Mother of Invention

If necessity is the mother of invention, we hit the mother load with a BIG necessity. Our yellow Labrador is 2 years old and has had chronic ear infections since the get go. He's been on nearly every antibiotic, anti-fungal, antihistamine, ear drop, pill, capsule, cream, and special diet you can imagine. Each ear infection costs $150 on the average and is back in no time at all, which is why we began looking beyond conventional medicine for help. After a quick gander at Google we discovered a simple but highly effective home remedy that's proven to keep Ecclesiaste's ears under control as well as get rid of Cocoa Bean's first case of bilateral ear infections a few weeks ago.

Our medical supplies include: extra virgin olive oil, white vinegar, a few cotton balls, and some Q-tips. Mix 2-3 Tbsps of vinegar with 1 Tbsp of olive oil in a small bowl and stir with a Q-Tip. Dab a cotton ball into the mixture so it's about 1/2 absorbed. Coat the inner ear wall and squeeze a few drops into the ear canal. Coat a Q-Tip with the mixture and use it to clean deeper into the ear canal. Repeat this process until your cotton ball and Q-Tip are clean after wiping out the ear.

Ecclesi gets this treatment each day or maybe every third day if he's stable. He loves it so much that as I prepared these supplies to take this picture he begged me to swab his ear. (His ear looked great but he got a "treatment" anyway.)

Please understand that until you know exactly what you're dealing with you should take your dog to the vet before trying this remedy. If by chance, however, your dog turns out to be chronic like our Ecclesiastes and you've tried everything else under the rising sun, this home remedy is worth a try. Beats $150 by a mile!

How we know when to treat our dog's ears: Inner ear is swollen, red, and smells sweet. They itch their ear(s), tilt their head to the effected side, and often shake their heads.

A healthy ear will appear light pink in color, show no signs of puffiness, and smells more neutral than sweet. Checking your dog's ears every day or so will help you develop the skill for knowing when to use your home-made remedy. At first your dog will not like want you to handle his/her sore ear, but if you are patient and gentle he/she will soon learn you mean no harm. Cocoa Bean is not nearly as compliant as Ecclesi, so we allowed him to sniff the soaked cotton ball and started out with "mini treatments" to gain his trust. He's a pro now and has healthy ears to prove it.