Ear Infections

The Healthy Bark

Ear infection-Smelly, itchy, messy, gooey, and painful would be a good description of a very common problem pet owners face. Some breeds are more prone to them than others, but when they get one it can take a while to clear them up.

When Latte was under a year old she developed an ear infection that went on for months. Back and forth to the vets we would go only to treat them with another round of medications. They would clear up for a few weeks than come back and get worse. This seemed to be a revolving door that I had enough of. She was the reason I looked for options and found them.

It was apparent at this point she had food allergies, and the diets they wanted her on just looked horrible. So I took a different approach and learned so much along the way. Today we will address the ear, how to help clear it up, and some tips to stop the infections from coming back.

Yeast infections are the most common followed by swimmers ear. Yeast comes from a few places as I have talked about this week, but it all starts in the gut. Balance it and you balance the body. Feed it and it fuels itself. Reoccurring infection is most of the time linked to food intolerance or an allergy to food or environment.

I will tell you with each issues there is a trigger, that is why it is so important to keep a log when you start to see something wrong. This can help you figure out what triggered the infection especially if it keeps coming back.

So how do we clear it up?

• Well first we need to get good bacteria back in balance, so feed those good probiotics to help boost the flora in the body. 
• Use an herbal cleaner that is gentle enough for daily or every other day use. 
• You can use Raw Goats milk in the ear at room temperature, swab with a cotton ball (Not a Q-Tip), it will soothe the ear and feed the good bacteria. This can be done daily for three days, than rinse with unprocessed Apple Cider Vinegar (Braggs) and distilled water at a 25% ACV/75% Distilled water. The ACV you want has the "mother" in the bottom of the glass jar. Repeat for a couple of weeks. Some dogs may be sensitive to ACV so you may need to cut back some of it and add more Distilled water.  Make sure after using the mixture you wipe out the ear well with cotton balls after it has sat in there for a few minutes.
• Unrefined organic coconut oil can also be used by lightly putting some on a cotton ball and rubbing some in the ears to soothe.
•  ACV can be fed to your pet as well-1 tsp per 25# of dog and dilute. Can be used in their water or over food, but ALWAYS dilute and start slowly to work up to full dose.
• Coconut Oil can be fed to them-1 tsp per 10# of dog. Start slowly and work up to full dose.

You will also need to keep the paws clean, as every time they scratch their ears they will have yeast on their nails and between their toes. Dipping in a 50/50 mix of ACV and water will help combat that as well. Otherwise you are going to have yeast all over the dog and it will continue to cross contaminate each time it scratches.

Dogs with long ears if you can pin them back with the ear canal open it helps to circulate air. I used a soft hair net and a chip clip (On the material not the ear) to keep it in place on my basset.  This is especially good during the summer months to help them dry out. Always supervise your dog if pinning the ears back, you do not want them to catch it on something.

For dogs that swim always wipe the ears out after swimming or bathing any dog. You can use the ACV/water rinse or a cleaner that also helps dry.

Harsh ear cleaners burn, can cause more issues, and not help with good bacteria growth so read the ingredients.

Next up in the series this week: Allergies-Food vs. Environmental