Apple Cider Vinegar for Ear Infections in Dogs

| Modified on Jun 06, 2023

Ear infections in dogs and cats are quite common. Causes of ear infections include bacteria, fungus, and ear mites. A pet with an ear infection is likely to be shaking his head, scratching at his ears, or showing some other sign of discomfort. The inside of the ear may have a black substance in it, black dots (signs of mites), or redness or swelling.

Earth Clinic contributors have found that apple cider vinegar is an excellent natural treatment for ear infections of a variety of causes. It is often useful even for infections that are chronic and have not responded to antibiotic treatment.

How Do I Use Apple Cider Vinegar to Treat a Dog's Ear Infection

  1. Apple cider vinegar must be diluted to use in pet's ears! Use one part apple cider and one part water.
  2. Fill a spray bottle, squirt bottle, or bulb syringe with your diluted apple cider vinegar solution.
  3. Spray or irrigate (flush) out the ear. Cotton balls may help clean out any "gunk" in your pet's ears.
  4. Ears should be cleaned at least once and preferably twice a day with the apple cider vinegar solution until your pet has relief. Treatment should be continued a day or two after symptoms subside.
  5. Pets that regularly go swimming ought to have their ears cleaned with the apple cider vinegar solution after each swim to prevent ear infections.

Apple Cider Vinegar Solution Recipe:

  • 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar (raw and organic is ideal, but it seems to work well to use regular apple cider vinegar in this recipe.)
  • 1/2 cup water (Ideally distilled, spring, or filtered water. If you use tap water, it should be boiled and cooled first. This will help the solution to last longer and avoid introducing any new contaminants to your pet's ears.)
  • Store in a clean jar or spray bottle.

Cautions:

If your dog or cat has sensitive ears, broken skin in the ear, or an allergy to apple cider vinegar, this solution could cause irritation. In this case, you can dilute the solution further. (Use just a few drops of a solution of 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar in 1 cup of water.) If an allergy is suspected, you should not use apple cider vinegar at all.

If your pet experiences irritation from this solution, you can use coconut oil, almond oil, olive oil, or castor oil to soothe the ear.

Please scroll down to read Earth Clinic reader feedback about the use of apple cider vinegar solution for ear infections in their pets. Have you tried apple cider vinegar solution for your cat or dog's ear infections? Please let us know how it worked for you!




59 User Reviews

5 star (47) 
  80%
4 star (1) 
  2%
1 star (8) 
  14%
(3) 
  5%

Posted by popeye (albany, oregon) on 06/06/2023

Apple cider vinegar mix with water versus olive oil

hello, I would like to ask why Earth Clinic recomends using water to mix with apple cider vinegar for my french bull ear infection…. won't the water feed the yeast? i've looked at several remedies now, all 6 recommended using olive oil 50/50 with the cider ( no water)…. so, I'm not writing to pester you, I'd like to know, it's possible I'm missing something but I need to nip this in the rear. Elliot ( french bill & sissy ( Beagle/pug mix have both had an ear infection for over a year, I've taken them to my vet thrice, automax is what they kept selling me but here we are a full year later & they are just as infected & raw inside, just miserable. btw, the vet I have taken them to for the last 12 years the vet is just now considering retiring he is 86 years old, he's been around the block a couple times I know at one point he was referred to being one of the best vets around. I just can't explain what's going on but I want to stop there their pain and their infection and I appreciate you taking a few minutes to read this but if water is the way to go, then I'd like to know your secret and thanks so much appreciate it advance., William in Oregon


Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Patricia ( Alabama ) on 08/17/2022
★★★★★

Apple cider vinegar for Ear infection in dogs:

2 drops in each ear 1 time a day for 2 weeks

Replied by Carolina
(TX)
11/06/2022

My dog has a chronic ear infection-the alternative from the vet is to remove her ear canal. I would like to try apple cider vinegar/water but she is with Baytril eardrops. Can I start using the apple cider/water twice a day and continue using Baytril?

Deirdre
(EC)
11/06/2022

Hi Carolina,

Removing the ear canal for a chronic ear infection seems an extraordinarily severe solution for this problem! Please get a second opinion before agreeing to surgery to remove your dog's ear canal. My dog, who has since passed, had chronic ear infections until I put him on a freeze-dried raw food diet with the eventual addition of grain-free turkey kibble to help cut down on the cost of the raw food. His ear issues cleared up within a few days, never to return.

