July 3rd, 2013

Being mommy to a, now elderly, Golden Retriever I’ve learned a lot with him.  I got Diefenbaker when he was 6 weeks old and I was 13, I didn’t know near what I know now.  Temperament wise he’s the best dog to ask for, I got lucky since I got him so young — which was actually illegal in our state but didn’t know at the time, but health wise, he’s my most expensive dog.

My poor doofus has been struggling with constant ear infections, allergies etc so in an effort to decrease medical bills and introduction of so much antibiotics, steroids etc I’ve been researching home remedies.  I’d like to share one I recently passed on to a friend for use on her cats, hoping others can find it helpful.

A lot of the breeds with floppy ears and long hair get ear issues due to the environment created within the ear canal, a perfect breeding ground for mites etc.  Cats are also very suseptibal to ear mites and thus can pass them to their doggie house mates.

For the treatment of ear mites and a great general ear cleaning solution
(White) Vinegar and Water, 50% water/50% white vinegar

Clean and massage with the solution until no more icky stuff comes out and then fill the canal with it and let the pet shake it out.  For ear mites, do at least once a day if not twice a day. As a general cleaning, maybe once a week for less prone/problem pets.

Remember to not go deep in the ear canal with Q-tips as this could push the infection or debree further in causing more harm than good.

The diluted vinegar helps to create a less inhabital enviroment for the mites and micoscopic creepy-crawlies.

I’ll try to post things like this more regularly, I feel it can be very beneficial since I am not one to like all the chemicals we are around today.

Disclaimer: Do not start any at home remedies without consulting your veterinarian first.