Soft And Supple Solution
For a straightforward homemade dog ear cleaner that will leave your pup’s ears soft, supple, and protected, you can use a glycerin mixture.
Ingredients:
Directions:
It’s is a simple mixture that you can apply using cotton balls. The boric acid breaks up waxy buildup while reducing moisture and the possibility of an ear infection in the dog. The glycerin then coats and soothes the dog’s skin to keep it from getting too dry.
Ear Infections Need The Vet
Home remedies for ear infections often just dont work. They can irritate and damage your pets ears, and sometimes even make an infection worse.
Please dont put this stuff in your pets ears
If youve search online, you may find home remedies for dog ear infections like vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, or rubbing alcohol. These are all bad ideas, because they can irritate the inside of the ear and invite more infection.
- Vinegar Sure, the acid in vinegar might kill yeast, but vinegar is mostly water. And that water will leave your dogs ear canal moist, creating the perfect environment for an ear infection.
- Hydrogen peroxideHydrogen peroxide is also mostly water. Once the initial bubbling stops , whats left in the ear is water.
- Rubbing alcoholRubbing alcohol will cause nearly unbearable irritation in your dogs ears, which will be awful to watch and make it even harder for you or your vet to get anywhere near your pets ears for treatment.
Never put anything in your dogs ear without veterinary instruction. Your veterinary team can help you find the ideal treatment to treat the infection and give your dog much-needed relief.
Get to the bottom of all that ear scratching
What Can I Use To Clean My Dogs Ears At Home
You can use a cotton ball soaked in an ear cleaning solution or natural oil to clean your dogs ears. When cleaning, it is important to follow specific tips and tricks mentioned below:
- Position. To make your dog cooperative, allow it to sit on your lap in a comfortable position. Take the help of a family member or someone who is fond of your dog and vice versa.
- Schedule. Make sure you clean both ears within the same day or at the same time. Do not push things if your dog is unhappy and not in the mood. Give it a try after some time or some other day.
- Ear Cleaner. Do not use a Q-tip or cotton swabs to clean your dogs ears. It is important to use vet-recommended dog ear cleansers and wipes only.
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Green Tea Dog Ear Cleaner
This homemade dog solution can be used as ear wash twice a day to get rid of waxy buildup, dark gunk and odor.
- 1 cup boiling water
Place the tea bags in a cup. Pour boiling water and steep for 15 minutes. Use the warm solution to flush out dirt, grime and mites. Follow up with apple cider vinegar cleanup.
/4 Dog Ear Infections Related To Yeast
Dog ears are nice, warm places. All you need is a little moistness, say from licked paws or simply a moments innocent wetting, and yeast will bloom. Youll know its there because youll smell it. Its horrible.
As with bacterial infections above yeast infections are often related to diet, in that you see so few of them in dogs fed biologically appropriate food.
The thing is yeast LOVES carbs. Carbs are sugar to the body and thats what yeast eats. Carbs / sugar in your dogs diet would be cereal for sure, dental sticks but also fruit, potatoes, rice and the sweeter veg like carrots.
If your dog is suffering a yeast infection of the ear the best ear cleaner is vinega. While any will do, apple cider vinegar is the best. You want the stuff with the mother in it but you dont want the bits in the mix you put in the ears! Pour through some cloth and use it neat. Incredibly effective for yeast but also bacteria and really anything living.
Before using vinegar make sure there are no cuts in his ear. Dont worry, it wont kill him. If there was a little cut in there you missed, hell let you know.
They can get yeast infections in other damp spots too, eg fat folds on a bulldog and paws are a common one. You can use vinegar there too as long as his skin is not cracked.
Lastly, yeast hates garlic. Include a little fresh garlic in their food. Yes, garlic is safe for dogs. Half a clove per 15kg of dog is a good dose. Also keeps the flea and worms away!
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Add Foods And Supplements That Fight Yeast
Include these foods and herbs in your dogs diet to fight yeast:
- Garlic: research shows it can break down yeast colonies.
- MCT oil: it contains caprylic acid that kills yeast.
- Pau darco: contains lapachol, which can destroy yeast.
- Probiotics: rebuild the healthy bacteria in your dogs gut.
- Saccharomyces boulardii: a type of yeast that helps stop other yeasts from spreading in your dog.
