# Sticky  Poodle Ear Care Guide



## Rowan

Um, I meant to say you can _download_ it.  

I think I had way too much sun today! (And you thought I was going to say wine, didn't you?)  I couldn't find a sun emoticon so I'm going to use this one simply because it's cute. :willy:


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## CT Girl

What great information. I wonder if this could be made a sticky?


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## Rowan

CT Girl said:


> What great information. I wonder if this could be made a sticky?


Will have to ask Plum!


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## Rhett'smom

Rowan said:


> Will have to ask Plum!


This is so helpful... Rhett made a trip to the vet this am because of ear issues. Since it has been "a long while " for me in dealing with ear issues. A good primer to kick start the brain for Mom. Thank you for all of the information everyone provides.


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## Ruscha_Baby

Cannot obtain the ingredients easily in the UK. Any UK owners have a solution for this problem?


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## Ruscha_Baby

Have discovered most ingredients are on eBay but the alcohol aspect can be replaced with surgical spirit, which is on the shelf (I have just bought some) at Boots.


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## Angl

You won't believe what I just saw on my breeder's facebook page. She told how she keeps all of her dogs' ears clean and infection free. 
I have not tried it yet, but will shortly.
"Hey Everyone, They do need to be plucked. However if you will fill 2 small spray bottles. Fill one with 3 parts water and 1 part vinegar and fill the other with contact solution. Alternate weeks using vinegar solution 1 week and contact solution the next and spray each ear 1 time per week. Soak them good but not too much. We pluck all ears here at FAMILY AFFAIR and do this same regiment and it WORKS. NO EAR INFECTIONS
The vinegar takes care of yeast infections and contact solution prevents bacteria infections"

Yes, contact solution. Makes such good sense.


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## ItzaClip

Rowan said:


> ETA: The Les Poochs MedAcetic Ear Wash contains boric acid (see the "Purple Ear Wash" in the linked document). It's one of my favorite ear products.



For any Canadians. The raw company "carnivoria" makes a genetian violet ear cleaner that also has boric acid. I used this cleaner for years in salon. Successfully brought back my golden inflamed ear back to normal with only that(after boarding kennel).


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## Smurfette's Mom

Thank you for the info

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## patcheeze

nice info, thanks, though I've never washed the ear canal of my puppy myself cause I'm still afraid to hurt her ears, everytime I bathe her myself I only wash the upward furry part of the ears.

Btw is it true that I must put a cottonball inside my puppy's ears not to get any water inside her ear canals while bathing?


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## AngelsMommy

patcheeze said:


> nice info, thanks, though I've never washed the ear canal of my puppy myself cause I'm still afraid to hurt her ears, everytime I bathe her myself I only wash the upward furry part of the ears.
> 
> Btw is it true that I must put a cottonball inside my puppy's ears not to get any water inside her ear canals while bathing?


Because you have a toy, I think that if you are very careful, you can be okay. Just make sure the ear canal stays dry. The cotton is mostly for convenience or if you have a dog that is wilder in the bath.  
I do use cotton on my Angel, but standards have much bigger ears for water to get inside. lol
And I just work to keep the cotton dry. It also gives me an indicator if I am doing a good job of keeping water away. 

When I first got my Angel she had a slight ear issue and all of the over the counter stuff didn't work. But this recipe solution knocked it right out. It was easy to make and I now use it regularly and no problems.  I think that because it was originally for Cockers and they have similar ears to Poodles it works so well on my Angel. 

I also make sure the way the hair around the ear is trimmed allows for the greatest air flow. Angel has very heavy ear hair and if it is not trimmed just so, her ears won't breath, for lack of a better expression. lol

Hope this helps others as much as it did my Angel.


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## Shootinfishin

Ruscha_Baby said:


> Cannot obtain the ingredients easily in the UK. Any UK owners have a solution for this problem?


Boric acid and Acetic acid should be easily sourced!

Also regular plucking using powder to get a good grip should prevent the ear conditions.

Prevention is surely better than mixing up cures!

