Vinegar cleans everything from dirty windows to clogged coffeemakers. Now, there’s one more thing vinegar can make squeaky-clean. That would be for cleaning doggie ears. Now, who wouldn’t want their dog to have squeaky-clean ears? They’re better to hear you with, my dear.
It’s gentle yet effective and costs pennies compared to the $20+ cleansers sold by vets and pet stores. For a gentle and effective homemade ear cleaner for cats see “The Nest” https://pets.thenest.com/home-remedies-ear-cleaning-cats-4544.html and follow these steps.
How to Mix and Apply Homemade Ear Cleanser to your cat or dog:
- Use a clean plastic squeeze bottle.
- Create a mixture of 1:2 parts; 1 part white or apple cider vinegar to 2 parts purified water. For dogs, some recommend a 1:1 mixture. I think it depends on how dirty your dog’s ear are and their skin sensitivity. For cats, use 2 part water to 1 part vinegar.
- Wet a cotton ball enough to squeeze the mixture into the ear. Squeeze it slowly because you don’t need to use a lot. It’s bad to flood their ear canals.
- Then work it in gently by massaging the outside base of the ear with your fingers for a few seconds. Be gentle and brief. My cats won’t let me do this, so I just let them run away. Eventually, they’ll shake their heads and any waxy buildup comes out on its own.
- Then step back a little because your dog will shake his head vigorously and splash you. This is the best way to get the ear wash circulating.
- For your doggies, wait about 20 minutes, then just clean the dirt that will come to the top of your dog’s ear canal. You can use a cotton ball to gently wipe it. DO NOT USE Q-TIPS. Don’t worry about any residue you might see. It will eventually make its way out of the ear.
- Doing this once a week helps to prevent ear infections.
- I’ve also found that witch hazel works amazingly well on my dogs.
There are many websites giving suggestions for homemade cleansers. Not all of them agree on the use of alcohol or hydrogen peroxide. Personally, I’ve found the vinegar and water to work well. I’ve found the alcohol and peroxide to do more harm than good for my pets.
There are also many fine products that your vet may offer, so keep your options open and see what works best for your pet. After all, each pet is unique in their own health conditions; same as humans. What works for one may not work for the other.
Scary Things Can Happen When Your Dog Gets An Ear Infection
My Ginger, who was 5 at the time, is a very sensitive pit-bull/boxer. Her skin is very sensitive and so are her ears. I was too busy planning my month-long vacation and didn’t think anything would go wrong since she just had a perfect bill of health from the vet. But, a lot can happen in a month. I should have showed someone how to clean her ears, but I didn’t. I really thought nothing could go wrong.
After I returned, Ginger’s face looked like it was drooping on the left side. And, her eyes were sad. I knew in an instance, she wasn’t well. Her ears were so bad, that it actually looked black inside. Cleaning it didn’t help at this point. So, off to the vet we went.
We were told she had a bad infection and was given an antibiotic. After 10 days, it seemed to clear up her ears. But, one week later, the infection returned with a vengeance. Now we had to find a stronger antibiotic and pray that it would work. Apparently, the infection went deep into her body and affected her face and eyes.
Thanks to God and Dr. E. Kwock at the VCA, Ginger recovered. And, I have diligently cleaned her ears every week without fail. Ginger is now 10 and hears better than I do.
If you love your pets as much as I do, you know what it feels like to have your pet happy again and enjoying life. They are, after all, part of the family! So, please keep their ears free from harm. There is so much that can infect them. And, all you need is one weekly cleaning that only takes a few minutes.