Ear mites are tiny external parasites. They live on the skin surface of a dog’s ear canal and cause ear problem. They feed themselves by piercing through the skin or by eating debris released from the ear. These tiny parasites cause inflammation and discomfort and if left untreated they might cause external ear infections, which may lead to temporary or permanent hearing loss. Sometimes the mites may migrate to other body parts such as the back, neck, or tail. Dogs are infected with these mites when they come in contact with some other infected dog. Infected dogs will develop itchy spots on their back, neck and tail area.
The ear mites can live their entire life attached with the dog. Their life cycle is three weeks long. Within a week, the eggs develop into mature mites. Ear mite infection is very common in puppies. In older dogs the infection is mostly due to lower immunity. Here are a few symptoms of ear mite infection:
• Constant shaking of your dog’s head and scratching at its ears.
• Irritation.
• The ear becomes red and inflamed.
• Build up of wax within the ear as well as numerous black specks (likely spots of dried blood).
• Your dog frequently goes off balance due to the irritation inside its ear.
• Secondary infection such as bacterial or yeast infection is common in ear mite infections.
The diagnosis becomes difficult in case of secondary infections. However, a simple microscopic examination of the ear or the earwax along with a physical examination can confirm the ear mite infection. Here are some home remedies for ear mite infection in dogs:
• First of all clean the ear of your dog with white vinegar. This helps remove dirt or any debris from your dog’s ear.
• By using an eye dropper or ear syringe put five to six drops of almond, olive, or vegetable oil inside each ear canal. This process will smother the mites and clean the mite dirt.
• By using cotton buds clean the mite dust present inside the ear canal.
• In case of ear irritation, use a natural treatment of psorinum or sulfur. It will greatly reduce the ear irritation.
• You can prepare yellow dock tea by boiling the root extract of yellow dock with water. Cool the tea and keep it in a bottle. Put two drops of tea into each ear twice a day. This is a very good preparation and helps in killing the mites.
• You can make oregano oil preparation by adding oregano with olive oil. Put this oil solution into both ears twice a day.
• You can prepare a mixture of mullein and garlic. Mix this with olive oil and put it into both the ears. Mullein and garlic have antimicrobial properties and can help in killing mites.