My wee fella is only 5 months old very soon lol but he gets his ear canals plucked every week, they shouldn't be trimmed as they will get spiky and cause more irritation


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## Ruscha_Baby

Shootinfishin said:


> Boric acid and Acetic acid should be easily sourced!
> 
> Also regular plucking using powder to get a good grip should prevent the ear conditions.
> 
> Prevention is surely better than mixing up cures!
> 
> My wee fella is only 5 months old very soon lol but he gets his ear canals plucked every week, they shouldn't be trimmed as they will get spiky and cause more irritation


Yes, you might have read the post _after_ the one I originally made before responding. It has been some time since I posted, and have since learned a great deal about ear canker. The products cannot be obtained from chemists in the UK (unless you know different) but can be easily obtained on eBay. 

Plucking alone does not necessarily prevent fungal ear conditions, but it goes some way towards it in many cases. Each dog is different, and so is each ear. Using the blue ear treatment referred to in this thread can be used as a preventative because it cleans the ears and removes dirt that plucking alone does not. 

I do not pluck my dogs' ears every week simply because there is no requirement for it. After using the blue mixture a few times, plus making sure ears are properly washed during bath time, my dogs have seen no recurrence.

As an additional note, I have found ear powder to be rather unnecessary. Good tweezers/forceps eradicate the chances of kicking off ear powder allergies.


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## Lou

Great thread! 

English is my second language, so I don't recognize the name of most of these substances  I know alcohol irritates my babies's ears and vinegar burns!!!!! They hate it! Poor babies! So I need to find something new to clean their ears with.

Which one of these substances is the mildest one? And does not contain alcohol or vinegar...

Thanks do much! 
Ps. I've been giving my poodles 3 big tbl spoons if plain yogurt everyday and they don't have ear infections anymore. Apollo had ear infections non stop before. I bought zymox (recommended by another poodleforum member and I used it once, 1 large bottle for the 2 poodles, it cured it!! after trying 4 different ointments prescribed by the vets, that did not work, this was such a relief!)
And now that they are cured I just keep the daily yogurt, just wanted to share this info, since it worked for my babies.


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## Wild Kitten

Ruscha_Baby said:


> As an additional note, I have found ear powder to be rather unnecessary. Good tweezers/forceps eradicate the chances of kicking off ear powder allergies.


I would be scared of putting anything sharp into my dog's ears.. when I worked for a groomer, my boss used to pluck the years with forceps, she put them in so deep I was always worried that if a dog moved or jerked it would get injured. 

Unless you are really experienced and got a real calm dog, you can do more damage than good with those things.


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## Ruscha_Baby

Wild Kitten said:


> I would be scared of putting anything sharp into my dog's ears.. when I worked for a groomer, my boss used to pluck the years with forceps, she put them in so deep I was always worried that if a dog moved or jerked it would get injured.
> 
> Unless you are really experienced and got a real calm dog, you can do more damage than good with those things.


Damage to the ear is quite unlikely because the inner workings of the ear are quite inaccessible. I very much doubt that anyone here has ever witnessed a case of ear damage during plucking.


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## Wild Kitten

I actually have, not from ear plucking but from sticking instruments into the dog's ear...... my dog had a grass seed and the vet had to take it out with forceps, and after his ear was bleeding a little and he never let anyone near it again. 

That's why I said that unless you are experienced or have a real calm dog who won't unexpectedly move you shouldn't be sticking sharp instruments into your dog's ears. Plucking with fingers should be sufficient.


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## Ruscha_Baby

Wild Kitten said:


> I actually have, not from ear plucking but from sticking instruments into the dog's ear...... my dog had a grass seed and the vet had to take it out with forceps, and after his ear was bleeding a little and he never let anyone near it again.
> 
> That's why I said that unless you are experienced or have a real calm dog who won't unexpectedly move you shouldn't be sticking sharp instruments into your dog's ears. Plucking with fingers should be sufficient.


I'm sorry, but that simply isn't true. The only way to remove hair in the deep parts of the ear canal is with forceps. Fingers simply cannot reach that far.

