Hi pals!  We have a friend and neighbor that has a little shi tzu.  She's getting up there in years... around 12 now, I think.  Her Dad is her 3rd owner, she out-lived her first 2 owners.  She's a real cutie, but a picky little thing... she has a sensitive stomach and allergies and the whole bit.  She also has some problems with her ears.  Her Dad tries pretty hard to keep up with regular cleaning, using Epi-Otic, but occassionally she gets ear infections anyway.  She has one now, her ears are real sensitive to the touch and she shakes her head a lot.  He's in a pretty dire financial situation and doesn't want to have to pay for office visits and antibiotics everytime this happens (though he does what he has to when she gets sick)... I just thought I'd throw it out... does anyone have any advice on how he can prevent these infections, or treat without expensive doctors?  He's gone out of his way to figure out how to keep her tummy settled and her grooming under control and everything else... now if he could just get a grip on these ear infections...  Thanks! 

Hey im new!

ANywho last year my dog was getting lots of ear infections and the vet cleaned out the ears and gave him ear drops. Since he cant go to the vet cuz of the cost tell him to just clean in as much as possible. They said to clean it with Baby oil on a cotton ball, and just try and get some of the gook out. =]

<3

Having Golden Retrievers for the last 20 years, I've had my share of ear problems.  Firstly, baby oil on a cotton ball just doesn't work.  A ear cleaning solution that works for me is Nolvasan Otic.  I buy the 16ozs. because it's great on skin hot spots.  Really squeeze the liquid into the ears. Gently massage the ears and the base of the ear.  Clean all the excess liquid out.  Have your Vet show you the base of the ear.  It's really long.  I use a que tip to clean out the ears.  I'm very careful.  The ear canal is totally different from humans.  It's much longer.  After I get all the brown mite stuff out (that what causes 90 percent of ear infections), I then squeeze Panalog cream into the ears.  You can buy all that stuff on Petmeds and save a lot of bucks. 

Hi guys I am a Vet Tech and just was wondering what kind of allergies are we talking about?? that could be the cause of the ear infections and if he can get a special food for the allergies it might help with the chronic ear infections.  Sorry to say this but I would never use the baby oil for the simple fact that if this is a yeasty thing going on the yeast or bacteria love the babt oil and the infections are harder to get rid of.  cleaning with a good ear cleanser/drier is the best bet I would go with the previous suggestion and pet meds is a great inexpensive soluton.

Woa! sorry for the bad suggest then guys! My vet just always said clean it with baby oil but i guess not? Anywho i hope your doggy feels better!!

Here is my two cents worth, having a dane with epilepsy and chronic ear infections, we found what worked for us was a 50/50 solution of apple cider vinegar and water used just like you use your traditional ear cleaners, squirt some in the ear canal, massage it around and then let them shake it out on their own.  DONT stick anything down in the ear canal to try and swab it out as this shoves the crud down in there.  Also, avoid food with wheat in it.  For some reason this contributes to ear infections in dogs.

Keeping the ear hair trimmed short helps ventilate the ear canal.  One reason dogs get ear infections is because their ears are too moist.  If the hair grows too dense it prevents good air flow.  Pulling the hair out keeps it short longer and they make a powder that groomers use to help pull it out easier. 

Good Luck,

7dogs

This is a miracle cure. Not sure where some of you live, but try this, it works like a charm. All natural Neem Oil. You can get Neem Oil at any Indian Grocery store for $3.99, if not check Amazon. First, clean out your dog `s ears, then dab a little Neem oil onto a cotton ball and clean out the infected ear with it.

Neem - the herbal remedy

Neem is a herbal remedy for the medication of fever, gastrointestinal disease, skin disorders, respiratory disease, intestinal parasites, immune system disorder, and yeast infections in pets. It is a greant anti fungal and anti flea and tick natural remedy as well.
It may inhibit the development of viruses and prevent them from entering and infecting cells. Neem appears to be an appropriate herbal remedy for numerous skin disorders.
The anti inflammatory and pain relieving activity of neem make it potentially useful for pet medication against scalp psoriasis, eczema, seborrheic dermatitis, and yeast infections. The neem leaf has been shown to have activity to suppresses the fungus that cause ringworm in dogs and pets.

Neem oil and Neem leaf extract may be applied externally in the form of Neem cream and Neem soap.
Both external and intestinal parasites may be sensitive to the effects of herbal neem remedy. Neem tea is used for pet medication against intestinal parasites, including worms. Neem oil and Neem shampoo are excellent treatments for scabies!
Perhaps one of the most interesting success of neem is its use as a herbal remedy for malaria.
Neem is a proven anti-inflammatory that decreases histamine and other mediators of inflammation in the body. Some of the important chemicals in neem that contribute to this effect are azadirachtin, nimbidin, limonoids, and catechin. Warmed neem oil is also recommended for external use to reduce pain and inflammation in affected joints.

