Recently, I noticed my pup Lilly's ear was bothering her. She was scratching and rubbing it. Upon closer investigation I saw that the inside of her ear was really red and inflamed. She had a dark waxy substance inside it too. All signs pointed to an ear infection. She'd never had one before and is a generally healthy pup all around so I decided to see if we could avoid the vet and treat it at home. Lilly is a rescue dog and has some anxiety issues so any time we can avoid the vet is helpful to her overall state of mind. Also, at the vet they'd want to pump her full of antibiotics. I don't do that for myself when I have a treatable issue so I didn't want to subject her to all that. I knew there had to be a way we could naturally take care of it at home.
After a bit of research I realized I had everything we'd need to take care of the infection and get her feeling better again soon. Sure enough, it worked really fast and now her ear is back to normal.
Here's what I used:
🔹Mullein Flower Oil🔹
This is a very easy to make and useful herbal infusion to have around. I've used it on myself with great results and it's safe and effective for dogs too.
I wild harvested the flowers I used from mullein plants that bloom from mid to late summer. The plants are really easy to identify and grow all over the US. They like rocky, dry soil and I usually find them growing on mountain sides in the shade. They also like the roadside but I won't use those due to pollutants in the soil.
The rest of the plant is very useful too. I won't go into all the uses, as you can look that up and find a vast amount of information about it if interested.
{The mullein plant with bright yellow blooms}
To make the oil, fill a jar with the dried flowers, leave about a centimeter of space in the top and then fill the remainder with extra virgin olive oil. Let it sit in a cool dark place for 4-6 weeks. Next, strain out the plant material and your oil is ready to use.
I put 5-10 drops of the slightly warmed oil in Lilly's ear two times a day.
🔹Colloidal Silver🔹
This anti microbial liquid is a staple in my medicine cabinet and has countless uses. I mixed a few drops in with mullien oil before dropping them into her ear.
🔹Coconut Oil🔹
Unrefined and cold pressed is my preference. I put this on a cotton ball and rubbed it on the inside of her ear to clean the gunk out and also to sooth the irritated skin. It has anti microbial properties and can also help fight the infection.
**Don't ever use q-tips to clean a dog's ear as it can push the wax or debris further in. There's also a risk of jabbing into the ear and causing damage if the dog jerks their head around while you're cleaning their ear.
I gave her a little dollop to eat as a treat for being so patient with me doctoring her ear. She loves it and would get excited when she saw me take out the mullein oil.
🔹Fresh Aloe Vera🔹
My aloe vera plant has really come in handy around the house. I use it for scrapes, burns and as a skin soothing gel on myself. It really worked wonders on Lilly's red and inflamed outer ear. I rubbed some fresh gel on it a few times a day.
Sleeping beauty
The combination of these remedies showed noticeable improvement within 8 hours. Within a day, she stopped itching her ear and shaking her head. Within 3 days, all the redness was gone from the outer ear. The smelly dark gunk had also disappeared. She's now back to her normal spunky self and all signs of infection are gone.
Side note: If I didn't see such a fast improvement or saw things get worse, I would have taken her into the vet. Thankfully, this time we were able to handle it at home.
