[TuckersMom]

Tucker has been getting icky ears, and I will admit it is probably due to the fact that we dont clean them as often as we should. Anywho, to avoid a $95 vet bill for some creams I can find at WalMart (yep, the recipe I found on GRF!) for under $20 for all three. I just wanted to post, after reading a hilarious thread about men having to buy the Monistat, that you CAN buy the actual fungal cream without having to feel weird going down the feminine aisle! My hubby found this one out; he just Googled the main ingredient in the cream, which is Miconazole Nitrate 2%. This can be purchased in the foot care section, too! Hubs got ours at Walgreens for $13 a tube (a bit pricey, but cheaper than a Monistat kit) and avoided the inevitably uncomfortable check out

Just a tip! Will touch base to let you know how it worked for Tucker

 

[Dallas Gold]

Good luck!

Does Tucker have a lot of inner ear fur? If so, you can trim it out and it will keep things a little "cooler" in the ears and help some of the ickiness.

 

[TuckersMom]

Good luck!

Does Tucker have a lot of inner ear fur? If so, you can trim it out and it will keep things a little "cooler" in the ears and help some of the ickiness.

You know, I have always wondered if I can cut those little hairs... he hates when I get the scissors close to his ears so I always thought I was hurting him! Maybe he was just being a little turd..

1st application went well he got some peanut butter after so he is a happy dog. What do you guys keep the mixture in so that it doesnt dry out? I wanted to buy a small plastic pill box from the travel section at WalMart but they were out of the twisty top ones, so I got a travel soap container instead. I didnt use all of the creams, only equal parts, until I know how the container will work as far as keeping the mixture liquid-y.

 

[LittleLouie]

I just trimmed around Louie's ears last night, I notice the long fur can sometimes be yuck if it's in his ear. Since we got him, he's always had yucky ears, then it was just his right ear that was getting that way. Lately it's stopped, and we had a pretty clean cleaning last night. I might need to get this recipe, though. Let us know how it goes!

 

[TuckersMom]

This is the one I used:

Healthy Ear Recipe (from Arcane)

1 tube Monistat (generic is fine)
1 tube Polysporin (use the real deal - it's inexpensive)
1 tube Cortaid (generic works here as well)

Use tubes of similar size. Mix all three together in a container that can
be closed well. It takes a bit to incorporate because the Polysporin is a
bit like Vaseline. Once incorporated, it stays mixed.

If ears are gunky, inflamed or smell bad, start with using a pea sized
dollop twice a day. Use your finger to gently push it into the ear. Rub.
Dogs will only shake their heads once or twice! It's a creamy, very
soothing mixture. Once you have the ears under control, lessen how often
you use it till you're only using it once a week. Once a week keeps ears
from getting bad again.

My doctor (human) is the one that came up with this as her dogs were having ear issues that weren't really under control from the things her vet was prescribing! Anyone that I know that has gone to using it has had
remarkable results and the dogs are much happier and SAFER than using
anything with alcohol in it. I was told by my vet that alcohol just dries
the ear out - which includes drying out the ear drum AND that if there is
even the tiniest of perforations in that ear drum, it can let alcohol down
into the middle ear where it can do permanent damage. That's why this cream is SOOOOO good! There's nothing "liquid" about it. It goes in and melts it's way down to where it's needed. No alcohol to cause drying or damage and it will take care of anything yeast, bacterial etc...

Monistat is the same as Miconazole Nitrate 2%, in case you dont want to buy the entire kit. All you need is the fungal stuff

 

[LittleLouie]

Thank you! I'm keeping this one written down in case his ears get bad again. I'm so tired of the one yucky ear!

 

[Dallas Gold]

I had our vet show us how to trim our Barkley's inner ear fur--it was so thick she went and got an electric trimmer and trimmed away--it worked!!

When we put ear medication in his ears we'd rub it around real good to make sure it stayed in.

 

[TuckersMom]

Dallas, how much do you use? Is it possible to "overdose" on the application? He was itching his left ear just a little after the initial application, so I put some on the outter part of his ear, the flappy part. Does that make sense? haha! Hard to type what I am trying to say.. I thought maybe the hydrocortizone would help with the itching

 

[Dallas Gold]

Dallas, how much do you use? Is it possible to "overdose" on the application? He was itching his left ear just a little after the initial application, so I put some on the outter part of his ear, the flappy part. Does that make sense? haha! Hard to type what I am trying to say.. I thought maybe the hydrocortizone would help with the itching

I just squirted some in and didn't really measure--but I was using a prescribed medication and it was a long time ago! We were also instructed to do an ear flush before putting the medication in. Our Barkley went to the Bridge in 2010 and our Toby isn't inclined to get bacterial or yeast ear infections.

 

[Penny & Maggie's Mom]

If you're trimming ear hair, just be careful to keep any from going down the canal. Also, you can buy monistat as a generic and alone ( not in a kit ) for just a few dollars at the drug or grocery store. I use just a pea sized amount and push down in the canal....... once or twice a day while the ears are icky.

