Dog Ear Infection: How To Finally Stop It With Natural Remedies
If your dog has been shaking his head and scratching at his ears, then he likely has an ear infection. Ear infections in dogs are very common but often very frustrating; they can quickly and often do re-occur leaving you wondering if you can ever get rid of them. This article will go over the most common causes of ear infections, and give you the most effective at home remedies to finally stop your dog’s ear infection.
Most pet owners can easily tell if their dog has an ear infection by looking into and their dog’s ear. A normal ear is light pink, not tender and easy to examine. In dog ear infections you will see a foul-smelling black, yellow or brown discharge. The ears may be very red and tender.
Most ear infections are caused by an underlying allergy. Some are caused by water in the ear after bathing or swimming. Dogs with large floppy ears, such as Basset Hounds, are prone to infections as their ear canals have poor air circulation, trapping moisture and allowing bacteria and yeast to grow.
Dogs with ear infections caused by yeast usually have a black discharge; this is commonly second to an allergy. Dogs with bacterial ear infections often have an organism called Staphylococcus; in rare cases a more serious infection is caused by a bacteria called Pseudomonas.
White vinegar (acetic acid) is very effective at removing debris from the ears and killing the yeast and bacteria responsible for ear infections. The vinegar is anti-fungal, so in many cases it alone can resolve your dog’s ear infection. If your dog has red, open wounds, do not use this as it will be painful. You need to use a soothing topical first (i.e. olive oil and Vitamin E). Dilute the vinegar with water 50:50, pick up a syringe from your local pharmacy and put 5 ml of the vinegar solution per 20 lbs of body weight into the affected ear. (Your cat would get 2.5 ml or 1/2 a tsp). Grab the ear where it attaches to the head (at the ear base), gently squeeze your thumb and forefinger together, rubbing the solution deep into the ear canals. Wipe the inside of the ear well with cotton balls to remove debris coming from the ear canal. Continue to do this daily for 5-7 days. For dogs with recurring infections, this can be done weekly.
Healing oils are especially helpful if your dog’s ears are inflamed and difficult to touch. You can use a mixture of 1 tablespoon of Olive Oil combined with 1 capsule of Vitamin E and crushed garlic. Insert that into your pets ear. Let it soak for 5 minutes, then rub the base of the ear well and wipe out excess debris with a cotton ball. The garlic is anti-fungal, so often helps with recurring ear infections.
For dogs that get recurring ear infections it is important to try a less allergenic diet. It should include a completely different protein with minimal added ingredients. One example commercial diet is made of fish and sweet potato.
Essential Fatty Acids are a must for any allergy that triggers recurring ear infections. The therapeutic dog dose is 1000 mg per 10lbs of body weight daily. An inexpensive option is to use flax oil, the dose being 1 tablespoon per 50lbs of body weight daily.
A common remedy most pet owners have around their home are antihistamines. Benadryl is the most commonly used antihistamine. It is given at a dose of 1 mg per pound of body weight, 2-3 times a day. It is best to consult your veterinarian before using these medications. It often takes 14 days of using these to see if they are helping.
Most ear infections produce red, inflamed ears, so it is important to decrease the inflammation. Aloe and Calendula can be applied topically in the ears twice daily to decrease inflammation. These have anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties, and in many cases successfully resolve the ear infection.
You should now better understand what causes dog ear infection, and be able to recognize this in your own dog. You can now clean your dog’s ear at home, using natural remedies to treat yeast and bacteria. Lastly you should now implement a few of these at home solutions to prevent your dog’s ear infection from recurring.
Best Wishes,
Dr Andrew Jones, DVM
P.S. My supplement, Dr Jones’ Ultimate Canine Health Formula contains high levels of essential fatty acids, probiotics, and antioxidants which can help with recurring ear infections. You can get a 50% OFF trial by going to: Ultimate Canine Health Formula
Thank you so MUCH!!!!
About two months ago I had to take (again) to the vet to one of my dogs because she had once more an ear infection. I had tried everything but it does not work or it works for just a little bit and then we have problems again. I was looking for some kind of natural remedy and I am going to try the olive oil, vitamine E and garlic :). THANKS!
Natural Cellular Defense also worked on my dog’s ears. I also did a little laser (cold laser) on her ears. She still has allergies, so I’m escalating the treatment a little and playing with her protein source.
olive oil worked great to clean out painful crusty ears my dog accepted it and liked it
Thanks!!
