Harley's ears

Kobutsu

Kobutsu

New member
I've had Harley for over a year and had no problems with him whatsoever. The past three or four days he's been shaking his head a LOT...

I cleaned out his ears... not bad at all. Then I put about two tablespoons of the blue ear stuff in each ear. I'm hoping this clears it up. Any body have experience? How often should I dose his ears? For how long?

One issue with the blue stuff is the purple stain it leaves around his white ear!

Thanks,

Kobutsu
 
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Pipelineozzy

Pipelineozzy

New member
I make a similar home made ear cleaner without the gentian violet..and it works well. I can give you the recipe for that if you like.
I generally do a deep ear clean daily for a few days, then cut back to twice a week, then once a week..and eventually can usually stop as the infection is gone.
If you can get to a vet, have them show you how to properly do an ear clean..if not, my method is as follows...
Warm your ear solution to body temperature..ALWAYS. This not only makes it more comfortable for the dog..it also works better at dissolving the gucky stuff in the ears.
Hold the pinna (flap) of the ear up, and FILL the ear canal with the solution. Keep holding the flap up, and REALLY massage the base of the ear well, sloshing the fluid around in the ears. Then take a soft rag and wipe down as far as you can reach with your finger, and let the dog shake out the remaining. (Because of the way I do the ear clean, I don't use the gentian violet for obvious reasons.) If the ear is very icky, I repeat the procedure. Keep in mind when you are massaging the ear that the ear canal is like an L...and the ear drum is at the bottom end of the L..so you will actually FEEL that at the base of the ear if you are doing it right.
Usually, the ear will clear and not need antibiotics. If you don't see any improvement after a few days though...you need to see a vet. IF the ears are very tender..see a vet FIRST...and have them demonstrate the proper ear cleaning technique. If you plan to see a vet..don't clean the ear for a couple of days...as that just screws up the cytology and they have trouble knowing which medication will work best.
 
R Taft

R Taft

Active member
I would love it too. I have my own, but I am open to any new ideas or experience. Tobias has yukky ears, I have started cleaning them. they do not seem to worry him at all. They are a bit smelly and hot.........
 
Pipelineozzy

Pipelineozzy

New member
I use a squirt bottle..put in
1/3 water, 1/3 vinegar, and 1/3 alcohol
I add one tbsp of boric acid powder (get from the pharmacy)
and a few drops of betadine
The bottle I use is 500 mls...(2 cups approx)..so that works out to about 2/3 cup of each of the liquids)
I've made it without the boric acid at times, and without the betadine too if they were not readily available, and it still seemed to work well. This is very similar to what the vets use...the alcohol dries, the vinigar acidifies, and the water keeps it from being too strong and stinging. Using it warmed to body temperature really helps dissolve the oily crap in the ear canal.
 
Kobutsu

Kobutsu

New member
This is what I use:


473ml 70% Isopropyl alcohol

60ml boric acid powder

0.8ml 1% gentian violet solution or 0.4ml 2% gentian violet solution
 
R Taft

R Taft

Active member
Mine does not have the water and the gentian, might try the Betadine, because it is what we use as skin prep at work, Thank you :) Ronnie
 
Pipelineozzy

Pipelineozzy

New member
Kobutsu said:
This is what I use:


473ml 70% Isopropyl alcohol

60ml boric acid powder

0.8ml 1% gentian violet solution or 0.4ml 2% gentian violet solution
Click to expand...
The reason for having the vinigar in there is because so many of the ear infections are yeasty/fungal type...and vinigar acidifies the environment..which is a good way to get rid of yeast! ( A lot of the times, I think that's what gets rid of the ear infectiion, really.)
Straight alcohol can be very very ouchy if the dog has scratched at the ear at all...it's a good "drying" ingredient though...but I wonder if it helps keep an acidic environment after?
I think the purpose of the gentian violet is to do the same as the vinigar as far as yeast...but don't know what the concentration would have to be to be effective..and because I have Landseers and white walls...I don't want to find out...so I use the vinigar :) I like that the vinegar leaves the ear canal with an acidic environment though as the change in acidity is what is needed to combat yeasty type things.
Ronnie..I don't know if the bit of betadine really helps much..I put in enough to give it a "strong tea" appearance..which is about what we would use to flush an abscess or something....but this solution DOES seem to work and does not seem to cause as much irritation when using as the ones that are straight alcohol do.
I need to figure out a way to make it so the dog does not smell like a huge PICKLE after though :) Ozzy was a chronic ear dog...and I fought with it and fought with it and then finally made the committment to do his ears every day for a week, and then twice weekly etc. Now I do them about once a month and finally, at 8 yrs of age..he's not an "ear dog" anymore :) YAY.:icon_bb:
 
Bluedog

Bluedog

New member
Gentian violet is antibacterial and anti-fungal. Often used after ingrown toenail surgeries to dry and prevent infection. Actually betadine would do about the same thing, and might be a viable substitute. Both can stain but gentian violet is far worse. I like the idea of vinegar in it Cindy. Certainly does cut down on yeast growth, which is present in so many funky ears.
 
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