 

[TuckersMom]

So far I am shocked to see how fast this has worked! He didnt itch his ears at all today! Cleaned them out good today after his bath and put some more ointment on them.

 

[TuckersMom]

UPDATE! Ok it has been over a week, I do apologize! You know how the holiday season goes..ugh. Anyways! Tucker is doing great!! I LOVE this stuff. Cleared up the gunk in about a week, and now I just use it every once in a while when he gets a little itchy. But no stink and no gunk. This is a dog-send!

 

[lynn1970]

This is my first attempt at this ear cream also. Started it last night. Surprisingly the ingredients were all really easy to find.

Rileah had a ear infection about a month ago and we took her to the vet. The vet cleaned it and gave her some liquid to put in the ear. After ten days the ear looked much better but now it looks a little irritated again. Her other ear looks irritated also and there is some brown yuck in each of them. Not much yuck just more than normal.

This is my plan: Clean her ears with a cotton pad soaked in a mixture of apple cider vinegar and water every night, then administer the cream twice a day. Does this sound like a good plan? Is there anything that I should do differently? If it doesn't clear up in 10-12 days then I will take her back to the vet.

 

[Wendy427]

This is my first attempt at this ear cream also. Started it last night. Surprisingly the ingredients were all really easy to find.

This is my plan: Clean her ears with a cotton pad soaked in a mixture of apple cider vinegar and water every night, then administer the cream twice a day. Does this sound like a good plan? Is there anything that I should do differently? If it doesn't clear up in 10-12 days then I will take her back to the vet.

How is the ear cream (recipe above) working? I would think the ACV would be ok, but as mentioned above, don't let any seep into the ear canal. Instead you might want to put a tablespoon of diluted (1/2 & 1/2 with water) into her FOOD. Just do a search on ACV and you'll find a bunch of info on this.

 

[lynn1970]

How is the ear cream (recipe above) working? I would think the ACV would be ok, but as mentioned above, don't let any seep into the ear canal. Instead you might want to put a tablespoon of diluted (1/2 & 1/2 with water) into her FOOD. Just do a search on ACV and you'll find a bunch of info on this.

So far it seems to be working well. Rileah doesn't really mind it at all, she actually seems to get excited about it. I will be careful with the ACV, I wring the excess liquid out of it, I will take extra special care with it now. I will do a search on it and see if maybe I should put it into her food instead. Thanks for the info.

 

[bonacker]

Just seeing this post for the first time. I printed a copy of the cream ingredients and will make up a batch for Hunter. He has a borderline yeast infection going on. I have been using my old vet's treatment to try to get it under control. I clean out the ear with mineral oil on a cotton pad. After I got as much gunk out as possible, I use the pet store ear cleaning pads (in a jar) and drain out 3/4 of the liquid and replace it with vinegar to clean out the ears. The vinegar helps to stop future yeast growth. It takes quite a while to work and you have to stay with it. I really like the recipe for the cream on this thread. It sounds like all the ingredients will do the trick. Can't wait to give it a try!

 

[lynn1970]

Just seeing this post for the first time. I printed a copy of the cream ingredients and will make up a batch for Hunter. He has a borderline yeast infection going on. I have been using my old vet's treatment to try to get it under control. I clean out the ear with mineral oil on a cotton pad. After I got as much gunk out as possible, I use the pet store ear cleaning pads (in a jar) and drain out 3/4 of the liquid and replace it with vinegar to clean out the ears. The vinegar helps to stop future yeast growth. It takes quite a while to work and you have to stay with it. I really like the recipe for the cream on this thread. It sounds like all the ingredients will do the trick. Can't wait to give it a try!

I hope we both have good luck with it! I hate it when something is wrong with my girl.

 

[OutWest]

I'm going to have to try this out. I've been using ACV and water with good success. Tucker seems to get yucky ears pretty often so I've been extra careful lately.

Does anyone have any reservations about using the antibiotic on a regular basis? I always thought wasn't such a good idea ... Should only used when infection was present.

 

[bonacker]

Thanks to TuckersMom for sharing the recipe she originally found on GRF!!! I'm happy to report that since my 7/3/12 post when I first discovered the recipe in this thread, Hunter's ears are clean, pink and healthy! I'm just doing "maintenance" about once a week now while we are in this hot, humid and wet summer. I love it when those home remedies do the trick!

 

[heartgoldens]

This recipe does seem like the standard triple threat that would take care of an ear infection as seen in many veterinarian prescribed ear medications. However, there is some concern amongst veterinarians about prolonged antibiotic use when not necessary. MOST ear infections in our beloved goldens is fungal in nature (yeast). Only occasionally do secondary bacterial infections occur. My suggestion is to only use the cortisone and monistat for maintenance after it clears up & hold off on the antibiotic ointment. This will prevent any bacterial resistance developing to the antibiotic from overuse. However, a full 7-10 day course should be completed if you use the antibiotic ointment first before discontinuing it.