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Ear Relief

Our dogs occasionally have ears that trouble them.  They scratch them a lot and cry, or they have a foul odor.  This is another homemade remedy that has never failed to help our dogs without a trip to the vet's office.

  • 16 oz. bottle rubbing alcohol
  • 4 tablespoons Boric Acid Powder (usually found near peroxide or bandages in Wal-Mart or drug stores)
  • 16 drops Gentian Violet 1% Solution (this I had to find online, but it's cheap)

Mix all ingredients in the alcohol bottle & shake. Shake before every application as the boric acid will settle. 

Use an eye dropper to fill the ear with solution and  massage it gently for a few seconds.  Fill a second time and just wipe without massaging. The dog will shake the excess out.  Avoid getting in eyes.

 Be careful, Gentian Violet stains.   If you have a light colored dog, their fur will turn purple, but it does wash off dog fur with shampoo and/or wears off with time.

This mixture lasts a long time, I like to use a rubber band and keep the eye dropper attached to the bottle.  The Boric Acid will be soothing to the ear and  the Gentian Violet is an anti-fungal agent used to treat fungal infections. This solution will also work for other fungal infections on dogs, like hot spots.

Eye Wash

Washing the eyes and undereye area frequently with this solution is wonderful for keeping tear staining away.  Our Maltese (pictured above, right) loves when it's eye drop time, I think it's really soothing for him.

  • 1 teaspoon Boric Acid Powder
  • 1 cup bottled or filtered water

Boil the water, turn off heat and add boric acid, cool.

I had previously bought a bottle of commercial eye wash from a pet store and I now refill that to squirt our pup's eyes. You can use a dropper or similar Visine type bottle. 

To remove stains under the eyes, use the same recipe, but adjust the boric acid to 1 tablespoon and dab with a paper towel daily.  The stains will not immediately fade like a bleaching agent, but the boric acid will kill the bacteria causing the staining and you'll eventually be rid of the problem as new hair grows.

A Note about Boric Acid:

If you're questioning the safety of boric acid.  It is effective in many different applications within and outside of medicinal use.  It is found in many, many eye care products for both humans and animals. As an example, check out the ingredients in Bausch & Lomb Advanced Eye Relief, for instance:

Water (Purified), Boric Acid, Sodium Borate, Sodium Chloride, Hydrochloric Acid, Sodium Hydroxide, Edetate Disodium (0.025%), Sorbic Acid (0.1%)

 

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