Dog Ear Mites: Home Treatment

Ear mites are tiny parasites that make doggy ears their home. Ear mites usually seen in dogs that have a weak immune system and contract it from another animal infected with the parasite. You may observe that Rover shakes his head often or gets agitated suddenly running here and there, then settling down on his own. Your Rover has not lost his mind, he is just being irritated by the mites present in his ears. Let us understand more on ear mites in dogs.

Information on Dog Ear Mites
Dog ear mites live in the ear canal and on the heads of dogs. They feel cozy near the skin surface in the ear canal. They feed on the debris secreted from the ear. It is very important to treat ear mites, as they can lead to outer ear infection in dogs. These ear infections if not treated early, can lead to permanent damage of the eardrum leading to deafness.

Many times, ear mites can travel around the dog's body and the dog may become infested with mites. If your dog has a severe mite infestation, then you may observe itchy spots on the back, neck and tail areas of the dog. Mites can complete their life cycle in three weeks and live on the dog for several weeks. Puppies are most likely to get infested with mites as their immune system is weak. Dogs with a strong immune system are not affected much by presence of mites.

Symptoms of Dog Ear Mites
The symptoms of dog ear mites may be similar to a yeast infection and therefore it is important to visit the vet to make correct diagnosis of the source of infection. The symptoms of dog ear mites include:

• The dog may scratch infected ear excessively
• You may observe a brownish blackish crumbly wax in the affected ear
• The dog may shake his head too often
• The ear infected with mites may become swollen and the dog may experience pain on being touched.
• There may be hair loss around the affected area.

Many times when you observe black specks (dried blood) in the ear, this is a sign that you should treat the dog immediately. The ear mites may travel down into the middle ear and make the animal off-balance and it may be unable to hold its head up.

Home Treatment for Dog Ear Mites
There are a few dog ear mites home treatment that you can try on your dog and help him get some relief. The first home treatment for dog ear mites includes using an eyedropper or a syringe without a needle and inserting some vegetable oil or olive oil into the dog ear canal. Hold the dog's head still and massage the ear to loosen the mite dirt. You can use cotton balls to help squeeze out the dirt.

The dog ear mites home remedy which can lead to termination of these parasites is use of yellow dock root extract. Just add 9 drops of yellow dock root extract to 1 tablespoon of water and with the help of an eye dropper, insert the liquid into the dog's ear. Massage the ear well to ensure the liquid remains inside and is not shaken off by the dog. You can use this dog ear mite home remedy once every three days for 6 weeks. You can also use one teaspoon of dried yellow dock and add it to a half cup of boiling water. Once the tea cools down, strain the liquid. Pour the liquid into a bottle. Using an eye dropper insert a few drops of the liquid into the ear twice a day.

Use of oregano is also an effective home treatment for dog ear mites. You need to add ½ teaspoon of oregano to ½ oz of olive oil. Let the mixture stand for about 48 hours. Then strain the liquid through a cheesecloth. Insert a few drops of the liquid with the help of eye dropper twice daily.

Oregon grape is also an effective dog ear mites home treatment. You need an oil infusion of this antibiotic and antibacterial oregon grape herb. Insert 1 to 10 drops of the oil in the ear using an eye dropper two times daily, till the infection clears out. You can also use the antimicrobial and antiviral properties of mullein herb for home treatment of dog ear mites. You can combine equal parts of mullein oil and garlic oil and then add 10-20 drops of olive oil or vitamin E to the mullein garlic mixture. Apply this mixture on the ear canal of the dog and gently massage the ear. You can even crush 4 garlic cloves and add it to a cup of olive oil. Store it in an air tight container and allow it to stand for 48 hours. Then strain the liquid and heat the oil over low heat. Fill an eye dropper with the oil and insert half of it into the dog's ear.

Olive oil can be mixed with vitamin E in soft capsules and you can then add the squeezed vitamin E into half an ounce of olive oil. Heat the mixture till it matches the dog's body temperature. With the help of an eye dropper, put half of the mixture into the ear. You can allow the dog to shake his head. Then, with the help of cotton balls clean the outer ear. Use this ear mite home remedy once every alternate day for 6 days. If you do not have olive oil, you can use almond oil and use it as you would like to in the above mentioned dog ear mites home treatments.

Dog Ear Mites Medication
There are many dog ear mites medicines that the vet may prescribe for treating ear mites in dogs. These dog ear mites medication contain pyrethrin, a type of insecticide. Other dog ear mites medicines include ivermectin, fipronil and selamectin. The ear may be treated with these medications for two to four weeks, until all the mites are dead. The vet may also advice use of medicated shampoos, sprays or dips to kill the mites spread around the body.

These were a few dog ear mites home treatments. You should always consult a vet for diagnosing and treatment of dog ear mites. Mites are very small and can be observed only by microscopic examination of the earwax. Dog breeds with long ears are more prone to infection by ear mites. Therefore, dog grooming is a very important step to maintain dog health. You should strengthen the immune system of your Rover by feeding him the best dog food. A strong immune system is important to prevent dog ear mite infection. Take good dog care and make sure you use dog ear cleaning solution to keep Rover's ears free from infestation.