General Care

This is simple and obvious: give your dog a regular wash with neem shampoo, and occasionally supplement its food with neem leaf.

One of the best things you can do for your dog is to buy or make a good neem oil dog shampoo. Yes, I said make. Any dog shampoo can be turned into neem dog shampoo, by adding some pure neem seed oil into it.

Neem oil shampoo for dogs keeps fleas, ticks, mange mites and any other annoying biting insects away, and generally promotes a shiny coat and healthy problem free skin (just like using neem products on your own hair and skin does).

The neem leaf is a powerful herbal supplement that strengthens the immune system in general, supports liver function, purifies the blood and may eliminate intestinal parasites. Considering that most dogs eat commercial dog food, such a herbal supplement is a good idea.

Dealing With Skin Problems

No matter if it's a fungus (ringworm), mites (mange), or biting insects, neem oil helps dogs. How exactly you use neem on your dog depends on the severity of the problem.

Using neem spray: dogs can be sprayed with neem spray, just as we spray ourselves with insect repellent. You can do this to prevent problems or re-infection. You can also use a spray to treat your dog repeatedly. This may be necessary when dealing with a persistent problem. It's certainly easier than bathing your pooch three times a day...

Using neem dog shampoo: bathing with a neem dog shampoo is of course also an excellent way to discourage fleas and ticks, and to clean up mange or ringworm. Make sure you leave the shampoo in for several minutes (as long as your dog will tolerate it) before rinsing. Do this two or three times a week. That usually does the job.

If making your own neem dog shampoo (by adding neem oil to normal dog shampoo), source some oatmeal shampoo. It's the best shampoo to soothe already irritated skin and relieve pain and itching a bit. Otherwise use the mildest shampoo you can find.

If your dog hates bathing, just use a dry neem dog shampoo!

Using pure neem oil: if you have a severe case of anything you may want to try pure neem oil. Don't use it undiluted, though, especially if the dog has cracked, open skin, oozing sores etc. Neem oil is very strong stuff! You would add to the stress and discomfort, and that makes things worth.

Rather dilute the neem oil 1:10 in a light carrier oil (e.g. grape seed oil or almond oil). Then massage the oil mixture into the skin. You can apply it several times a day on problem spots.

For hot spots like moist eczema, or to treat demodectic mange, you can increase the concentration to a 1:1 ratio. Some people do use 100% pure neem oil in those cases. Don't leave the pure oil on the skin for more than 48 hours, or you dog may develop an irritation. Also monitor the skin, and if there is any reaction, just wash the oil of.

Using neem leaf: the preferred Ayurvedic people treatment for scabies (the human equivalent for mange) is a paste made from neem leaves and turmeric. It's more effort to make than the oil, but is certainly a good thing to use on dogs with mange.

An easier way to use neem leaves on dogs is to make a strong neem leaf tea or extract, and to dab or spray that onto the skin.

Make sure your dog also eats a healthy diet, with plenty of vegetables, vitamins and minerals. Any neem treatment shows best results when internal and external treatment is combined. Consider supplementing your dogs diet with dried neem leaf or bark. You can buy dried neem leaf, neem leaf powder, or bark powder, either lose or in form of capsules.

Internal use of neem leaf helps with intestinal parasites, generally helps the intestine, stimulates liver function and strengthens the immune system. In short, it will help your dog to deal with the external skin problem by fighting it from the inside.

Where Neem Oil Can't Help Dogs

Neem affects many internal parasites, but it is not effective against tapeworm.

Neem is famous for its antibacterial properties. Since many skin disorders also cause secondary bacterial infections this is part of the reason neem is so beneficial for skin problems. Staph infections, however, unfortunately do not respond to neem.

Heres a way to help get more air in there and keep the ear infections down.  Granted she will look a little silly, but it will help.  Take clipers to her ears and shave off all the hair on them.  it will take the weight off her ears, and help them to get more air.  German sherpards, yorkies, and other breeds that don't have the hair on their ears seem to not get the ear infections or dranage that poodles, cocker spanels or such do.  I had to do that to my first toy Poodle, Muffin Ann looked silly but it helped out aloot (there is a pick of her all clipped on my page.

     Another idea, granted it's talking to the vet is giving her Trisderm (when you do get it keep it in the fridge, it will last longer).  Trisderm will make her head gooey, till the corse is done, but it always help out Muffin, Tasha, and Sasha out.

That's a good idea.   I've trimmed the inside fur of all my golden's ears.  More air, less mites.  Also, I buy Huggies, not only do they clean butt problems but does a nice job of safely cleaning the surface area around ears.

Just a thought, my beloved Hershey had constant yeast infections in his ears until I cut all wheat, corn, and yeast from his diet. Then he didn't have one for the past three years. Thank God, I finally put 2 and 2 together.