Ears & Eyes:
Bog dwelling beasties with big floppy ears and big 'feed me' eyes will need a good going over in the ear department every now and then. It's so easy but if done regularly, you'll notice if there's anything untoward lurking in the depths of their lugholes that needs a good cleaning.
Often their selective deafness at you screaming for them to get out of the water/into the car/off the work surfaces etc.... is nothing more than the devil may care attitude of a Newfie and very little to do with dirty ears but it's always a good idea to keep on top of them.
Often their selective deafness at you screaming for them to get out of the water/into the car/off the work surfaces etc.... is nothing more than the devil may care attitude of a Newfie and very little to do with dirty ears but it's always a good idea to keep on top of them.
Ears:
If you're planning a mammoth grooming session, it's a good idea to get all your tools together in one place and give the ears a good going over.
Colloidal silver is an excellent anti fungal and natural antibiotic that is brilliant for general cleaning of the inner ear flap. It doesn't sting, it isn't messy but it's highly effective. We buy this one, obviously in the largest size......Just don't insert anything into the inner ear canal or you could end up with bigger problems than you started with and a very sore dog.
Quistel is a great product to have in your grooming kit. It's gentle but fantastic at loosening dirt and wax while soothing and disinfecting the ear canal. You can buy it here
Thornit Powder is a great natural option for yeasty ears that are itching or producing a dark brown wax. It's also great as a treatment for ear mites. Just dust it around the entrance to the ear canal and around the surrounding skin on the ears and then massage. An easy way to apply it is with a blusher/powder brush. Don't put it into the ear canal directly. Find it here
Eyes:
There are plenty of highly effective natural and home remedies that can treat gunky eyes effectively which are generally more favourable than lugging your gigantuous bear to the vets.
Our friends like the following:
Saline solution can be used to gently cleanse the eye - 1/2 cup of salt stirred into to 1/2 cup of warm water. Wipe over the eye with a clean cotton ball.
Black tea made from chamomile, green tea or rooibos tea bags can be applied on a cotton wool ball and wiped over the eye once the tea has brewed and allowed to cool. The cooled tea bag can also be held gently against the eye several times a day.
Colloidal silver can be dropped into the eye 1-2 times a day until the infection clears. For eyes, it's important to get one with a PPM (particle size) of 10. We love this one
It's important to use great care when touching/treating an infected eye. If your dog has one eye that is infected and one eye that isn't, you can accidentally transfer the infection to the unaffected eye.
- Make sure you wash your hands before and after touching/treating the infected eye. Eye infections are highly contagious.
- Don't use the same cotton pad/swab/cloth etc.. on both eyes, use a clean one for each wipe and each eye
- Make sure the eye dropper/ointment/applicator does not touch the eye. If it does, wash thoroughly before reusing or applying to the other eye.
- If after a day or two of treatment, there's no improvement, please book an appointment at the vets for your bear to get them looked at.