Canine Ear Checklist
- Shakes its head or scratches its ears
- Lives with other pets with parasitic infestations (e.g.: cats)
- Exudes a pungent odor from its ears
- Has long, pendulous ears
- Lives in a humid environment
- Loves to swim or bathe
- History of recurring ear infections
Signs of an ear infection
These are the signs of an ear infection in your dog or cat:
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Ear Care
Routine cleaning of the canals. Recommended is to pluck all hair that grows in the canal.
Hair impedes air flow into the canal that tends to keep the canal dry. Common household
tweezers will do the job.
After hair removal, flush the ear canals with a commercial ear cleaner, gently massage
the base of the ears to distribute the solution around the normal ear folds.
Most ear cleaners have several functions. They not only clean the ear canal but also have
an agent for liquefying exudate, drying the ear canal, and changing the pH (acidity) in
the canals.
For the dogs that have had problems with infected ears once a week during the warm months is good.
Any time your dog is bathed or enters the water, an ear cleaning solution should be
administered immediately afterwards. (To prevent water entering your dog's ears during
the bath, place cotton ball(s) in his ear (not too far).
Be careful about puting alcohol in the ear. It will dry the ear, but if there is inflammation
or small scratches in the canal, the alcohol will burn and cause tremendous pain and further
inflammation. If you must use a product from the shelf at home, use white vinegar diluted
50:50 with water.
How common are ear infections in dogs?
Infections of the external ear canal by bacteria or yeast, are one of the most common types
of infections seen in dogs. Some breeds may be more prone to ear infections, but they can occur
in any breed.
What are the symptoms of an ear infection?
A dog with an ear infection is uncomfortable; his ear canals are sensitive. He shakes his
head trying to get the debris and fluid out, and scratches his ears. The ears often become red
and inflamed and develop an offensive odor. A black or yellowish discharge commonly occurs.
Ear infection or ear mite?
Ear mites can cause several of these symptoms, including a black discharge, scratching,
and head shaking. Ear mite infections generally occur most commonly in puppies. Ear mites in
adult dogs occur most frequently after a puppy carrying mites is introduced into the household.
Sometimes ear mites will create an environment within the ear canal which leads to a secondary
infection with bacteria and yeast (fungus). By the time the dog is presented to the veterinarian,
the mites may be gone, but a significant ear infection remains.
In some cases the ear infection may be caused by a foreign body or tumor in the ear canal.
Treatment with medication alone will not resolve these problems. Also, the dog must be examined
to be sure that the eardrum is intact.
How important is it to treat an ear infection?
Dogs with ear infections are miserable. Their ears are a source of constant pain resulting
in head shaking and scratching. Without help, your dog can develope chronic ear infections that
may result in an internal ear infection.
Correct ear medication addministration.
It is important to get the medication into the horizontal part of the ear canal. Be aware
that the dog's external ear canal is "L" shaped. The vertical canal connects with the outside
of the ear; the horizontal canal lies deeper in the canal and terminates at the eardrum.
The ear canal may be medicated by following these steps:
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When all medications have been applied, clean the outer part of the ear canal and
the inside of the ear flap with a cotton ball soaked with a small amount of rubbing
(isopropyl) alcohol. Do not use cotton tipped applicators to do this as they tend to push
debris back into the vertical ear canal.
The traditional treatment for ear infections is to give antibiotics, antifungal medications
or other drugs. The problem with this approach is that drugs upset the normal chemistry inside
the ear and can possibly turn a simple infection into a long-term problem.
It makes more sense to deal with underlying allergies and strengthen the immune system so that
it is able to fight bacteria and other germs before they cause infection. Also, there are many
natural treatments for cleaning the ears and stopping infections without using drugs.
Natural solutions
Clean the ears with vinegar. If your pet’s ears are filled with brownish-pink wax, there is
a good chance that allergies have caused a yeast infection. To clear up yeast infections, clean
the ears thoroughly.
Veterinarians often recommend using white vinegar (also called acetic acid), because it removes
dirt and debris and helps restore a healthy chemical balance in the ears. Diluted vinegar
works well. When using vinegar, pour a small amount into the ear canal, massage the area,
then gently wipe the inside of the ear with a cotton ball. Do this once a day until the ear
is better.
