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Michelle Koch
Here on the warm and humid east coast, dog ears are a favorite breeding ground for yeast. After using up the antifungal drops prescribed by my current veterinarian, I purchased some Sweet Wormwood tincture to use as a maintenance wash. But I’m wondering the best way to apply it. Should I use the tincture neat and full strength, or should I dilute it with some vinegar? Or is there a much better formula I should use? I know there are a lot of good ear wash recipes, what is your favorite?
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Dr. Patrick Jones
Witch hazel or vinegar are good carriers. If the ear is raw, you might want to dilute a bit with water.
Calendula is on of m favorite ear cleaners.
Couple of points on ear infections in dogs:
Make sure when you bathe a dog that you poke some cotton balls into the ears. Water in the ears is a leading cause of ear infections.
If you have a swimmer, there are “Swimmer’s ear” astringent products you can buy to squirt into the ears to get the water out.
Lastly, almost all chronic ear infections in dogs come from an underlying allergy issue. Deal with the allergy and the ear problems will resolve.
Don't use herbs or combine herbs with medications or use them during lactation or pregnancy without talking with your healthcare provider.
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Debbie Jones
Hi Doc: You mentioned that there are astringent products that you can buy to squirt into my dogs ears to get the water out- is that the witch hazel or something else? Thanks
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meadowrunfarm@gmail.com
I’ve dealt with a lot of ear infection with my dog, how could I know what keeps causing it? I have taken her to the vet and they said it was an allergy, but how do I know what she’s reacting to?
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Annie Schiller
Would you make a calendula tincture with witch hazel or just add witch hazel to an alcohol tincture of calendula ? Thank you!
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The Fungal Topical Formula works really well for ear infections too.
https://herbpet.com/product/fungal-topical-spray/
Here’s the formula:
Fungal Topical
1 Bergamot,
1 Black Walnut
1 Garlic
1 Calendula
Don't use herbs or combine herbs with medications or use them during lactation or pregnancy without talking with your healthcare provider.
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Sharon
Hey Doc, is that Fungal Topical formula good for human ear infections as well (I assume so since you mention that most of your formulas are good for animals and people). And would the Black Walnut be hulls or leaves? Thanks.
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Human ear infections are rarely fungal. My favorite earache remedy is onion juice.
Don't use herbs or combine herbs with medications or use them during lactation or pregnancy without talking with your healthcare provider.
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Kristy Holman
Would the above fungal topical recipe work for yeast infections in dog’s ears?
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Absolutely.
That said, be aware that almost all dogs with chronic ear infections have allergies too which is what’s causing the ear problems. So, getting the allergies under control is a good idea.Don't use herbs or combine herbs with medications or use them during lactation or pregnancy without talking with your healthcare provider.
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Is there an herbal remedy for allergies in dogs that would be causing the yeast infections? On the fungal topical formula, would it be better to use as a tincture diluted or to infuse the herbs in olive oil. Just wondering if the oil would be more soothing?
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Esther ter Reehorst
Same question about oil versus ticture! Also, how do you figure out allergies in a dog..?
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This reply was modified 1 year, 2 months ago by
Esther ter Reehorst.
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This reply was modified 1 year, 2 months ago by
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Is the spray that you sell made with alcohol? If so, how would you make this less painful for a dog’s ears? Would an oil infusion work better and be more soothing? Thank you!
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Teresa Halldorson
Couple Puppy questions
1. We have a 4 month old German Shepard, she has dirty ears, looks like black dirt in the ear folds. Would it be safe to assume that this is related to an allergy? Or can dogs in general just accumulate dirty ears? Recommendations for appropriate ear wash? Witch hazel and calendula diluted tincture, would this work?
2. More important, our pup was playing with our older German Shepard in the back yard, now has been favoring her front left shoulder. We are able to move the limb, all joints in limb appear to not be impacted upon assessing, specific pain to putting pressure when walking. I am considering the NoMoSpasm, any other recommendations to use in combination? Going to use dry powdered herbs with food to get them in her? Please advise.
Thank you
Teresa H
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Dirt is just dirt. If you clean them out and the ear looks happy, it’s just dirty.
Joint support is a really good anti-inflammatory for that kind of pain. Do it 2-3 times a day.
If that doesn’t fix it, have the pup looked at by a vet.
Don't use herbs or combine herbs with medications or use them during lactation or pregnancy without talking with your healthcare provider.
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Our dog has had his ears (and tail) clipped off, which is a relatively standard thing they do to pups here. 🙁 (When we got him, he was an adult streetdog.) Now I understand why ALL the dogs here have the nasty, infected ears all the time… They get water in there all.the.time. Would it help him if I just spray a calendula tincture& vinegar on his ears like every day..? Or is it hopeless..? He is always outside, so can’t possibly dry them constantly. Dew, rain, snow and just a dive in every brook around… 😉 He has a beautiful life, but oh those ears…
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I have a friend with a Basset Hound (as typical of the breed, those extra long ears drag on the ground and literally scoop dust and dirt and debris into the ear canals), and she cleans her dog’s ears every day. She uses an ear wash solution, but she also twists a Kleenex or a paper towel into a “wick” to get down in the canal and wick all the dirt and excess moisture out. Every Day. For your dog, you could wrap a piece of soft cotton cloth (a scrap of an old t-shirt would be perfect) around your finger, and very gently stick your wrapped finger into the ear canal to mop up the water and debris. Have your vet show you how to do this, if necessary. I’ve been shown by a veterinarian how to do this, so I’m not afraid of causing harm. Do it every day, if you need to. It really helps, and also allows you to see the color and consistency of the debris, and you can also assess for odor that could alert you to infection, if present.
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Denise
A suggestion I give to all my grooming clients when the dogs are dealing with yeast &/or bacterial infections is to also apply cleanser/rinses to the back feet, primarily toes and nails. Especially in the cases of reoccurring infections. Yeast (to my understanding) is transferable only on the specific dog, unless its a ringworm situation, but having only feet and no hands they use their feet to scratch to provide some form of relief to themselves. Transfer back and forth has been a main reason that many dogs have suffered for along time until both areas are treated concurrently. Most of the time as long as there is no underlying allergy issue then this way has cleared up the issue.
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Yup. You can actually poke your finger or a cotton ball into a dogs ear as far as you want and not cause any harm.
Don't use herbs or combine herbs with medications or use them during lactation or pregnancy without talking with your healthcare provider.
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Thanks! That is very helpful, and I will start paying more attention to this, especially with warmer weather approaching, when it seems to be more of an issue than now, while it’s cold…
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