Dog Ear Mites Treatment

Dog ear mites are tiny parasites that affect more puppies than older dogs. These ear mites are so small, that they cannot be seen clearly with naked eyes. These pests are very contagious, can spread very quickly from one animal to another, even from mothers to their puppies. It is very important to carry out immediate dog ear mites treatment, as these pests will continue to grow and cause serious dog ear problems. Let us have a look at the dog ear mites symptoms, before we move on to the treatment for dog ear mites.

Symptoms of Dog Ear Mites
The tell tale dog ear mites symptoms is excessive head shaking and continuous scratching of ears. When you examine the ears, you will see tiny white dots, that indicates mites. You will also find black discharge that contains earwax, blood and ear mites. The inner ear is inflamed and irritated. The dog will cry in pain when you touch the ears, due to increased sensitivity. Also, you will observe crusts and scabs in and around the ears. Some develop dog ear yeast infection and others develop dog health problems related to the ear. The open wounds due to excessive scratching may lead to secondary bacterial dog ear infections.

Treatment of Dog Ear Mites
If you observe any of the symptoms of dog ear mites, you need to take your pet dog to a veterinarian. The veterinarian will be able to detect the dog ear problem and provide you with a treatment plan. The doctor may advice oral and/or topical dog ear mite medications. Medicine for dog ear mites includes ear preparations that kill mites. These ear preparations contain insecticides like pyrethrin that are very necessary in killing and treating ear mites in dogs. The medicine for dog ear mites used by veterinarians includes Ivermectin, selamectin, fipronil, milbemycin and acarexx. These medications need to be used for 3 weeks to over one month. Do not miss any of the medication doses as the ear mite eggs continue to hatch even when the medications are given.

Ear mites can spread to other parts of the dog's body, especially when they are trying to infect other animals. Thus, you will need to bathe your dog with flea and tick sprays, dips and shampoos for treating dog ear mites. You should make sure you apply these medicated products to the tail as well because when the dog sleeps the tail curls over the ear. The vet may even clean your dog's ear before he applies the medicine for dog ear mites. This helps remove the exudate and helps the medication reach the mites properly. You can learn from the veterinarian how to clean the dog's ear, so that you too can do the same once or twice a day at home.

Dog Ear Mites Home Treatment
There are plenty of dog ear mites home treatment that you can try along with the traditional allopathic dog ear mites treatment. You can use tea tree oil and apply it to your dog's ears. This is a natural anti-inflammatory product that helps in reducing the inflammation and soothes the skin in the dog's ear.

You can use vinegar that is diluted in equal amounts of water to remove the debris in the ear. Just put a few drops of diluted vinegar using an ear dropper and allow your dog to shake his head. This will help loosen the wax and debris. You can then use a cotton swab and clean the ear till the inner ear is clean. If there are open sores or scabs in the dog's ear, do not use vinegar.

Garlic is a natural repellent for mites, fleas and other dog parasites. You can soak a garlic pod in olive oil overnight. Then remove the garlic from the oil and add 5 to 6 drops of this olive oil in the dog's ear. You need to apply this twice a day for about 10 days.

You can use almond oil and vitamin E mixture and pour a few drops in the dog's ear. Allow the dog to shake his head and then you can clean the ears just as you did in case of vinegar. You need to continue applying and cleaning dog ears with almond oil or olive oil for at least a week. You can even use yellow dock root extract to kill the ear mites. You need to take nine drops of the yellow dock root extract, diluted with water. Then, fill half a dropper with this mixture and pour it into the dog's ears. You need to continue this dog ear mites home treatment every alternate day for at least 4 weeks.

Take good dog care and clean your dog's ear regularly to avoid any kind of infections. It is very important that you treat dog ear mites as soon as possible as an extensive infection can lead to middle ear problems. For any further information related to treating dog ear mites, speak to a veterinarian.