Reduce inflammation with vitamin C. The adrenal glands produce a natural steroid that can help
reduce inflammation when ears get infected. Giving pets vitamin C can help the adrenal glands
work more efficiently. Pets weighing under 15 pounds can take between 100 and 250 milligrams of
vitamin C a day.
Cats and dogs 15 to 50 pounds can take 250 to 500 milligrams a day, and larger dogs can take
500 milligrams two or three times a day. Vitamin C can cause diarrhea, so you may have to cut
back the dose until you find an amount that your pet will tolerate.
Eliminate toxins with a healthy, all-natural diet. Giving your pet a healthy, homemade diet or
high-quality commercial food that doesn’t contain corn, additives or preservatives can greatly reduce
the amount of wax that the ears produce while also helping to boost the immune system.
Air out the ears. Increasing air circulation inside the ears can control the growth of bacteria,
yeast and fungi. Trim or pluck hair inside the ears periodically to allow more air to get inside.
Strengthen the digestive tract. Supplements such as bromelain and quercetin (with bromelain)
can help prevent an allergic response in the gastrointestinal tract, making food allergies less
of a problem.
Stop ear mites with oil. When an infection is caused by ear mites, putting a few drops of almond
oil or olive oil in each ear will smother the mites and may allow the infection to heal. You usually
need to continue the oil treatments for three to four weeks, putting three to seven drops of oil into
the ear canals each day. To help the treatment work more efficiently, clean wax and other debris from
the ears before using oil.
Our vet adviced us to try over the counter Polysporin eye-ear drops for the ear infection. Follow
the label instructions. You can also releave the pain by adding Benadryl medication.
(Use Benadryl for Kids.) This works very well!
When to call the vet
Ear infections can look and smell awful, but they usually affect only the outer part of the ear and
aren’t too serious. If you’re unable to get to the source of the problem (especially if your pet is
still scratching a lot), you will want to see your veterinarian to find out what is causing the problem.
Vigorous scratching can break blood vessels in the earflap, causing the entire ear to swell like a balloon.
This condition is called hematoma and must be drained by a veterinarian to prevent permanent damage.
Other symptoms to watch out for include head tilting, clumsiness, walking in circles or drooping eyes.
These are signs of an inner-ear infection and must be treated by a vet. Your pet will probably need
antibiotics to knock out the infection. In addition, your vet may need to drain pus and other fluids from
inside the ear.
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I've done my homework and I found another remedy you can try:
You will need: White vinegar * powdered boric acid * isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) * Betadine antiseptic (or generic version of the Betadine antiseptic - Pharmacist will point you to the right direction.) Empty plastic with a long applicator snout bottle to store your ear cleaning solution in, and from which you will squirt the solution in to your dog's ear. Mixing directions: Be sure to follow them in the order listed! Pour 6 ounces of isopropyl alcohol in to your applicator bottle. (This is where those ounce measuring lines on the outside of the bottle really come in handy.) Next, add 1/2 tablespoon of boric acid powder. An easy way to do that is to measure the powder, dump it on to a piece of paper, fold the paper in half and use the paper as a funnel to get the powder in to the plastic applicator bottle. Be careful not to get any boric acid on your skin or clothing. If you do, wash it off immediately. Shake the solution up really well, until the boric acid powder is fully dissolved. Next, add 2 ounces of white vinegar. Shake it up some more. Finally, add one teaspoon of the generic Betadine antiseptic, and shake it some more. The solution should take on coloring similar to ice tea. Be careful not to get any of the Betadine on your skin or clothing. If you do, wash it off immediately. That's it! Now to the ear cleaning itself - all you have to do is squirt it in there until you have completely filled the ear canal with this cleaning solution. But don't let go of the dog quite yet. Now you have to massage (rub) the ear from the back side on the ear "root", so the ear cleaning solution gets everywhere. Massage it for about a minute and try to keep your dog still for a while, because as soon as you let the dog go, (s)he will shake the head and most of the solution will be going out. (If you get any of the ear cleaning solution on your skin, wash it off as soon as possible.) Apply the cleaning solution to your dog's ears daily until you start to see some improvement. Once things get better, you can cut back to once a week... and when you're fully satisfied with the condition of the ear you can go two weeks between treatments. The ear cleaning solution can be stored at room temperature and does not go bad with time. One little tip: your dog won't object to you squirting this stuff in his ear so much if you make sure the solution is warmed