mind using this but the vet MUST see him everytime he gets an infection. So They look at his ears, say "yup - same thing" and charge me for the med and the visit - $50 or more.
I might try the Blue wash. I'm a little worried about the dye getting on things - does it transfer when it's dry?
Ironically, my dog is blue -ha,ha(well, they call it blue but it's actually more of a dark gray color). He is a Shar Pei and the inside of his ears are as wrinkly as his skin - the cause, I suppose, of his frequent ear infections.

 

[Redfeathers]

Quote:
This is the best home remedy I've ever come across, we had an Irish Setter rescue with the worst ear infection I've ever seen. This solution worked better then the stuff the vet gave us.

 

[bwebb7]

If you do the ear wash outside by the time he shakes his head a few times it is dried-I think it is like scratching on the inside-they all love it!
when you massage them with the blue wash in them-they groan and sigh complete satisfaction@!

 

[sundance]

I have both a Yorkie and a poodle with long hair over their ears. the best thing I have found is half white vinegar, and half alcohol. I have a needle from my B12 shots so I just threw the needle away and kept the syringe, usually give about 3cc and rub good, works every time for me. marrie

 

[mekasmom]

Does your dog have floppy ears rather that ears that stick up? Is there a funky smelling black icky substance in there? If so, it is yeast. Yeast is a recurrent infection. When the dog scratches the ears, it can cause a secondary bacterial infection, but the problem is all due to a fungus called yeast. To kill yeast clean the ears with rubbing alcohol. Just lay the dog on its side, pour a cap full of alcohol into the ear, leave it for a few seconds, then roll the dog over to let it drain. Do the same thing to the other ear. If you do that three to four times a day for a couple of days, it will kill the yeast.
But yeast is recurrent. You have to do it about once a week or once every other week to stop the cycle of yeast regrowing in the ears. If you stop the yeast overgrowth cycle, the secondary bacterial infections will stop. Some people mix alcohol half and half with vinegar, but alcohol is the ingredient that kills the yeast.
The reason you have to go to the vet over and over and over for the yeast infection is simply because it is recurrent. Dogs who grow yeast, grow yeast. It is a recurrent cycle, so once it is cleared up, you have to treat on a regular preventative basis. The bacterial growth is secondary to the fungus. Bacteria is not the cause of the infection, the yeast fungus is the base cause.

It is like people who are prone to athlete's foot or ladies that are prone to yeast infections down below. Dogs that are prone to yeast infections of the ear have them over and over and over. Yeast is recurrent, and it is the cause of most fungal infections. Alcohol will kill athletes foot just as easily as it will kill any other yeast infection be it in dog's ears or obese people's belly buttons. It's all yeast.

If the problem is mites rather than yeast then ivermectin given monthly will stop it. That is the main ingredient in heartworm preventative and many wormers. Mites are not as big of a problem as yeast because most people use Heartguard which also prevents mites.