Don't Back Down

One of our dogs, Ray (who you may remember from a ways back) has this problem with ear infections. Just about ever since we've had him he has had them. Infection, not ears I mean. Of course he's had ears, but they've been infected. Many dogs with floppy ears will have infections simply because they tend to get warm inside, which is a perfect place for breeding all sorts of stuff. So we spent countless hours cleaning them out with cotton balls and an enormous amount of money on solutions at the vet trying to get them clean.

We went through the regular cleaner, we performed another test to see what the stuff in his ears was resistant to and we brought home the super-antibiotic so that we could knock it out. We tried multiple types at once (multiple types that were non-resistant, of course). But the infections would remain. We have now had Ray for about four years and ever since he's had ear problems. When I think that of all the time (not to mention money) we spent on them, I can't believe it. What I am glad about is that it seems that we've finally managed to find a solution.

The bad news is that we still have to apply something to Ray's ears regularly. The good news is that it's something that we can take care of ourselves. When the antibiotics cost keeps going up, and we have to keep going to the vet every few weeks to get more, which adds another charge for an ear swab and an office visit, it quickly mean that we had a bill for several hundred dollars every few weeks.

What made matters worse was that we never had any result. We would often get just to the point of getting rid of the infection, only to find on the next visit that it wasn't quite gone and we would have to start all over again (not that we ever really stopped, just that it wasn't any better).

Luckily our vet was finally to the point of giving up. While that sound like a bad thing, it's actually good because some would keep going and going. Ours was nice enough to say that he didn't have anything else to throw at it, and suggested that perhaps it was a food allergy. Since Ray's ears had been infected since day 1, and we had tried a number of different foods, we really didn't think this was it. Add to it the fact that he's getting up there in age and since he shares his food with all the other dogs, we didn't want to go through yet more expense.

So we turned to the Internet.

This turned up a wonderful doggie ear solution. I've actually seen it in a number of places - and in fact you can even buy it in a number of places, already mixed! What amazes me is that you can simply mix it at home. If like us you have been given the recipe by your vet to mix peroxide and vinegar, then you're not far off. You just need some different ingredients.

In fact, you only need three: Isopropyl Alcohol, Boric Acid powder and Gentian Violet 1% solution. The alcohol can be found at any drug or grocery store. The boric acid powder is probably available at a drug store as well. The gentian violet may be a bit tougher to find around town.

We found ours at - where else - Amazon: Gentian Violet 1%. Last time I checked, they actually offered it in a pack with Boric Acid powder for $16. It looks like Amazon may know the secret recipe!

Incidentally, if you think $16 is a lot, look at it this way. The pack of these two items will last you a long time. We've made a total of four batches (so far), and we use this stuff every day. More on that in a minute. We have tons of both left. If we were using antibiotics it would have cost ten times that (estimate). If we bought the premix, it would have cost at least four times that amount, and we wouldn't have any left for the future. It's worth it. Trust me.

Once you get the ingredients, take 16 ounces of alcohol (the 16oz bottle works nicely, otherwise find an appropriate container) and add 4 tablespoons of the Boric Acid powder. Then add 16 drops of the Gentian Violet solution. Put the cap on the bottle - or otherwise cover your container - and shake like crazy. You're done. You now have some of the magic purple elixir. Just be careful with it, because the Gentian Violet will stain. I probably should have said that first. Sorry about that.

As to using it, you just fill up the ear and squish it around real well for 20-30 seconds. Then you'll want to dry it up because otherwise you'll get diluted purple gunk all over the place when they shake and try to rub their ears on the furniture. Use it as frequently as you think it's needed, but ultimately you'll need to decide for yourself.

Some say that you should use it heavily for the first couple weeks (as in a couple times a day), then lighten up to once daily, then use it every other day or so. We've found that using it once a day works well, and about twice a week we put it on a cotton ball and really dig down in there - but Ray has large ears, so this works well. For a smaller dog, just a couple of drops once a week seems to do the trick. It really depends on the dog.

You might be surprised that with so much alcohol it doesn't burn, but even the first application didn't seem to bother Ray at all. From what I have read, the Boric Acid seems to take the bite out of it, and the Gentian Violet is an anti-infection agent. Or so I've heard. All I can tell you is that as much as his ears have bothered him, this stuff seemed to take care of them and now we keep a large supply of it handy because it's simple to whip up. I hope it helps you!