I would be careful with the ACV with a chronic ear infection. I did try highly diluted ACV drops along the way and it didn't help at all.

patsy
(California)
11/07/2022

I would try silver. I works wonders for my dog. Also several years ago I read a recipe that a girl placed on earth clinic that had iodine, boric acid, vinegar, etc. in it and it cleared up my dogs ear infections and he never had another. He was having one a month. the problem with Vets medicine is that it stays in the top of the ear canal and never gets to the bottom. Therefore it is not a permanent solution. I am sure if you look for those ingredients you will find the recipe. I will try and find mine if you have no luck. With my dog now I don't have the ear problem and so have not made iti for a long time. Praying you will find the solution. Vinegar may not be strong enough.

Katzie
(Canada)
11/10/2022

Have you tried Colloidal Silver yet? Please get some and use both drops in the ear and internally by drinking it. Animals instinctively know what is good for them and both my dog and cat drank it regularly. The vet will get less $; I'm disappointed they even recommended that!


Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Arlene B. (United States) on 09/09/2019
★★★★★

Lab Shepard mix huge chronicly infected ears. Pain smelly head shaking. Multiple vet visits to no avail. Largeish alkoline water bottle with squirter in top. Empty half of water added. 1 big squirt isopropyl alcohol. Empty one teabag of probiotics herbal tea teaspoon of turmeric dash of black pepper. Fill up with ACV leaving a little room to shake. Shook it up and flushed dog's ears with it. GSE one drop down earhole and some on a cloth to clean ears. Mist all inside ear with Colloidal silver. Dog shook head violently. I just sat with him gently massage ears and calm him till shaking stop. 2 or 3 x a day. Improvement on day 1 ..improvment continues day 3 . First relief he has had in months. Continuing treatment until he no longer needs it. And thank you once again.

Replied by Arlene B.
(United States)
09/12/2019
★★★★★

Improvement continues 4 or 5 days in I switched to a more soothing formula and dog comes to me to get ears treated. Raw coconut oil. Chop raw garlic. A squirt of polysporine. a squeeze of Cortaid. A squeeze of monostat. a sprinkle of sea salt and turmeric and black pepper and oregano . a drop or two of tea tree and GSE. A good tablespoon of apple cider vineger and raw honey ..warm just barely luke warm squeezed into ear and clean out ear ..he literally lays down for it and gives moans of relief ..his ears are tons better turning pink and healthy all stench is gone..he sleeps through the night...he suffered greatly before .

Replied by Heather Smith
(United States)
05/23/2020

Hi Arlene What is GSE please ?

EC: GSE or GFSE =  Grapefruit Seed Extract.

Caution with this product - it can burn and cause tremendous pain.


Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Sherry (Pa) on 06/30/2018
★★★★★

My 9 year old lab barnyard has a ear infection with inflamed ears. After reading your post. I decided to try it. I mixed apple cider vinegar to two parts water and applied it with a dropper and cotton ball. After two applications his ears are completely back to normal. Thanks Earth Clinic for saving me money at the Vet's office. I will continue to use Apple Cider Vinegar on a regular basis to keep ear infections at bay.

Replied by Candi
(Florida)
06/28/2020

Did you use the dropper to put drops of the mixture inside your dog's ear?


Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Gord (Nl) on 04/18/2018
★★★★★

Used apple cider vinegar on my 10 year old yellow lab. He had a nasty ear infection in his left ear for a while that wouldn't go away. Smelled really bad and had a gross fluid coming out. I tried just wiping his ears out but didn't work. Seen this page and said I would try the ACV treatment as a last resort before the vet. I'm glad I did! After 1 day, his ear stopped stinking and now it's been three days, just applying once every evening, he is almost back to normal. No gross stink fluid and hardly any head shakes at all! Worked like a charm. Going to keep it going daily for at least another week to make sure it's totally cleared up!


Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Anon (Usa) on 10/23/2017
★☆☆☆☆

I mixed ACV with three parts water and used it to clean my cat's ear. After two weeks it is still infected. I am using salt water with a few drops of iodine instead.


Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Melissa (Ny) on 05/16/2017
★★★★★

My 2 year old doggy is a rescue. I had him 7mth. How I love him. So he started with ear infection 3mth ago I was sad n worry seeing him in pain. I ran to my friend upstairs she gave me something from her vet worked great! But it start again this morning n I didn't have anymore I went on line n so glad I found earth clinic, the apple cider vinegar worked w water! Now I can sleep better knowing he can sleep n pain free will continue to do weekly lightly.

Thank you so much... Melissa dog lover


Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Beverly (Trinidad) on 02/19/2017

Acv and water for dogs ear Infection: I used the Apple Cider Vinegar and water solution for my dog ears and the next day his ears was swollen internally and red...why did that happen? Now I don't know what to do.

Replied by Esther
(Alabama)
02/20/2017

Dear Beverly,

I don't know why it happened.

You could try some coconut oil or olive oil into the ear to soothe it.

Replied by Mumma_melly
(Act 2902)
04/25/2017

Hey I just did the apple cider vineger to my dogs ear and the reaction I just got wasnt very good she made her head stay on the right side thats the side that is sore. She is 12-14months old she has a bad problem with her right ear and gets irration and its like all the time I cant get into a vet and im lost on things to do please can someone help me asap pretty please

Replied by Theresa
(Mpls., Mn)
04/26/2017

Hey Mumma, please consider the Arcane ear treatment: https://www.earthclinic.com/arcane-solution-ear-infection-dogs.html


Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Dolores (Trenton, Michigan) on 01/06/2017
★★★★★

Equal parts of Apple cider vinegar (with mother), 90% alcohol (so it doesn't burn), hydrogen peroxide.

Put about 3 drops in ear. I do this at least 3 times a day. What a difference!

Replied by Kevin
(Nc)
01/11/2018

Be careful with this one. Vinegar and H2O2 combined makes peracetic acid. (Very strong acid)


Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Tasha (Worcester, Ma) on 10/25/2016

Our foster dog was so neglected that her vet thought he would have to remove one of her ear drums >After 2 surgeries he saved her hearing & put her on daily drops of Batril optic for life .Her Local vet had to order the drops but there was a delay .I called vet surgeon & they said in the mean time to use White vinegar & water in equal parts, so your web site information is very valuable, as well as informative.

Replied by Theresa
(Mpls., Mn)
10/26/2016

Hey Tasha!

There are cautions with the product your vet prescribed - there have been cases reported of dogs getting various ear medications and ending up with hearing loss - this in part due to damaged ear drum. You may wish to discuss with your vet before using the product on order. Also, you might consider Zymox Otic hcl - it is not an antibiotic but does have enzymes which digest bacteria and yeast/fungus.

Replied by Tania
(England)
01/18/2017

Hello, may I have some advice please!!

my dog has had a yeast infection, problems with her ears being smelly, hunky and itchy, together with itchy smelly paws. I have put her on a raw food diet with excellent results. I have administered 50/50 Apple Cider Vinegar and water into her ears and used cotton wool to clean the outside of the canal. At first it cleared up well and the itching reduced massively . Now however when I clean the ear it becomes very red and more itchy after acv/water. I am still cleaning them as she is still itching on a morning and there is still some gunk coming out. Please could you suggest what I should do?

many thanks, Tania

Replied by Theresa
(Mpls., Mn)
01/18/2017

Hey Tania,

You might consider alkalizing your dog's drinking water, along with Ted's Borax Protocol for dogs- you can do this on a rotating basis and include plain water in the rotation. You might also consider the Arcane ear formula recipe on EC or Zymox Otic that you can purchase online.

Replied by Tania
(England)
01/24/2017

Hi Theresa,

I forgot to say that my dog only shakes her head on first waking up on a morning and tries to itch only for a little while. I have put sudocrem on the inside of her ear (not the canal) which has cured the redness and stopped the skin itching there but there is obviously still something bothering her inside on a morning. May I ask how often you can use Apple Cider Vinegar as a flush after you use it daily initially and the ear problem is almost gone? And secondly how often you can use it as a maintenance?