- Omega-3 fatty acids: to lower overall inflammation.
- Digestive enzymes: break down biofilms and fiber that form a protective shell around the yeast.
- Olive leaf: an antifungal herb that kills yeast.
DNM RECOMMENDS: Four Leaf Rover offers Yeast Guard, a veterinary-formulated blend of herbs that support a healthy microbiome and break down the biofilm that protects harmful yeast. Buy Yeast Guard now > >
How Can Ear Infections In Dogs Be Prevented
To keep poochâs ears healthy, regularly check for discharge, odor, and swelling. After your dog bathes or swims, gently dry the outer part of the ears as well as you can. You may also use an ear cleaning medicine that has a drying agent.
If your dog has hair in the opening of their ears, ask their groomer to trim or tweeze it. You can do it yourself if your dog will let you, but you need to be very careful. Only pluck hairs that are easily visible. Never insert any object into the ear canal unless your vet has shown you how to do it safely. Otherwise, you can damage the eardrum and cause severe problems.
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What Is A Dog Yeast Condition
If your dog has itchy, irritated skin with a foul odor, it could be suffering from a yeast condition. Yeast conditions can be related to other medical issues such as allergies. A yeast condition is caused by a fungus. While yeast itself is typical, yeast overgrowth can cause issues.
Although yeast is normally found on the skin, ears, and mucocutaneous areas, yeast overgrowth can lead to dermatitis, which is the swelling of the skin. Yeast issues is very common in dogs. Yeast conditions generally thrive in hot, humid environments. In that situation, the yeast proliferates causing overpopulation.
Infection Due To Contact With Foreign Object Or Physical Trauma
Concerning the section discussed above, there’s a high chance that your dog may develop an ear infection when a harmful object makes contact with their ears.
If your dog scrapes a part of their ear with any sharp rusting objects or environmental allergens, make sure to take them to their veterinarian immediately.
Furthermore, it’s also likely that your dog may develop ear infections when they’ve recently experienced physical trauma. One good example is when they are hit by a heavy object by their ears, resulting in deep wounds or concussions.
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What Is Yeast Infection In Dogs Ears
Yeast infection in dogs ears is a specific ear infection that develops when yeast species that normally populate the dogs ears overgrow. The overgrowth of yeasts leads to a disrupted balance of microorganisms in the ears, resulting in an ear infection.
The mentioned Malassezia pachydermatis is the most common cause of yeast infection in dogs ears. In normal conditions, the yeast lives on the dogs body skin, skin folds, and ears in small numbers.
However, given the opportunity , it overgrows and causes outer ear infections and skin infections .
What Causes Dog Ear Infections
Ear infections arent just superficial. Your dogs yeasty ears stem from yeast overgrowth in your dogs body. Yeast is present in healthy ears, but there are a few factors that can cause it to grow out of control.
DietAny processed kibble diet worsens yeast because carbohydrates create sugars that feed yeast. And thats especially true of candida yeast.
Oily Or Moist SkinMalassezia yeast is a bit different. Its lipophilic, meaning it likes fats . That means dogs with oily skins or coats are more prone to malassezia. Dogs who love to swim can also be more susceptible because theyre often damp in places like their ears, groins and armpits.
MedicationsAntibiotics and anti-allergy drugs are another big concern. Antibiotics destroy both bad and good bacteria, which allows yeast to grow out of control. And if your dog gets allergy medications like Apoquel when his ear infections are mistaken for allergies, these immune-suppressing drugs make him more susceptible to yeast overgrowth.
Heavy metals and environmental toxins can also harm the beneficial bacteria in your dogs gut, allowing yeast to grow. Heavy metals and other toxins get into your dogs body through vaccines, flea and tick preventatives, cleaning products, food and water.
Your dogs ear yeast infection is usually a sign of a deeper problem in his body
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/4 Dog Ear Infections Related To Bacteria
Any dog can get a bacterial infection of their ear for various reasons. They can be simply unlucky, for sure, but that is surely rare. As with 9/10 dogs developing gum disease by three years of age, nature didnt drop the ball here, were all pretty robust coming off the assembly line. Something is causing all these ear infections and the fact remains fresh fed dogs seem far less prone to this issue.