You state that only an experienced person should undertake such plucking, and I agree with you on that point. As an experienced ear plucker, I always ensure a dog simply cannot move for this procedure. 

For my two toys and one mini, plucking is not a horrible experience because they have become accustomed to it. I would suggest that hay seeds should be removed by vets, as you did, but then I always tend to ask my vet if he/she has undertaken procedures before. It is quite remarkable that the younger vets have little experience of removing items from ears.

I am sorry the vet made your dog' ear bleed. I can't see how that was necessary.

Incidentally, I notice that your dog will not let anyone go near his ear. That's something I think you might need to reduce the options on, either with click-reward training, or simply by restraining him. Poodles need to allow their ears to be inspected at any time the owner chooses.


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## bura4

Just curious. My Igor had his rabies shot (mandatory here yearly shots) and two days later his ears are full of brown gunk - and they've been perfect for a long time. Anyone ever experienced that?? He is allergic to certain foods and maybe it's just a coincidence, but still... Weird. I just hat those mandatory rabies shots


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## peccan

bura4 said:


> Just curious. My Igor had his rabies shot (mandatory here yearly shots) and two days later his ears are full of brown gunk - and they've been perfect for a long time. Anyone ever experienced that?? He is allergic to certain foods and maybe it's just a coincidence, but still... Weird. I just hat those mandatory rabies shots


This is something of a longshot, but it could be that the irritation of the shot made his earwax production speed up temporarily and washed out some gunk build-up. Observe for a few days and if there's no foul smell, signs of pain/discomfort (apart from itchy gunk), additional symptoms, and it goes away on its own (stays cleaner after you clean it), IMO there's no need to worry.


(I personally have the runny type of earwax, and sometimes an allergic reaction or seemingly nothing at all makes the wax secretion kick up a few gears, to the point my ear gets distinctly wet or it even drips out.)


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## KBMeredith

My vet is adamant that ears not be plucked. The hair protects the ear and keeps them from getting infections. He also states they don't need to be washed out unless an odor indicates a problem. Just wipe with damp cloth when bathing and keep water or any liquid out. Just saying...I know it's controversial.


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## Lou

My dogs MUST get their ears plucked correctly, or they get so much hair in there that there's no air moving and it gets closed up with wax. Lots and lots of hair. If we were to trim the hair inside it would be bad because any hair that falls inside can make it worse so plucking it out is the best for my 2. I make sure to keep the underside of the ear flap shaved to create air movement under there. 
And ZYMOX ! Miraculous cleaner and MEDICINE! 

We only rinse their ears with the Zymox cleaner occasionally 
and we do pluck the ears every time they get a haircut. 

If it gets infected Zymox medication for 7 to 14 days and it's gone! 
In as little as the first 2 days you can actually see redness disappear and the pain is gone too! 
Just personal experience, I'm not in any way educated to give medical advice, I'm just talking from what's happened with my babies. 

******** They both used to have chronic ear infections that would persist and were resistant to all the 4 different medicines vets prescribed, The only thing that ever worked was Zymox and they rarely get any ear troubles anymore  

Sorry if it sounded like I was rambling. It just took forever to figure out a solution, I'm just so glad it is behind us.


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## Charleeann67:)

Did she happen to say what kind of vinegar and what kind of contact solution? I wear contacts and there are some that provide moisture.


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## Syl

Charleeann67:) said:


> Did she happen to say what kind of vinegar and what kind of contact solution? I wear contacts and there are some that provide moisture.


The white vinegar is usually used, and contact solution that contains boric acid.

I’m dealing with one ear funky smell in our older poodle. Only had him since fall... we had been plucking regularly with fingers, and then one day I looked and his ears were full of hair and he absolutely had a lot of brown gunk in one, I cleaned and flushed it with vinegar and then used some anti-fungal ointment on it, and it is still funky. I had hoped to just use items I had around the house... now I have a vet appt for tomorrow with a snowstorm on the way too. 

I should have come here right away when I noticed it. I do have contact lens cleaner for his eye drainage.


