Natural Remedies for Dog's Ear Infection?

Wally's Ear Oil! You can get it at a vitamin store. My Shitsu had constant ear irritations, and even the medication from the dr. didn't help. Wally's ear oil does the trick.

We have a black lab who swims daily and he use to get ear infections often. We took him to the vet and they gave us something called Vet Solutions Ear Cleaning Solution for dogs and cats. You might be able to find it on the internet.

If the ear is infected you need to take him to the vet for antibiotics.

If it is just waxy buildup you can clean them out with some vinegar mixed with water. We use a bulb syringe like you use on a baby and fill the bulb with solution and squirt it into the dog's ear, then you can use the bulb to suck it out. I'd recommend a large old towel to hold as a barrier between your lab and you cause when he shakes his head the debris will go everywhere.

Our lab/great dane has the same problem sometimes. We clean her ears with vinegar. It breaks down all the wax, but be prepared- it is nasty! If you want to read more about it google "vinegar to clean dogs ears". It is a natural, safe way to help them feel better. Good Luck

Peroxide does work I would not suggest pouring it because the dogs do not understand the bubbling they hear and it will scare them.
If you are dealing with ear mites you can get ear mite drops at Wal Mart my daughter just used it on her Min Pin a few months ago and one treatment was all it took.
Remember to do this outside because they are going to shake their head and it will go all over you and in the air. I just take my dog out on the porch and treat him there.
Since you are organic you may want to check Howard Garrett the dirt doctor at www.dirtdoctor.com he may have even better ideas.
Good Luck.

Almost all Labs have that problem because of how big their ears are and it stays dark and moist in there. Ours has it and I took him to our vet and she gave me drops to use and they have lasted forever. It would be a one time expense, but well worth it for you sweet lab to feel better.

I don't know about the ear infection part but as far as the waxy buildup - try Sweet Oil - it's an old remedy for ear wax for humans - I don't know why it wouldn't be ok for dogs...it just slicks up everything in there so the wax comes out instead of building up.....Good Luck!

N.,

My dog (German Sheppard/ Great Dane) has had a bacterial infection in his ears since February. He's been on three different antibiotics and two different ear drops. They all help but never get rid of the infection. We have no idea what we're going to do next.

I would take your dog to the vet and catch it early if it is an infection.

K.

I was cleaning my boxer pup's ears every 2 - 3 days for the last week. I talked to a vet friend of mine who said that this is not normal and he could have an ear infection or ear mites.

I took him to the vet and he had yeast and a little bacteria growing in his ears. Once on meds he improved. Glad I took him.

If this is a continual problem for your lab, you should probably get it checked out before it gets any worse. You don't want to mess around with ear issues because they could potentially lead to hearing loss if left untreated for too long. If it turns out to be something that is normal for your dog, ask the vet about natural remedies. They're pretty knowledgeable about the latest and greatest on the market.

Good luck.

If it is an infection, the dog needs antibiotics.

We have 2 Cockers and 1 poodle. The Cockers are notorious for ear problems. I have a blue colored ear wash I get from my vet which costs about $15 and it last a LONG time. We squirt it in the ears and use cotton balls to massage and get the yuck out.

If the ear is red and/or has a bad odor you probably need to have antibiotics. But if it is just waxy, then you could use peroxide on a cotton ball to clean the outside of the ear. Then for the canal us a q-tip dipped in peroxide squeezed out. The ear canal of a dog is not like ours and you can insert the q-tip about 1/2 way to swirl around and pull out. If real bad as suggested below I would get a dog ear wash that you can squeeze in with a syringe and rinse out. If your dog has a lot of wax you may need to do one or both regulary (monthly?). You should be able to call your vet or the vet tech with your vet just to confirm what you are doing will not damage your dog's ear. One of my dogs had allergy issues and giving him benadryl prevented his ear infection problem (if there is odor). Again if an ear infection still probably need antibiotics. Also if an ear infection NEVER USE rubbing alcohol in the ear canal, BAD NEWS. I had a vet recommend this and it made it totally worse even with antibiotic. Vet #2 said never use alcohol for an ear infection. Good luck!

I clean my dogs ears with hydrogenperoxide on a cotton ball...

A. J

I know that colodial silver and tea tree oil both fight infections in our family's ears... I bet they would work with dogs too! And it is an inexpensive fix!

GL!

C.

We used to clean our dog's ears on a regular basis with basic douche from the feminine isle.

I have a Rottie that had what I thought was wax or mites but nothing was making them go away (it was the blackish kind of wax, that's why I thought it was mites). So I broke down and had the vet come and look at him. He had a yeast infection in his ear (poor dog, I know). Anyway, they gave me some cleaner and some drops. He told me once they get a yeast infection it's really hard to get rid of. Hope this helps...

Hi N., unfortunately if your dog has an ear infection, there's nothing else but Vet that will help. Our papillon gets infections, so we had to get a cleaner from the vet to prevent it. There might be an ear wash that maybe can protect them from getting one, maybe at Petsmart, but Antibiotics are the only thing that will treat the infection.

Hi N.,
I was a vet tech for about 11 years. I would suggest using distilled vinegar and alcohol mixture. Or better use a ear wash that you can get at the pet store. Please don't use water. Most of the time the ears are too moist and needs to be kept dry. Even in the case of an infection if cleaned regularly it should resolve unless the ear is really red and bleeding. Then you could clean it and then use an triple antibiotic ointment after.
When cleaning use alot of the rinse and squish the ear at the base on the outside to help remove the yuck and then wipe out with a cotton pad. If you use an antibiotic ointment don't be afraid to place it on your finger and put it in the ear canal and squish again. If you dog seems to have a chronic problem I would clean on a regular basis to prevent future problems.
C.

Is the ear very red, or is it just the waxy buildup? If just the waxy buildup it may not be an ear infection. Petsmart carries Excel ear cleansing pads. Just gently use your fingers to clean out the wax. Poodles have hair in their ears and so they are prone to ear infections. I don't think that is the case with labs, but if you see hair in his ear then you can buy the Excel Ear powder, then reach in and pull or cut out some of that hair to allow air in the ear.
Good Luck!

I agree that the issue is different if it's wax or an infection.

And I don't have a dog, but I do have a kid, and at the first sign of ear infection we put 2-3 drops of garlic infused olive oil in each ear 2-3 times/day. Put 2 whole cloves garlic in 2 oz olive oil in a small skillet; cook on medium-low until garlic is soft, then mash the garlic into the oil. Pour it all through a strainer, and cool. Do this for a few days, and it should help stave off the infection. You do need to catch it early, though--once the infection's really raging, you do need antibiotics (which I also try to avoid!).

The same advice (still for kids) is in the October issue of Yoga Journal, if you want to check it out there. They have more natural remedies, too. GL!

Be careful you don't want to just start putting things in his ears. You might call your vet. and see if they can give you some ear wash. Make sure to clean them twice a week it might help limit the ear infections.

the best thing we ever tried for dog ear problems like that is also a natural dog ear drops kind of dog ear oil, it is dr dogs ear oil from http://drdogs247.com
Our dog always had problems but this did the trick. works great, no problems since using these dog ear drops to treat the dogs ear infections.