First time dog owner - suspecting ear infection.

[Madalee]

Hi. Me AGAIN lol

I clean Tonkas ears quite regularly. Went today and noticed quite a bit of funk, cleaned him out and the one ear is super pink. We do have a vet apt Monday, I'm gonna see if I can get in sooner. I'm really big on essential oils for my family - never used on my dog yet

does anyone have any home remedies?
Doesnt seem to be bothering him. I've seen him scratching a few times. But I'm on him like a hawk!

[smartrock]

You'll want to know whether it's actually an ear infection or just a dirty ear. If it's an infection he'll probably get some medicated ear drops. Because ear infections left untreated (or not treated correctly) can cause inflammation and scarring which could lead to hearing loss, I wouldn't mess with a home remedy at this point. If his ear is "super pink" using some things like vinegar or alcohol could sting and make him very resistant to having his ears messed with. Once it's cleared up, you could clean it with more of a homemade solution and lots of us use some home solutions.

[Madalee]

Thank you.
Many neighbor brought over a solution she has for her lab and we put that in and gave him a good clean. Still pink. I'll see how he is tomorrow morning.
I was thinking coconut oil. I use that for almost everything in our home but unsure if pet friendly

[POPTOP]

Not sure about coconut oil if there truly is an infection. Also, the coconut oil may create a problem in that dust, etc., will stick to it thus dirty ears. With the ear pink I would error in favor of seeing the vet and making sure there is no infection which might need treating.

When Bandit joined us, he had had multiple ear problems in the past. There was a lot of scar tissue in the ear canal. Eventually he had to have TECA which is total removal of the ear canal because if any moisture got in the canal it would not come out causing constant irritation and infections.

[ZoeysMommy]

Just some advice, excessively cleaning ears actually creates an unhealhy environment. Unless he rolls in mud or something, there is generally no need to clean a dogs ears on a regular basis. Get him healed up and check weekly and only clean if there is some obvious reason

[Madalee]

Neighbor suggested pokysporin ear drops. Anyone tried this?

[smartrock]

I would still urge you to have your vet check his ears to determine if there's anything to treat before trying anything your well-meaning neighbor is offering, be it polysporin, coconut oil, or anything else. Polysporin isn't exactly an "essential oil" type treatment either. People who have had several dogs or had to deal with ear infections several times may come to recognize the signs of an ear infection and know what works for them. There are many causes of ear infections also, so you want to know what you're treating- mites, yeast, bacteria, etc. Since you're new at this and your pup is young, let a vet take a look and guide your actions.

[Snowshoe]

Essential oils are scary. Maybe worse for cats but inhalation of the smallest amounts of many is bad. I'd be wanting to check out transdermal transfer first, especially in such a sparsely furred area as inside the ear. Even just the ear flap. Yes, you need to know what is causing the problem as some have mentionned above. And, too much cleaning irritates and opens the way for more problems.

ETA: I mean inhalation of the fumes, not the actual oil.

[zd262]

I use smell to determine when Bubba's ears are getting funky and might be heading towards an infection, and then I use this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1. I've had a lot of success with it, my vet has approved it, and a lot of people on the internet talk about the "purple solution" and have recipes for it, and this is the same thing.

Since this is his first ear problem, and could be a full blown infection I'd take him in and see what the vet says, but in the future to avoid infection I highly recommend the product above.

[Java]

Since you're going to take Tonka (who's super adorable, btw) to the vet on Monday, maybe don't try any remedies at all in the meantime. I'd go for phoning for an earlier visit. Not that a dog's ears are like a carpet stain, but sometimes you can make a problem bigger & harder to resolve, if that makes any sense.

My first dog had ear issues from time to time. If there's "funk", a smell, and he's scratching at his ears - I'd wait for the vet's recommendation. A dog's ear canal is vertical so there's that.