Making Homemade Ear Wipes for Your Dog

Our Method to Cleaning Dog Ears with Essential Oils

Since I have been using essential oils for over two years, I have really learned to explore many uses for them in our home and with using them safely with our dogs. I will admit,  I took my time learning about the safety precautions for using Young Living Essential Oils with animals. Each animal is very different so I recommend reading The Essential Oils Animal Reference Guide for a better understanding if you have essential oils and if you have animals in your home. Some basic guidelines for using oils with dogs include:

• Use caution with dogs in the first several months of age as they are rapidly developing and it is difficult to keep up with proper dilution ratios
  • Generally speaking, small dogs are recommended to start with about a 5:1 ratio of carrier oil to essential oil
  • Larger breeds can slowly work their way up to a 1:1 ratio carrier to essential oil, and eventually move up to as recommended on the bottle or in your animal guide.
• Please exercise common sense with animals. They are typically more sensitive than humans so please observe your animal carefully and when in doubt, dilute further with carrier oil! Keep away from their eyes (same goes for us). 
• Avoid using high phenol containing oils - avoid oils such as Clove, Oregano, Basil, Wintergreen, Cinnamon, Thyme to name a few - as these can quickly irritate the skin and mucous membranes and can potentially lead to liver toxicity!
• It appears that cats are even more sensitive to oils than dogs so please consult your guide and I always encourage anyone in doubt to consult their veterinarian. 

Once I had resources and education, I became very comfortable with using Young Living Essential Oils and actually felt better using a more natural product. Since a lot of the recipes I was making were homemade, I knew exactly what was going into them. This means that I was able to avoid the unwanted antibiotics and chemicals when caring for the dogs. Further, my decision to use Young Living products was supported by their Seed to Seal commitment which is widely considered an industry-leading standard!

Last week, when I was replenishing my supply homemade makeup remover wipes pads this new DIY idea for the dogs sprung to mind. Even if you are not the DIY type, this idea is super simple and very effective! What was the idea you ask? Cleaning pads for the dog's ears!  

We had previously used to make our own ear spray with oils, vinegar, and hydrogen peroxide diluted with distilled or gravity-fed water. However, we still needed to use cotton balls to finish the job. Being that one of our dogs is a Golden Retriever, ear hygiene is top priority and a constant battle. Good ear hygiene is preventative for canine ear infections! The convenience of having both the "ear spray" and the wipe all in one convenient package was a must-try for us. When you are on the go and notice that your dog's ear odor the last thing you want is to make a production out of a simple ear cleaning. Enter the convenience of the ear wipes! When I thought of this, I just knew these were going to be game changer for my husband and I because usually taming our Golden's skin and ear troubles had become quite the hassle. 

To make the wipes, here are the supplies that I use: 

• 4 Ounce Glass Jar
• ⅓ cup Thayers Witch Hazel
• 1 Tablespoon of Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar
• Organic Cotton Rounds  (about 21 cotton rounds) 
• 6-10 drops of Essential Oils
• Optional: 1-3 Tablespoons of Hydrogen Peroxide (depending on dogs ears)

These measurements do not need to be exact, I used this amount for a 4 ounce glass jar that fits about 21 cotton rounds.

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Making the Wipes
​In a glass mixing bowl,  add the witch hazel, apple cider vinegar, and Essential Oils. We sometimes add Hydrogen Peroxide, however this is optional.  Once this is blended, put the cotton rounds into the 4 ounce glass jar and slowly pour the mixture over the cotton rounds. Take your time with this step because you may need to manipulate the cotton rounds to help absorb the mixture. You can also out a few cotton rounds in at a time and slowly pour the ear cleaning mixture over the rounds, adding more rounds as you go along. I like to add my essential oils directly to my glass jar with the cotton rounds but you could also choose to add it to the mixing bowl instead. I always use a glass jar for safety purposes (you never know these days with plastics). 

I have a few go-to oils that I use for our doggy ear wipes. I typically only select three oils per batch. I have a tendency to change up the essential oils that I select each time (I also do this for my makeup remover wipes). 

• Mendwell Animal Scents 
• Puriclean Animal Scents
• Infect Away Animal Scents 
• Lavender Essential Oil
• Tea Tree Essential Oil (consult your vet if you are worried about this one!)
• Geranium Essential Oil 
• Purification Essential Oil

There you have it! Super simple ear wipes for dogs. I hope you enjoy these ear wipes for your furry friends as much as I do! I hope they save you time and energy, and keep your four legged friend free from harmful chemicals all while supporting their ear health! They too can live a natural lifestyle with essential oils, just like you!

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Be sure to read through the supply page for all the best necessities for DIY products and your oil needs!

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As always, if you are new to essential oils and do not have any of your own, consider a premium starter kit from Young Living. This is widely regarded as the simplest way to get started with essential oils. When signing up for your first kit, you will have the opportunity to choose one of our leaders. This is an important step as they will provide you with ongoing support for the lifetime of your Young Living journey at no added cost to you! You can do this simply by visiting the our team page and selecting the individual you would like as your direct upline.

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