How to Clean Your Dog’s Ears with Stuff You Have
If you have a dog, you know they sometimes need a little “help” with their grooming. My golden retriever, Sophie, is quite active (as in she loves going into the lake and rolling in mud).
After her adventures, I noticed there would be an unpleasant odor around her ear area… like the smell of mold in a bathroom. Not a good scent. So I asked the vet what I could do to take care of the situation. He explained that we could buy a jug of ear cleaning solution from the pet store, or take care of it with stuff we already had… which was much more appealing!
Supplies: warm (not hot) water, vinegar and cotton balls.
You want a ratio of 2/3 water to 1 part vinegar. I used 1/2 cup of warm water and added 1/3 cup of vinegar. Gently mix and dip the cotton balls in.
The vet didn’t tell me this part– but I find letting Sophie sniff the cotton ball before I put it in her ear helps her not be so frightened. Plus, it’s only polite!
Next, gently put the wet cotton ball in the inside ear and swirl around a little. GENTLY being the important word.
That’s it. I love being able to cuddle with my Sophie and not have her smell awful. Well, at least her ears don’t stink!
Stolen Content Update
By the way, I’m sorry that I am having to “watermark” all my photos towards the middle of the images. I don’t like the way it looks. Unfortunately, there’s a site that has been stealing my content and pretending like it’s theirs. They cut my watermark off when it’s not in the middle and cut and paste all my text. In short, they steal and they are terrible! I’ve tried asking them nicely multiple times to stop but so far, they won’t.
Thanks for your understanding.
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I have two dogs and we have bought the ear cleaner before. I’m definitely going to do this from now on…so much less expensive. Thanks so much!!
Hi Crystal, I didn’t know you had 2 dogs! How fun! What are their names?
By the way….if I haven’t told you before, I love the new look of your blog.
Thanks Crystal. I hope it’s more user friendly. If you have any feedback (good or bad) I’d love to hear it!
This is a great tip! I use vinegar for lots of doggy things so I’m glad to hear it is safe for ears. This is also a good tip for senior dogs. Really like the emphasis on gentle.
Thanks Caryn! Vinegar is amazing isn’t it? Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by and leave a comment. xo
So cute, Malia! Great tip! Bet it works for cat ears too?
Thanks Julie, yes I think kitties too… why not! xo
Great tip Malia!
Thanks Vanessa!
thanks so much for posting this-my big red golden retriever/Great Pyreenes mix had the worst time with his ears and it takesa swat call out to do anything near them. He sat like a perfect gentleman for this! maybe the smelling first is tbhe key
Yay! Yeah I think letting your pet check out the cotton ball etc is a good step. My dog also would probably bolt if I just stuck something in her ear!
You should place that watermark diagonally from corner to corner!!! Thank you so much for this post (so it’s 2 parts water for 1 part vinegar??) as I have a choc. lab with smelly ears. Your Sophie is gorgeous. Kudos to you for letter her smell it first. It is very respectful of ones pet. And when you respect a pet, they respect you in return.
You might also want to add rubbing alcohol to the solution to help dry out the ear from the water. My vet told me about that after I showed her the post. Just a heads up.
I have a dog with hair not fur (Cairn Multipoo or Yorkie mix) and she likes this solution. Sometimes I use water and tea tree oil. The rubbing alcohol stings her so I don’t use that anymore. Thanks for the ideas!
Hi, I have a gorgeous golden retriever. ., yes as gorgeous as your. .. hence the reason I’ve pinned your pin… i loved reading about keeping his ears clean as he often gets ear infection and we get drop to put in and it’s never cheap and they never suggested cleaning solution. . This is a fantastic idea an something I can do it will certainly save a bit.. what has shocked me most about your article is that another site it stealing your work. And passing if off as there own… as for your watermark… i had to go back and really look for it! I wish you all the success with your blog and I hope your watermark keeps them away. Joan
Hi Joan, Thanks for letting me know. Would you mind sending me a link to the site that’s stealing my work if possible? Thanks, Malia
First things first, what a beautiful fur baby!
My border collie/lab mix struggles with ear infections as well. We do the same thing but use apple cider vinegar. Also, a friend recommendation putting about 1 T of apple cider vinegar in her water. That has proven to be helpful with hot spots as well as her bothersome ears. :-)
Thank you So Much for your ear cleaning solution! My sheepdog has the worst ears! I keep the hair trimmed neatly in & around her ears, and one day I look there beautiful next couple days there BLACK! Why after hundreds and hundreds of $ and trips to the vet does this happen? My dog is 7 yrs and her Mom died of ear infections the breaded told me a year ago! Is there any prevention??? Also I’m sorry about people stealing your photos!! I totally understand that! Just keep putting you WaterMark in and pray for the best! I took a funny picture sent it to my cousin out of state with just my logo on the bottom! A year later I got it back from a friend with my name off, it had traveled all over the world almost with different credits! Crazy!