Thanks Doc, you made my day , because i would taken stella to the Vet, it works well i used the olive oil remedy but before a good clean with the white vinegar solution , thanks once again.
nicolo , italy
Thank you so much for this information. My dog has recurring ear infections (especially during the summer when she swims in the ocean) and all I get from the vets are expensive medications!
thank so much for the ear infection info my dog been have the thins you describe and i used some oment to clean his outer ear up and it seem to work but now i can do what you recommend he has not been in any water he dose have aligraly during the summer some time and i keep benadryl around for him have a great day thank
Thanks so much for this article. I wish it would have come out about 3 weeks ago. My puppy had the yeast infection in the ear. Took him to the vet and cost way more than this would have.
Thanks for the great advice! I make an all natural salve for yeast infections in dogs. It contains infused oils of Olive Leaf, Yarrow, Pau d’Arco, and Hemp, as well as Tea Tree, Rose Geranium, Beta-Carotene, and Vitamin E. Kills the yeast and relieves the itching without chemicals. Natural products are definitely the first line of defense.
I came home from the vet to find this article in my in box. $104 later. Now I know what to do. Thank you for your caring.
Thank you so much for the ear information. I haven’t tried it yet, but will tomorrow when I get my daughters little chihuahua. He had such bad infections he had to have it operated on. He really suffers with this. We take him to the doctors and it comes back. Thanks again, I’ll let you know how it worked.
Thanks a lot, Dr. Andrew, for the info. My German Shepherd Dog has had a recurring ear infection which has cost me an arm and a leg at the vet’s. I can’t wait to try the remedies you suggested in this article. Quality information such as what you’ve been sharing with us is greatly appreciated. Many thanks for your generosity and kind heart.
thanks for your valuable articles . your effert is highly appriciated dogs ear infection is quite common .ANY other solution from homeo medicine?
Thanks so much for this very valuable information as my labradoodle has had and still has problems with his ears. I can hardly wait to try some of your remedies.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart (Tino’s, Lucky’s, Kitty’s & Kia’s also!!! 😉 you truly are a saint Andrew Jones!! I try to survive on a ridiculously small pension from Scotland (because I live in Spain!) so I can no longer afford trips to my local vet, who only bullied me every time I saw him about yearly vaccinations etc… I try to keep my two boy dogs (Tino & Lucky) healthy by cooking their meals + a Vit tablet every day and my two girl cats (Kitty & Kia) I feed Royal Canin light (they’re a bit fat 😉 alternating with canned food. I can’t thank you enough for the above advioce about the ear infections because Lucky (a rescued pensioner!) gets one time after time, so I am deinitely going to try the remedies above. Thanks you so much Dr Andrew and God bless you and your wonderful family (human & animals 😉
thank you doc andrew..I learned a lot…
I enjoy reading this article it gave’s me more information regarding to ear infection of my dog..I will definitly apply this to my dogs” potpot & lily”..and also to those dogs I have known…
from the bottom of my hypothalamus…heheh
of course in heart thank you….
you gave this advise in a video long ago
and i have since kept our Little Olivers ears clean and infection free by cleaning often with the apple cider vinegar diluted with water and the occassional use of olive oil in the ears.
Thank you Doctor Andrew for the review
from Ollie n Me 🙂
Our lab has had severe ear infections six he was 8weeks old when we got him. We took him to the vet and he had a horrible case of ear mites. The vet said they damaged his ear canal and now he is 8 years old and still have terrible problems. They have tried EVERYTHING to fix his ear but it always comes back. Now he also has a film on both his eyes. The vet sold us eye drops but the film came back even though we are still putting the drops in his eyes everyday. they look horrible. I dont know if it causes him pain or if it causes him a loss of vision in his eyes? Any help you could give us would be of great help!! Thank You.
Thank you for the information on ear problem.
Thank You for the info on ear infections I will try the Olive Oil,Garlic and Vit E hope it works on hot spots too
Thank you much. Vet keeps saying, “well bring him back in”, and each time it’s another $70 – $100.
These are great! I’m going to use the olive oil and vitamin E in his ears and the vinegar with green tea. We now take our dog to the vet once a month for an allergy shot and this has made a huge difference in his daily life. No more constant itchy and skin infections.