If you’ve ever made expensive trips to the vet, home remedies for dog ear infection have probably crossed your mind. We all love our dogs and want to provide them with the best care, but sometimes it becomes necessary to see if we can treat our dog with natural treatments and save ourselves the expense of expensive vet visits and medications with side effects.

Types of ear infection

Before considering dog ear infection home remedies, you need to know a bit of background. First of all, there are two types of ear infections in dogs just like there are in humans. Your dog could be suffering from otitis externa, which is a fancy way of saying an outer ear infection, or he could be suffering from otitis media, which is a middle ear infection.

symptoms of infection

It won’t take long for you to realize that something is not right with your dog. When he has an ear infection, he likes to shake his head as if something bothers him. Other signs include scratching at the ears and whining when the ear area is petted. You may also notice that his ears are red and there might be an odor with a foul-smelling discharge.

home remedies for dog ear infection

There are several remedies you can try to rid your dog of his infection. Some of these include the use of apple cider or balsamic vinegar, different oils, alcohol, garlic. Before you start treating your dog, you should gently clean your dog’s ears. You can do this by moistening cotton balls and gently removing any dirt and discharge from your ears. Once you have your ears clean, you can start using your home remedies.

Vinegar  

One of the most common home remedies is to use apple cider vinegar or balsamic vinegar. These two vinegars seem to work the best. To try this remedy, use a solution of equal parts vinegar and clean water. Dip a cotton ball in the vinegar mixture and gently rub the mixture into the ear. Do not “flood” the ear with the mixture. Dogs have trouble draining fluid from their ears and it is one of the causes of infections in the first place. Leaving fluid in the ears will cause a worse infection.

Vinegar works for fungal infections and yeast infections.