Many thanks

Replied by Tania
(England)
02/01/2017

Hi Theresa,

I forgot to say that my dog only shakes her head on first waking up on a morning and tries to itch only for a little while. I have put sudocrem on the inside of her ear (not the canal) which has cured the redness and stopped the skin itching there but there is obviously still something bothering her inside on a morning. The yeasty ear discharge disappears for a few days and them comes back. May I ask how often you can use Apple Cider Vinegar as a flush after you use it daily initially and the ear problem is improving? And secondly how often you can use it as a maintenance? May I also ask, do you know if your give probiotic to your dog for yeast problems, can it initially excel the detoxing of ear and eye discharge?

Many thanks.

Replied by Theresa
(Mpls., Mn)
02/01/2017

Hey Tania,

I used to have super athletic breeds and we walked in the woods 5 times a week and dogs went into the river at each walk; dogs were bathed after each walk to remove any parasites and ears were cleaned with the ACV/H2O/Isopropyl dilution. I now have lap dogs who specialize in eating and taking up as much room as possible on the couch! They do as your girl does; give a shake when they wake, and it seems the ones susceptible to funky/gunky ears all seem to get it on the ear/side of the head they sleep on. I find that they get the ear discharge for a number of reasons - seasons changing, wind direction changing bringing in new allergens, spring and fall mold blooms, feeding them bad human food. I have no problem with home remedy ear formulas for cleaning healthy ears but prefer Zymox Otic Hcl 1% that I buy online/Amazon for when I see an ear that is starting to turn pink. I use a holistic vet for dosing the acidophillus - some visits we dose PB8, some DDS w/FOS, some brands are from the local co-op. Unless you have a holistic vet [or someone that can help you use applied kinesiology] to determine which probotic is indicated for your particular pet at a particular time, your best bet is to buy one brand and dose that bottle until it is used up, and then buy one with completely different strains of bacteria and use that up and then buy another with completely different strains and so on. You want to rotate with several brands and strains rather than sticking to just one and you want to change it up every 3 weeks or so, not dose the same brand forever. I do know that when the probiotics start digesting the yeast in the GI tract that toxins are produced; supplementing with milk thistle may be indicted or other organ support remedies. I do dose milk thistle when indicated for 3 weeks or so; it is not a long term/forever supplement and using health supplements on a forever basis can cause them to be ineffective/develop resistance. It always seems that once I get the ears all nice and healthy something changes - the weather, they ate the wrong food, they were traumatized emotionally by the vacuum cleaner - and that small change can tip the scales to allow the yeast to once again gain the upper hand. You are never finished with dealing with yeast - it is an ongoing thing. So get the right remedies to have on hand and when you see the ear turn pink, act immediately and do not allow it to get worse by waiting-and-seeing. I do find treating the water helps - when I see not just one but all of them starting to have itchy skin or gunky ears then we all get the baking soda water and then a course of the borax water; I drink it as well as the dogs so I can get the health benefits too.

Replied by Tania
(England)
02/08/2017

Hi Theresa,

Thank you so much for your advice. I have ordered the Zymox, I was advised by an English vet not to use a similar product as it kills off the hairs in the ear canal, but I think he meant long term regular use. May I also ask you about making garlic infused oil. I can't find an actual recipe. I read to fill up a small glass gar with garlic then top up with oil and leave for 10-14 days. I gave 10 drops in each ear, twice a day for 3 days. It has helped but I notice that her ears go red after application, she is not bothered by it but I was concerned it was a reaction or it was burning? Or could it be just the blood pumping around after the warmth of it. Can you add too much garlic to the oil? Do you know of a garlic:oil ratio please?

Many thanks again, Tania

Replied by Theresa
(Mpls., Mn)
02/09/2017

Hey Tania,

I use 1 cup of olive oil and press 2-3 good sized cloves of garlic into it and let steep overnight in the fridge. I pour off a small amount that I am going to use, and put the rest back into the fridge to continue steeping; when I run out of oil I toss the lot and make a new batch. I am not aware of a garlic:oil ratio - it sounds as if your approach with the small jar is about the same as mine with 1 cup and 3 cloves :). I make sure I warm the oil up before putting it into the ear, and I make sure it goes deep down by massaging the base of the ear until I hear it squishing around - way more than 10 drops! I think the ears flushing red is normal - blood rushing to the tissue because it is being stimulated. Once the ear begins to heal and the skin is not all scratched and open and raw I might use a water based product or home made solution to flush the gunk out. I like Eoi-otic and PhytoVET ear products that I can buy online. I have no problem using home remedies and they work great especially in a pinch, but for chronic problem ears these veterinary formulations that are now commonly available online are superior particularly in terms of pain control. If pain is not an issue, I like 1/3 cup each water, hydrogen peroxide and isopropyl OR water, white vinegar and isopropyl. When you combine vinegar and hydrogen peroxide you create paracetic acid which is very harsh on the skin, so avoid mixing those two together for use on tender ear skin.

