5 Natural Remedies For Your Dog's Ear Infection
End Your Dog’s Ear Infection Naturally
Ear infections are one of the most common conditions that dogs suffer from. They can be caused by a number of things, including allergies, bacteria, yeast, and even foreign bodies in the ear canal. While ear infections are usually not serious, they can be very painful for your dog.
The good news is that there are a number of natural remedies that can help to treat and even prevent ear infections in dogs. These include using essential oils, herbs, fresh food, and more. In this article, we will take a look at 5 of the best natural remedies for your dog's ear infections.
What causes Ear Infections in dogs?
Many things in the environment can contribute to ear infections: Bacteria, Hormonal changes, year, ear mites, or a weakened immune system to name a few. And Processed Food.
Otitis or ear infections in dogs, is a top 10 veterinary health problem according to research. T
In a new peer-reviewed veterinary study, scientists show that the prevalence of otitis was significantly reduced within the groups of dogs that were consuming from 26 to 100% of their diet as non-processed foods.
In the book “The Forever Dog” they state: Eating 76–100% processed foods during puppyhood significantly increased the likelihood of of chronic ear infections later in life.
Furthermore, in another previous Finnish Veterinary study, scientists showed healthy human food leftovers offered to puppies significantly reduced allergy symptoms and skin problems later in life. This long-term, protective effect increased the more often real foods were added, so the more exposure puppies had to a variety of healthy leftovers, the more protection there was from developing skin issues down the road.
“…even if the dog eats 80% of its food as dry, adding a minimum of 20% of the food as raw significantly decreased the risk of AASS [allergic skin disease] later in life.” – Dr. Anna Hielm-Björkman
Recurring Ear Infections:
Ear Infections are often chronic and recurring, while treatment primarily consists of flushing, antibiotics, and/or antifungals. Recurrance typically means the first infection was never fully cleared — only temporarily improved or suppressed. Recurrance will happen when you have not addressed the root cause.
Even after rounds and rounds of antibiotics that we know can compromise gut health, ear infections continue. Food is your first change to make.
Yeast Ear Infections:
As ears become inflamed and irritated, which provides the perfect damp, warm environment for bacteria or yeast to grow.
With this in mind, we need to address those processed foods & high carbohydrate diets and work on things from the inside out as well as addressing the ear itself.
How can you tell if your dog has an ear infection?
There are a few signs that you can look out for if you think your dog may have an ear infection. These include shaking their head or pawing at their ears, holding their head tilted to one side, redness or swelling of the ear canal, heat/fever in the ear, discharge from the ear, and bad odor coming from the ear. If you notice any of these signs, it's important to take your dog to a holistic vet for a check-up to verify the issue. Then you can take steps to address it naturally,
Five natural remedies for your dog's ear infection
Following our Fresh food first approach: One of the best things you can do for your dog's ear infection is to feed them fresh, whole foods. This includes things like meat, vegetables, and fruits. Eliminate, wheat, corn, grains & processed kibble foods as they can contain chemicals and preservatives that can irritate the ear canal. If needed let’s talk about food allergies and intolerance testingto see if a specific food is irritating your dog. Add anti-inflammatory foods like freshly grated ginger or turmeric to the bowl as well.
Essential oils: There are several essential oils that can be used to relieve ear infection discomfort and recurrence in dogs. These include lavender oil, oregano oil, copaiba, Frankincense and tea tree oil (yes, I said it). I add drops of each oil to a new bottle and add a few drops of cheap vodka to make a cleansing solution. To use, simply add a few drops of the new mixture of oil to a cotton ball and wipe it around the inside of your dog's ear.
Alternatively - use a spray bottle and mist small amounts of this mixture onto your dog’s ear a few times a day. Do not saturate and do not add directly to the ear canal.
With high-quality essential oils that have been approved for ingestion - I also make gel caps of the blend above, without the vodka, and add coconut oil to fill the gel cap. I add the contents of the gel cap to the dog’s food 2-3x per day for a few days.
Herbs: There are also a number of helpful herbs that can be used to treat ear infections. These include calendula, goldenseal, and garlic. These herbs can be found in tincture form at your local health food store. To use, simply add a few drops of the tincture to a cotton ball and wipe it around the inside of your dog's ear. You can also add a little freshly grated herb to your dog’s fresh food diet.
Apple Cider Vinegar Ear Wash: Apple cider vinegar is a natural disinfectant and can help to treat ear infections. To use, simply add a half cup of vinegar to a cup of warm water and moisten a cotton ball to wipe our your dog’s ears. You can also add ACV to their drinking water for a few days.
Coconut oil: Coconut oil is a natural antifungal and can help to treat ear infections caused by yeast. To use, simply add a few drops of coconut oil to a cotton ball and wipe it around the inside of your dog's ear.
Bonus Suggestion: Colloidal Silver has antifungal and antibacterial properties. This can be added to your cleaning solution to help reduce the bacteria topically, while your dog heals from the inside out.
What About CBD for Dog Ear Infections?
CBD can offer your inflammatory pain relief during the healing process, but it’s not going to help you address the root cause. So by all means use it for relief as needed. I’d recommend CBD Dog health Ease for inflammatory relief.
Be gentle! Your dog’s ears may be highly inflamed and uncomfortable for your dog. He may disagree with you touching them. So play it safe and if needed start with the internal support options first.
With Essential oils, you can add the oils to the flaps of the ears or areas surrounding the ears vs the inside areas — and they will still do great work for relief.
We do not suggest adding any direct liquids to your dog’s ears. Some will suggest a rinse or wash in which you squish the liquid around inside your dog’s ear — this is not recommended with essential oils or a dog that is highly inflamed and agitated with painful ears
Get these ear infections under control. Long-term issues could lead to hearing loss. And the pain associated with ear infections is just not something to let your dog go through without doing whatever it takes to resolve. I haven’t met an ear infection yet, we didn’t get fully under control.
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