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## Viking Queen

Syl said:


> The white vinegar is usually used, and contact solution that contains boric acid.
> 
> I’m dealing with one ear funky smell in our older poodle. Only had him since fall... we had been plucking regularly with fingers, and then one day I looked and his ears were full of hair and he absolutely had a lot of brown gunk in one, I cleaned and flushed it with vinegar and then used some anti-fungal ointment on it, and it is still funky. I had hoped to just use items I had around the house... now I have a vet appt for tomorrow with a snowstorm on the way too.
> 
> I should have come here right away when I noticed it. I do have contact lens cleaner for his eye drainage.


25 years ago I had a standard poodle mix who had horrible infections for 3 yrs and we tried everything to fix it. I changed vets to an old timey country vet who steered me in the right direction. He was pretty unconventional at times but this worked for us. Some people may be outraged at what he suggested. Here goes.

He said medicine won't work if the ears still have all the dirt and crap in them so you have to clean them well. Mix 1 tablespoon dawn dish soap in 16 oz warm water. Put it in a long nozzle ear cleaner bottle, shake well and fill the ears up with that. Massage the ears well then rinse rinse rinse and rinse some more with clear water until every thing comes out clear. Repeat again in a couple of days. You will get out lots and lots of the brown icky smelling stuff ...I got out chunks of it. 

Then he said to Look up the recipe for blue power ear cleaner. It has gentian violet, boric acid and a couple of other things in it....can't think of the exact recipe right now but I will post it when I find it. Follow directions for using it and you will never have another ear infection again. And I never did....after 3 yrs of misery. 

An alternative to the blue power solution would be to use a solution of 1/2 vinegar and 1/2 rubbing alcohol to flush the ears. YOU CAN NOT use this when the ears are infected. It will be painful. Once ears are not infected use this once a day for a week, then once a week for a month then once a month forever. Just flush the ears with it and let them shake out the rest. The vinegar kills yeast and bacteria and the alcohol drys out the ears.

If you want a ready made version of the blue power solution then Liquid Health K9 Ear Solution is what you would order ....get it on Amazon. It is amazing.

The key, to me was getting all the brown icky stuff out with the ear wash then cure the infection.

After three miserable years of infections and lots of prescription meds which never worked the old timey vet's suggestion did work. Rose never had another infection in her life.

For 14 yrs I never had ear infections with Iris, but I did use the alcohol vinegar flush once in a While to keep things clean.

When I got Poppy her ears were dirty and got worse quickly. We cleaned the Texas dust from her ears using the Dawn solution and we have never had an issue since. Just sweet healthy ears! Good luck.

P.S. What ever solution I use to clean a dog's ears I always warm it to body temp before using it so I am not pouring cold stuff down a sensitive ear.

Here is a link for the blue power ear solution and how to use it.

BLUE POWER EAR TREATMENT

And I am adding a picture of the K9 ear solution available on amazon


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## Syl

Oh gosh, so helpful! We ditched the $50 vet visit, and yesterday picked up an ear cleanse for $8 at the pet store... two treatments and flushed out all the stuff, his ear looks clean all the way down the ear canal (used a flashlight on the outside of the ear to illuminate any funk, think of how you'd shine a flashlight on your hand as a kid), and he very happily let me clean it tonight. Two thumbs up on just flushing it out! It's basically a salicylic acid/alcohol mixture I'll continue using for a few weeks/month.


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## Viking Queen

Syl said:


> Oh gosh, so helpful! We ditched the $50 vet visit, and yesterday picked up an ear cleanse for $8 at the pet store... two treatments and flushed out all the stuff, his ear looks clean all the way down the ear canal (used a flashlight on the outside of the ear to illuminate any funk, think of how you'd shine a flashlight on your hand as a kid), and he very happily let me clean it tonight. Two thumbs up on just flushing it out! It's basically a salicylic acid/alcohol mixture I'll continue using for a few weeks/month.


Oh, I am so happy that is helping him feel better. Amazing how they know when something is good for them. Hope this continues to work well for you. It is so hard to see our kids feel crummy and have stinky uncomfortable ears. Hoping for a quick turn around for your boy!