up to body temperature first. They hate it when you squirt cold liquid in their ears! Don't use the microwave oven to heat the solution up, though... it's too easy to accidentally overheat it. Just put the bottle in a sunny window sill for an hour or so, prior to use. Or warm the bottle in a pan of warm water like you would a baby bottle. FAQs about this solution: Is it safe to use on my dog? As long as the ear drum is intact and there are no open sores, scratches, punctures, or wounds in the dog's ear... yes. For example, if your dog has scratched his ears with his claws and broken the skin... it would not be a good idea to use the ear cleaning solution until that wound has fully healed, because the alcohol would sting and the boric acid would have a path to the bloodstream. Also, please be careful not to accidentally get any of the ear cleaning solution in to your dog's eyes. If your dog's ear drum has ruptured or been punctured, the ear cleaning solution would be very bad for your dog. Therefore, the safest thing to do would be to have your vet do an examination of your dog's ear first, before starting treatment with this ear cleaner... to ensure the ear drum is intact and there are no open sores which would allow the ear cleaner to get in to the blood stream. Boric acid is used in some roach killing products. Can't it poison my dog? Similar to the last answer... as long as there are no sores, wounds, etc. in the ear... the boric acid will not get in to the dog's system. Yes, you don't want your dog licking or drinking this stuff... but it's safe to use in the ear. When he shakes his head and the ear cleaning solution goes flying everywhere, you might want to use a towel to wipe any off of his coat. The products all say "not for internal use" yet you are asking me to insert these in my dogs ear! Are you nuts? It's like the difference between putting soap in your mouth and in your belly button. As long as the ear drum is intact, the ear canal is a sealed cavity. The ear cleaning solution goes in, it gets squished around, and then the dog shakes his head and all the ear cleaning solution comes out. Should I use a cotton ball, q-tip, Kleenex, etc. to clean out my dog's ear? If there is a lot of "gunk" inside the ear... yes, feel free to use something to help clean all that stuff out of there. Once you've done this for a few days in a row, you'll get all the big stuff out of there and the flushing action of the ear cleaning solution will do the rest. My Veterinarian has recommended a total ablation of the ear. Will the ear cleaning solution help? If your dog has had a severe ear infection for so long that the ear has calcified and sealed itself closed, you've probably waited too long to start using the ear cleaning solution. If the ear canal has sealed itself closed, the ear cleaning solution won't be able to get inside to work. However, there's no harm in trying. You can try using the ear cleaning solution and using cotton balls and q-tips to clear out some of the major crud inside the ear. Over time, you might be able to clean things out to the point that the ear canal opens up. It's worth a try. You wouldn't really be risking much to put the surgery off for a month and see if daily cleaning with the ear cleaning solution can accomplish anything. Is this only for dogs that have a full-blown ear infection in progress, or can I use it on a healthy dog to prevent him from ever getting an ear infection? An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Use it once every one or two weeks to prevent your dog from getting an ear infection. On dogs that are currently experiencing an ear infection, use it daily. I've been using the ear cleaning solution for several weeks, but my dog STILL has an ear infection. Now what? While the ear cleaning solution will successfully eliminate ear infections in many dogs, there is the occasional serious infection that requires professional veterinary treatment. We've used this ear cleaning solution on all of our dogs for the last several years, and it has worked great except for in one really bad infection that ended up requiring antibiotics to beat. After the vet put that one dog on antibiotics, the ear cleaning solution has kept infections from ever coming back in that dog. I have looked in every drug store in my town and can not find any boric acid. Is there a substitute? The boric acid is an important ingredient, so I suggest you use the recipe as written. Because boric acid can be used in the manufacture of certain illegal drugs, most drug stores do not leave it just sitting out on the shelf with all their other products. No prescription is required, but it is usually kept behind the counter. Just ask your pharmacist for it. I have a friend who works in a CVS pharmacy and she assures me that just about any drug store should be able to obtain boric acid powder for you. Just ask the pharmacist for help. The measurements in the recipe are in ounces. Can you convert that to metric measurements for me? One ounce equals 30 ml. So, that's 180 ml of alcohol, and 60 ml of vinegar. For the boric acid, 1/2 tablespoon equals 7.5 ml. For the betadine, 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml. Can I use this on a cat? Of course. No problem. |