More often than not, a bacterial ear infection in your dog is actually a secondary issue to the food sensitivity above. The dog itches his irritated ears so much he cuts one and now pathogenic bacteria can get in. While your vet may tackle the infection, the way to avoid this is the future is to reduce that inflammation in the ear.by getting the diet right.
Food aside, some dogs have ears that are perfect breeding grounds for infections some breeds have fluffy ears, others have hanging down ear flaps. Both hold the moisture in . One swim in a river, home to the heat, add a little scratch for good measure and bingo, he gets an infection.
Again, a bacterial infection wont stink. If you suspect a bacterial infection, the most potent antibacterial available to you would be garlic oil. Clean the ears twice daily. Use cotton swabs. One wipe, throwaway. One wipe. Throw away. Never use the same swab in each ear.
The glorious thing about garlic oil is that its great for yeast too, so you might kill two birds with one stone trying this one.
Dont Stick Stuff In Your Dogs Ear
When it comes to cleaning your dogâs ears, the number one error that people make is that they use q-tips or their finger deep in the ear to try to remove debris. This is wrong. It can be very dangerous for your dog, so please donât insert anything into your dogâs ear unless you have specific instructions from your vet.
Instead, your cleaning should focus on the outer surface of the ear. You can use a make-up pad, a cotton ball, or a microfibre cloth to clear away any waxy debris or build-up.
The cleaner that you choose will do the work of cleaning the inner ear. I know itâs hard to resist, and most of us are stubborn enough to still use q-tips in our own ears, but please, please do stick anything in your dogâs ears.
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Rinsing Out Your Dogs Ears
Warning: Dont get a cleaner that contains alcohol or hydrogen peroxide. These chemicals can dry out the skin in your dogs ears.
Preventing A Yeast Infection In Your Dogs Ears
Warning: If the inside surface of the ears look infected, such as if there is a lot of inflamed skin that looks painful, contact your vet.
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Prognosis For Dogs With Ear Yeast Infections
Yeast infections are usually easy to treat with persistent treatment. In dogs with predisposing characteristics, such as floppy ears, allergies, or ear deformities, the condition is likely to reoccur since they are at a higher risk of recurrent ear yeast infections.
Many breeds, includingcocker spaniels and basset hounds, have floppy ears that cut off air to the ear and should be maintained to keep infections at bay. Other breeds need observation as well, such as poodles and schnauzers may have thick hair growth inside their ears that can block the flow of air in the ears and keep them overly moist. In addition, dogs that like to play in water are also potentially more likely to experience a recurring yeast overgrowth and infection.
What Is A Yeast Infection
Yeast on the skin is normal and healthy. Its a beneficial fungus for animals and humans, and part of the normal flora. Unfortunately, some health conditions can disrupt the yeast fungi balance, and that is when an overgrowth of yeast causes havoc. A lowered immune system allows excessive yeast to take control, and infections occur. Your pets troubles may range from mild to severe.
Dog yeast infections are common and can infect and multiply in warm and moist environments on the skin or the ear . Two main yeasts cause infections in dogs:
- Malassezia is caused by an overgrowth of the Malassezia pachydermatis fungi. This type of infection primarily invades the ear canal but can also be present on lip margins, groin area, neck, facial folds, or tail folds.
- Candida yeast has over 200 species. Its the most common type of fungal infection in humans and their fur babies and can invade any location on the body.
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Q: What Is The Best Antibacterial Ear Cleaner For Dogs
The best antibacterial ear cleaner for dogs are formulas that contain both a gentle cleansing solution and a soothing ingredient to both combat bacteria and calm the skin. Soothing the skin can help to prevent further irritation . Look for ingredients like salicylic acid, lactic acid, or other natural compounds to gently kill bacteria.
Best Dog Ear Cleaner For Fungal Infections
For fungal infections, Herman recommends this cleaner, because it is gentle and contains antifungal ingredients. It can also be used as a pretreatment when applied 15-30 minutes before a topical antibiotic in more severe ear infections. However, talk to your vet before using it to treat a severe ear infection in your dog.
Highlights:
- Its fragrance-free, making it a good choice for dogs who are sensitive to smells.
- It has a non-stinging formula.
- It contains ketoconazole, an antifungal agent.
- It can be used for other pets too, including cats and horses.
Things to Consider:
- Its better suited for fungal infections than bacterial ones, so may not be as effective for all dogs.
- Pricier than some of the other cleansers on this list.
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