Dog ears

[rAcErRicK]

With as many dog lovers out there I am in hopes that you might be able to tell me of a good, but inexpensive way to keep my pup's ears healthy. He is shaking his head quite a bit right now, and I would like to give him some relief. A few drops of peroxide ? Vinegar ? Surely there is something natural that will help. If a trip to the vet. is really necessary, I'll gladly do it, but it is a huge hit on my purse.

Thanks in advance,
rick

[12vman]

Pour a small amount of rubbing alcohol (1/8 cup) and add a teaspoon of boric acid and mix well. Let the mixture settle and draw the clear liquid up with a dropper. Put into ears!

[tufhelp]

We just went through similar with our border collie Jewel. Turns out she had a tick in he ear that I couldn't see. Just when I was about to give up I looked one more time with one of these new LED flashlights and spied it just barely visible hidden down behind one of the folds and protuberances in the ear canal. I was able to get it with a long forceps, a muzzle and the wife holding her as still as she was able.

[mistyriver]

Frequently when a dog has an ear infection it is caused by yeast. You can buy an expensive anti-yeast med from the vet but an over the counter med like Gynelotrimin (for women's yeast infections) works as well. Just remember to put it in the ear, not the other end! ;D

[rAcErRicK]

Thanks Misty, I would have never known that. This site, and those who support it are priceless.

By the way, thanks for sharing your home and pictures with us. It is truly breathtaking to see. It is something to be seen only in a dream.

rick

[rAcErRicK]

Oh, and yes, I understand the "ends" part, besides, he's a he. :D

[rAcErRicK]

Thanks also 12V, and Tuf. It's in my dr. book.

[sharp_shepherd]

One really easy way is a quick trip to your local vet. Most have really good over the counter ear cleaning solutions they will sell you. They are much better than you will be able to find at wally world. Another place to check is any rancher supply store. Vinegar is a great solution to clean the ears. Put in quite a bit and then massage the base of your dogs ear to break lose the debris and let your dog shake his head to get out the vinegar. I do not recommend alcohol based products because if it is sensitive and a little raw it will cause some uncomfort and your dog will most likely not let you do a repeat treatment. I would recommend daily cleaning for a week and then once a week or as needed from then on.
Prior to beginning any treatment look down the ear canal as far as you can. If you see dark wax type "dirt" your pet may have ear mites which can be hard to control or get rid of. For this instance i recommend that you take your pet to the vet and get a prx for Otoban or something similar as you need to kill off the mites. Make sure you follow the entire recommended treatment so the mites don't become resistant to the medication.
An old veterinary expert.

[fnfredux]

I agree with GO TO THE VET...
alcohol as in rubbing alcohol is not a good idea in the ears, it can get into the bloodstream/brain.
I buy the ear drops from my vet, only about $7, and you don't use that much, mere drops. You can store it in the fridge if your dog has reccurences.
I clean my dogs ears with Q-Tips (where I can see) to aid in the absorbtion of the drops (I apply and rub it gently to the inner part of the ear as well as the ear canal). *I'm with mistyriver on the yeast thing, but I think a SPECIFIC med for dogs ears is probably better, especially as I pointed out, it IS a direct route to the brain. Some old Greek (wayyyy back) was asassinated that way...poison in his ear while he slept.
Might want to check with the vet for a sure analysis but GENERALLY... if your dogs ears smell bad and the brown gook is sticky/wet/waxy it is probably yeast.
If the brown stuff is more granular (like coffee grounds) and you can see anything like small red bumps or pimples, it's PROBABLY ear mites. Each of hese conditions requires different medicine. The reason I suggest a vet is many years ago, I described my dogs condition to an employee at a vet supply store, he sold me mite meds, unfortunately my boy had a yeast infection, the mite meds burnned his poor baby ears...NEVER again. Incidently, ear mites are relatively rare if you keep your dog clean. Just like fleas/ticks, they have to come from somewhere.
Let the vet check this first time to be sure, after that when you recognize the sympotoms, you can just pick up and use the meds.

[fnfredux]

I gotta tell you sharp shepherd, I put vinegar in one my dogs ears ONCE, she nearly had conniptions. I don't know if was the burn or the smell, she tore through the house rubbing her ears on EVERYTHING. She didn't much care for the natural cure. As an emergency measure till you can get to a vet it might work out okay for most, but my Sunshine really thought her momma done her wrong.