Home Remedy for Dog Ear Infections

By isak, June 8, 2009

Warning: Do not use this ear cleaning solution on dogs with ruptured ear drums, or on dogs with open sores or wounds in the ear area.
An ear exam by a veterinarian is recommended prior to beginning treatment with this ear cleaning solution.

Ingredients

• White vinegar
• Powdered boric acid
• Isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol)
• Betadine antiseptic solution. Generic versions of the Betadine are known as Povidone-Iodine, and those are fine, too. Just be sure not to use “Betadine Scrub”, which is Betadine with a detergent added.

You’ll need an empty bottle to store your ear cleaning solution in, and from which you will squirt the solution in to your dog’s ear. We recommend the use of a plastic bottle with a long applicator snout, and with markings on the outside that show fluid levels in ounces. This makes it very easy to measure the ingredients as you pour them in to the bottle. A great place to find these is at beauty supply stores. They are commonly used for hair-coloring solutions.

Be sure to mix the ingredients in the order listed:

• Pour 6 ounces of isopropyl alcohol in to your applicator bottle.
• 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. It will stain. If you do, wash it off immediately.

Squirt the solution into the dog’s ear until you have completely filled the ear canal with cleaning solution. Fold the ear back down over the ear canal, and use your hand to rub things around so that the ear cleaning solution gets sloshed around inside there pretty well. You can remove the access with a paper towel.

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, as far as I know, 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.
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reprinted from Zim Family Cocker Spaniel website