Ear Infections

What if your dog’s recurring infection is an early warning sign of bigger concerns?
One of the top 10 reasons dogs are going to the vet - repeatedly.

Otitis or ear infections in dogs, is a top 10 veterinary health problem according to research. T

In a new peer-reviewed veterinary study, scientists show that the prevalence of otitis was significantly reduced within the groups of dogs that were consuming from 26 to 100% of their diet as non-processed foods.

In the book “The Forever Dog” they state: Eating 76–100% processed foods during puppyhood significantly increased the likelihood of of chronic ear infections later in life.

Furthermore, in another previous Finnish Veterinary study, scientists showed healthy human food leftovers offered to puppies significantly reduced allergy symptoms and skin problems later in life. This long-term, protective effect increased the more often real foods were added, so the more exposure puppies had to a variety of healthy leftovers, the more protection there was from developing skin issues down the road.

“…even if the dog eats 80% of its food as dry, adding a minimum of 20% of the food as raw significantly decreased the risk of AASS [allergic skin disease] later in life.” – Dr. Anna Hielm-Björkman

It’s a food-first approach to resolution, but here are some ideas for relief.

Save some money – go natural.

Reading this has really given me hope! Our Hudson has a chronic bacterial infection in both ears, but his right ear seems to bother him more. His cytology report stated “rods & cocci”. This was done before we adopted him. Our vet told us there were 2 options. We could do an ear cleanse with hydrocortisone long term, which does give him relief, or we could opt for surgery which would involve deep cleaning, inserting tubes then packing, and back to the vets every 2 weeks, however the success rate, we were told is only about 50%.
I would love to try a more natural approach! We’ve been on healthy food with supplements for the last 10 months. Any thoughts on what we should start with? At this point I have just a few oils, but I can certainly add ones that would help him.
I just need a starting point!
Thank you so much!

@kdeck02 – have you tried the suggestions in the blog post? I’ve had great success with the Essential oil spray – and in turning those oils + Thieves into a new oil blend that I can add to drops to a gel cap for use in their food. Usually knocked out in about 3 days.

If you haven’t tried those – start there.
If you have tried them and they didn’t work – let me know exactly what you tried.

What oils are in your collection?

We need to figure out why they are recurring.

Hey Dana! Thanks for getting back to me. The only thing I’ve tried so far is the apple cider vinegar remedy and I know it’s early, but I actually have seen some improvement in the number of times he’s scratching his ears and shaking. (His shaking is whole body, not just head.)
I will keep him on this 2X day & see how he does.
I’ve not had to use the Oti Cleanse in about 4 days and that’s a big deal!
The oils I have are lavender, geranium, citronella, cedarwood, lemongrass, trauma life & peace & calming. This is why I haven’t tried the oils first. I don’t have the ones you suggested, but will order them if the ACV doesn’t work.
At least I know that we’re dealing with bacteria & not yeast. His ears have no odor & no discharge whatsoever.

We like improvement! Keep going.
ACV is great. get a little into his food if he tolerates it for a few days.
Consider adding a little fresh oregano + thyme (start slow with about 1/4 tsp) to make sure it doesn’t change his food intake. find his sweet spot of tolerance (up to about 1tsp). (EO is also ok for this)

Did you know can freeze chopped oregano – I would use small silicone molds for small portions with coconut oil (not fractionated), and then once frozen pop them in a zippy bag to pull out as needed for recipe / bowl add-ins.

Lemongrass does have some of the anti-bacterial, anti-fungal properties, and anti-inflammatories we’re looking for. It’s not my first reach for ear infections, but one of my mentors has always said “set your intention and use what you have!”. I might make a very diluted mixture of Lemongrass, Lavender and Fractionated Coconut oil and use on the outside (furry side) of the ear flap. It will still do it’s work. It wouldn’t be a combo I used internally for this, nor would I use lemongrass on the inside of the ear flap.

Lavender + Coconut oil will be soothing for the ear itself.

My preferred EO choices (for others reading) are thieves, oregano, copaiba, lavender and tea tree for cleaning the inside of the ear w/ coconut oil. And internally with Thieves and/or oregano with a healthy food with appropriate fat content (or added carrier oil).

Rod and Cocci speaks to the shape of bacteria and is sometimes used for making decisions about treatments. Both can be present in the same environment.

So yes, work from the inside out and see if you can get this under control!

Sample treat molds: Dana Brigman | The K9 Coach & WellOiledK9's Amazon Page

@kdeck02