Replied by Tania
(England)
02/25/2017

Hello,

You have very kindly been helping me with my dogs ear problems and advised I bought Zymox. I was able to find a supplier in the UK and used it successfully for a week. The gunk went as did the itching, so I stopped after 7 days, but 5 days later, her ears were flakey inside (just like if we use a thin face mask, let it dry and peel it off, the peelings were like that, never had this before) and large lumps of wax, but no itching. I wondered if I should continue he with the Zymox, or if this part of the healing process, old infected skin being shed and deep gunk coming up?

I also wondered with your experience of yeast problems, can a dog continue to show symptoms after initially clearing up. My dog has been on a raw diet now for three months, her smelly paws, itchy bottom and eye gunk went totally. Now her symptoms are occasionally showing up. Can they be so sensitive that a carrot or piece of Apple could cause irritation quickly? She used to be given a lot of raw carrot as treats.

Many thanks for your help,

Kind regards

Tania

Replied by Regina Gross
(Ky)
03/10/2018

Coconut oil and water will soothe the ear.

Melt the coconut oil 1/2 oil 1/2 water and put a few drops in the ear. Small dog a teaspoon. A large dog a table spoon. This will help your baby


Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Rachel (Michigan) on 09/01/2016
★★★★★

My 10 week old kitten came down with an ear infection two weeks ago. He had dark redish brown gunk coming out of both ears. I was really hoping I wouldn't have to take him to the vet, as I had just taken him a week before for a cold which cost me 85 dollars. I decided to try natural remedies first and see what happened. Knowing that garlic helps ear infections in humans, I tried cleaning out his ears with that and using a dropper to put it down the ear canal twice a day. I did that for over a week with varied results. He would seem to be getting better, and then be worse the next day. Then all of his ear fur started falling out, his ears were red and his skin was peeling really bad. I almost broke down and took him to the vet, but thankfully I found this webpage, and decided to give apple cider vinegar a try. I cleaned his ears with a half and half apple cider vinegar and water mixture and a cotton pad two times a day. I also put four drops (of 1/2 water and 1/2 apple cider vinegar) down each ear canal. Within the first day of using it his ears were looking better! He's been on it for 4 days now, and his ears are completely gunk free, and they aren't red anymore. I have also been putting coconut oil on the outside of his ears to stop the peeling and hair loss. There is hardly any peeling skin now, and his hair is growing back super quick! I am thrilled with these results, and glad I found this page!


Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Lisa (Indiana) on 07/16/2016
★★★★★

My 14 year old collie mix had his first ear infection last week.. even after antibiotics...it was not clearing up. I read this article and tried the ACV last night. By this morning the horrible smell was almost gone, and the discharge had reduced significantly. A couple of more days and I believe my furbaby will be just fine! Thanks for the great advice!


Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Terry (Dickinson, Texas) on 04/17/2016
★★★★★

My 5yr German Shepard has suffered from ear infections for years and several hundreds of dollars later still has a issue. I tried the 1/2 water, 1/2 ACV and she is much happier. Will continue for another 2 days and than clean them once weekly. I am so happy I came across this site. Thank You!


Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Valerie (Texas) on 02/28/2016

I was woken in the middle of the night. My pit bull mixed dog was wimpering in his kennel next to my bed. He was shaking and scratching making his kennel shake. I inspected his ears. They didn't smell but we're red with brown gunk in it. It was a Sunday morning and I knew his vet was going to be closed. In a panic I searched the Web for things I could do to help him out.

I found this site and saw people were using 1 part ACV to 2 parts water. I decided to try it out. I put the solution into a clean squirt bottle and sprayed into his ear and gave him treats for letting me do that as well as wipe his ear with a cotton ball.