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## jacqueline

Angl said:


> You won't believe what I just saw on my breeder's facebook page. She told how she keeps all of her dogs' ears clean and infection free.
> I have not tried it yet, but will shortly.
> "Hey Everyone, They do need to be plucked. However if you will fill 2 small spray bottles. Fill one with 3 parts water and 1 part vinegar and fill the other with contact solution. Alternate weeks using vinegar solution 1 week and contact solution the next and spray each ear 1 time per week. Soak them good but not too much. We pluck all ears here at FAMILY AFFAIR and do this same regiment and it WORKS. NO EAR INFECTIONS
> The vinegar takes care of yeast infections and contact solution prevents bacteria infections"
> 
> Yes, contact solution. Makes such good sense.


I realize this thread is quite old, but i'm confused about contact solution. i don't know what you're referring to. do you mean contact lens solution? if so, do you mean the kind that is just a saline solution or the one that is hydrogen peroxide based and does not contain a preservative or the solution that has preservative? thank you!


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## Charlie's Person

Viking Queen said:


> 25 years ago I had a standard poodle mix who had horrible infections for 3 yrs and we tried everything to fix it. I changed vets to an old timey country vet who steered me in the right direction. He was pretty unconventional at times but this worked for us. Some people may be outraged at what he suggested. Here goes.
> 
> He said medicine won't work if the ears still have all the dirt and crap in them so you have to clean them well. Mix 1 tablespoon dawn dish soap in 16 oz warm water. Put it in a long nozzle ear cleaner bottle, shake well and fill the ears up with that. Massage the ears well then rinse rinse rinse and rinse some more with clear water until every thing comes out clear. Repeat again in a couple of days. You will get out lots and lots of the brown icky smelling stuff ...I got out chunks of it.
> 
> Then he said to Look up the recipe for blue power ear cleaner. It has gentian violet, boric acid and a couple of other things in it....can't think of the exact recipe right now but I will post it when I find it. Follow directions for using it and you will never have another ear infection again. And I never did....after 3 yrs of misery.
> 
> An alternative to the blue power solution would be to use a solution of 1/2 vinegar and 1/2 rubbing alcohol to flush the ears. YOU CAN NOT use this when the ears are infected. It will be painful. Once ears are not infected use this once a day for a week, then once a week for a month then once a month forever. Just flush the ears with it and let them shake out the rest. The vinegar kills yeast and bacteria and the alcohol drys out the ears.
> 
> If you want a ready made version of the blue power solution then Liquid Health K9 Ear Solution is what you would order ....get it on Amazon. It is amazing.
> 
> The key, to me was getting all the brown icky stuff out with the ear wash then cure the infection.
> 
> After three miserable years of infections and lots of prescription meds which never worked the old timey vet's suggestion did work. Rose never had another infection in her life.
> 
> For 14 yrs I never had ear infections with Iris, but I did use the alcohol vinegar flush once in a While to keep things clean.
> 
> When I got Poppy her ears were dirty and got worse quickly. We cleaned the Texas dust from her ears using the Dawn solution and we have never had an issue since. Just sweet healthy ears! Good luck.
> 
> P.S. What ever solution I use to clean a dog's ears I always warm it to body temp before using it so I am not pouring cold stuff down a sensitive ear.
> 
> Here is a link for the blue power ear solution and how to use it.
> 
> BLUE POWER EAR TREATMENT
> 
> And I am adding a picture of the K9 ear solution available on amazon


Gotta love those old country vets. I have a Standard Poodle who has "the hairiest ear canals I have seen in my practice" (said my vet). One nasty stinky ear infection and ears always clogged by brown tar as a pup, and once it was cleared here is the successful regimen I have followed for the past 18 months. 1) get ears drastically plucked by groomer every couple of months. 2) flush ear with Burow's Solution once a week, carefully wipe out visible gunk with cotton balls. 3) put in a dropperful of the same blue gentian solution my old vet sells for $8 for a large bottle every week
No problems since

Sent from my STV100-3 using Tapatalk


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