Can I Put Baby Oil in My Dog's Ears for Ear Mites?

If your notice your dog pawing and scratching at his ears, it̵7;s highly likely he has ear mites -- tiny parasites that must be cleared before causing serious issues, such as bloody and raw ears from the dog̵7;s scratching at the constant irritation. Other symptoms of ear mites include the dog shaking his head, black ear discharge, and an odor from the ears. The good news is that you can clear your dog̵7;s ear mites with common household products, including baby oil.

  1. Clean

    • To clean the ear mites using baby oil, drop a few drops into your dog̵7;s ear and let it remain there for a few hours to soften the crust that develops from an ear mite infection. After a few hours, flush your dog̵7;s ear clean with a mixture of equal parts vinegar and distilled water. Repeat this process until the ear is clean.

    Medicate

    • Apply a medication -- preferably one containing pyrethrin -- designed to rid your dog̵7;s ears of mites. These medications can be bought at pet stores or from your veterinarian. Apply a few drops of the medication to your dog̵7;s ears after they have been cleaned using the baby oil, distilled water and vinegar process.

    Repeat

    • You likely will have to repeat this process for several days to completely rid your dog of the ear mite infection. The key is to keep cleaning and medicating until the ear mites are gone. Others dogs or cats living in your home are likely infected with ear mites as well. The parasites will jump from one animal to another. This means you will must perform the same process on all of your pets.

    Topical

    • Consider asking your veterinarian to prescribe Revolution for your dog. The topical solution, applied monthly between the dog̵7;s shoulder blades, will prevent ear mites in addition to fleas, heartworms, intestinal worms and sarcoptic mites. The product will also get rid of any mites or mite eggs that survived the cleaning process.