Within 15 minutes he stopped shaking his head and itching his ear. I will definitely continue to use this to help clean up his ears from now on! Thank you everyone for your feedback on this great ear cleaning method!


Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Diane (Texas) on 05/12/2015
★★★★★

My Border Collie Louie has been suffering with seasonal ear infections since I adopted him 5 years ago. I have always believed in holistic healing for myself and recently started using it for my dog. For one, it's super cheap and you usually have all the ingredients or at least one of the ingredients to cure you in your very own kitchen. I also don't have to tell you vet costs/doctors visits are astronomical. And of course, all the great side effects the drug companies want you to experience so you will go to the doctor again and buy more drugs. So here we are.

Anyway, he woke up this morning shaking his head violently and repeatedly until I woke up to help the poor little angel. Low and behold, I went on this website to look up a cure and found the 1 part Apple cider vinegar and 1 part water remedy. I filled it with a dropper and squirted it in his ear, then rubbed the base of the ear canal to make sure it got down in there. It took about 15 minutes give or take, and he was good to go. No more head shakes! For good measure and because I use this on myself when I start to feel sick, I gave him 250 mg of vitamin c chewable and 5 mg dose of acidophilus (Lowered dosage for him of course) to boost his immunity and protect his stomach. He is 35lbs and he also suffers from frequent bouts of diahrrea. He wasn't eating yesterday and acting gloomy and since I gave him all that he perked right back up and started to eat all his food. He's the nerdy kid with allergies and also a very fussy eater!

Needless to say, I won't be going back to the vet for a while. No side effects except smelling like a salad but I will take it. Thank you earthclinic.com!

Replied by Olivia
(Poland)
06/04/2015

Can please someone help?

About one and a half week ago my dog started walking around in circles (he was making pretty huge circles. He has an anal gland issues and I thought it's because of that). But few days ago he started making much smaller circles, basically spinning around. I put some garlic oil into his ears for two days and yesterday decided to flush his ears with the 50 acv/50 water and I already saw an improvement - he started walking a lot more straight, he started sniffing around (I think his nose is a bit blocked too). But it only lasted for a few minutes. Then, few hours ago, after a nap, he even tried to walk the opposite way. But again, it didn't last for too long (about half an hour maybe). I flushed his ears again but this time I didn't see any progress, I think it even worsened. He's still circling today.

I gave him hepar sulfur for his anal gland and now he's taking silicea. I know it's supposed to help push out stuff from the body so maybe it will also help for his ears?

He's too old to have anesthesia and proper cleaning. So I'm scared to take him to the vet.

Replied by Theresa
(Mpls., Mn)
06/04/2015

Hey Olivia!

Walking in circles could mean an inner ear infection - these are typically very painful and you would see other signs of discomfort such as scratching the ear raw and a smelly ear full of gunk. It could also be neurological in nature, either from genetics [as seen in Bull Terriers] or from a brain tumor. Many times animals with a neurological issue cannot tell if their feet are positioned properly; try picking your pet's foot up and folding it under and placing it down again - so the paw is facing the ceiling: your dog should be able to figure out its paw is placed wrong and re-position it so the pads is on the ground. Dogs that cannot sense their paws are not placed properly often have neurological issues.

If you cannot bring your dog to the vet, and if the ear flushing is helping I would continue flushing the ears daily if not twice a day to see if there is any improvement. If there is no improvement you may want to consider seeing a vet.

Replied by Nanette
(Illinois, USA)
07/26/2015

Re: Circling... usually this is not an ear infection causing an off equilibrium... it's more like vestibular disease. It's like a drunk human who can't tell how they're walking and they feel dizzy and sick all the time. There is no cure for this but after years of study across the world to find something for my dog who had suffered with this, I found, through the University of Miami who is working on the problem, that it is probably caused by a vitamin deficiency.

I started my Dusty on different multi-vitamins and after 2 weeks of the vitamins and calm environment and helping her to walk using a material brace, it went away but came back 6 months later. I, again, doused her with vitamins and it went away and never came back.

Replied by Theresa
(Mpls., Mn)
08/02/2015

Hey Susan!

It sounds like the ears are sore and painful. At this stage I would NOT do the vinegar rinse as it could cause your dog pain.

If this were my dog I would either do Wendy's healthy ear recipe [will post below] that costs about $20.00 to assemble, or Ted's Antifungal/Anti-staph remedy.

Make a small batch, warm and use directly in the ears:

  • 1-1/2 cups of 1% hydrogen peroxide
  • 1 tbsp MOM (Milk of Magnesia)
  • 1 tbsp Epsom salts
  • 1 tbsp Borax

Also consider Wendy from Columbus OH ear remedy:

1 tube Monistat (generic is fine)
1 tube Polysporin (use the real deal - it's inexpensive)
1 tube Cortaid (generic works here as well)

Use tubes of similar size. Mix all three together in a container that can be closed well. It takes a bit to incorporate because the Polysporin is a bit like Vaseline. Once incorporated, it stays mixed.

If ears are gunky, inflamed or smell bad, start with using a pea sized dollop twice a day. Use your finger to gently push it into the ear. Rub. Dogs will only shake their heads once or twice! It's a creamy, very soothing mixture. Once you have the ears under control, lessen how often you use it till you're only using it once a week. Once a week, it keeps ears from getting bad again.

If your pockets are to let and you do not have the funds to the above remedies, you can crush 1 clove of garlic into half a cup of cooking oil and let steep over night, and then warm and use in the ear. Use this to clean out the ears twice a day for 3-5 days and when the ears are healed up from the scratching then proceed with the vinegar rinse.

Replied by Erika
(Arizona)
10/06/2015

Hi, I read your post online about the apple cider vinegar and I would love to try it on my dog. I'm a little confused of how much vinegar and water I should use, could you help me? I have a 77lbs Rottweiler.

Replied by Om
(Hope, Bc Canada)
10/07/2015

Erika (Arizona) ---

A better way would be warm olive oil or sesame oil with mascerated garlic clove. It is used by natural doctors for children and very effective. Be aware that olive oil can be "pure" when it is not.

Ear inflammation is also caused by parasites.

Namaste, Om

Replied by Donya
(Texas)
10/20/2015

How many times a day to use in ear ? And how much to put in dropper ?

Replied by Hope
(Ms)
04/30/2016

Can I use this on a 18day old puppy?

Replied by Jen
(Az)
07/02/2016

Hi,

Do yourself a favor ck out Pet Health and Nutrition out of Conn. (http://www.pethealthandnutritioncenter.com )888-683-3339 Phil and Maria are master herbalist. Their products are amazing. After 11 vets( both Regular and Intergrative holistic) from 8 months of age until 3yrs. miserable, numerous holistic things. Antibiotics that as soon as we were done the skin condition would be back. Digestive problems, thyroid, immune issues. We were labeled with allergies. We finally got relief. Started our Golden on their products at 3 yr - now 6yrs. and life is nice! They will talk with you and figure out what will help. Can't say enough Good things about them and their products. You won't be sorry.

Replied by Yodas Mommy
(San Diego, California)
07/16/2016

Can u use any kind of cooking oil? Such as vegetable oil?

Replied by Suseeq
(Sydney, Australia)
07/16/2016

If you are trying to kill mites in ear, I use a few drops of olive oil then massage ear.

Replied by Rolina
(Maine)
07/25/2016

Hello

About the gland condition, I did some research and run across ( Glandex ) for dogs and cats anal sac issues. Its over the counter at your vets office, or you can check online at vet source or amazon. I paid $26.00 so worth it for preventive care. My dog has had issues with her anal glands but after using this every morning in her food which is grain free, she is like a new dog, her coat is so shiny now not dull. She is so happy. I will be using this from now on for her on going preventive care.

Replied by Angela
(Calgary, Alberta Canada)
08/13/2016

If your dog had frequent diarrhea, please look into slippery elm powder - it stops the diarrhea and coats the intestinal tract to help it heal.

Replied by Joan
(Mi)
07/11/2017

For anal gland infections(which happened at the vet clinic) gave my dog Sulphur 10M every 3rd day (IF YOU START ON MONDAY GIVE THE NEXT DOSE ON THURSDAY)for 3 doses(one dose a day 4 PELLETS). Never went to the vet to express his glands again.



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