If you think your pup has an ear infection, get him to a vet. You would not want to cause more trouble.

I don't know what was in that previous discussion, but there is this product:

Vetericyn Plus Antimicrobial Pet Ear Rinse

Chewy has it. Maybe your local pet stores.

I use Zymox enzymatic with 1% hydrocortisone. Not one ear infection since. The enzymes break down any "bad" stuff in there and the cortisone keeps the itch down. It's borderline miraculous for us.

The reason you take your animal to the vet is because the infection could be caused by very small mites. There are other infections like one of my cats have that are both fungal and caused by something the vet called a C bacteria. He will never be completely clear of it but I can keep him comfortable.

I doubt that my dog has an infection or he would go to the vet. I am looking for a cleanser. It's not that he is scratching all the time.

If it is just the outer area just use soap and water. If it is dark stuff from inside the ear he has some type of infection.

Or if it smells bad, that is probably infection.

Vets sell high quality ear cleansers...I always get mine from them.

They may not scratch so another sign of infection is a redness inside of the ears that can also be kind of warm.

For an ear infection, Zymox like Patrice said is 'borderline miraculous'. We had a lab & Zymox worked better and faster than anything that the vet ever prescribed. After we discovered Zymox, no more trips to vets for ear problems. I started using it prophylactically, dosing the ears lightly every 10 days-2 weeks. As long as I remembered to keep to that regime, we didn't have any more infections to treat.

If you just want to clean, then one part vinegar, 2 parts water. Wet a cotton ball and wipe the inside of the ears.

I use Zymox too.Love it!

But a heads up!

I just got a notification from Amazon about the last bottle I purchased a few months ago. It is probably just a diluted version and not dangerous but I will be tossing it. The notification was in my email and also in my Amazon inbox so I assume it is valid.

ZYMOX Ear Solution | The Only No Pre-Clean Once -a-Day Dog and Cat Ear Solution | Natural Enzyme Formula | Veterinarian Recommended | Patented Enzyme Formula | Contains Hydrocortisone for Comfort

At Amazon, customer trust is our top priority, and we go to great lengths to provide you with vast and authentic selection, fast delivery, and low prices. As part of our ongoing efforts to ensure that you can shop with confidence in Amazon's stores, we recently learned the product you received from a third-party seller is likely not an authentic Zymox product. We're sorry for any disappointment this might have caused.

If you still have this product, we recommend that you stop using it immediately and dispose of the item. There's no need for you to return the product. We've issued a refund of ------- to your original payment method. Refunds are applied to the payment method used for the original purchase and typically complete within 3 to 5 business days.

Cripes Wild Child, thank you. I literally just ordered another bottle on Amazon! Normally I get them at my vet's office, but thought this would be easier. Sigh. Will decide what to do once I can see it, supposed to arrive today.

Right now, Zymox is cheaper on eBay. As always, look at the feedback on the sellers/ product expiry, etc.

I'm finding that Amazon prices are easier to beat lately--seems like it is a pandemic timed thing. So I'm shopping around more. Sometimes 2 day shipping wins out but, most of the time, I can wait a few extra days.

The only reason I like Amazon is that I can choose to buy directly from them instead of 3rd party sellers. The Zymox I just bought was directly from Amazon, so I'm really hoping that minimizes the chances of 3rd party fraud.

I avoid 3rd party sellers like the plague. I've had 2 bad experiences and am hoping to avoid a 3rd.

Just because that particular batch turned out to be wrong it does not mean that all batches from any seller will be wrong. Sometimes even when you buy some thing directly from the company it may have a defect. I would be glad that Amazon took the time to notify a purchaser and refunded the money. Seems a little strange to declare that I was never going to purchase something that I use from one place but will purchase from another when any seller could have received a bad batch.

Maifleur - your post above is oblique so I'm not sure if it was directed at me.

I won't buy anything from 3rd party sellers. I've had bad experiences with Amazon's 3rd party sellers misrepresenting their product as genuine, when it was in fact a cheap knock-off. Amazon knows they have a problem with 3rd party sellers doing this - and in fact explicitly reference that as the problem in in the email they sent to WildChild.

It was not a bad batch. It was a fraudulent product. Huge difference.

It was directed at anyone who purchases from Amazon or any other merchant both in house and on line.

Okay. I'm still confused though. Must be I'm slow today.... I still don't understand what the point is, but perhaps it doesn't matter.

I will buy from 3rd party sellers on eBay if they have been a long time seller & have lots of good reviews. IMO, the seller info is more transparent on eBay than it is on Amazon--or, at least, it is less confusing to me. With products on Amazon, I sometimes have problems determining who is actually selling what.

I did check Amazon for the Zymox and didn't find any listings where you are buying it from 'Amazon'. The mfg, Pet King Brands, appears to be one of the sellers and another listing was a pet product reseller. Obviously, I would choose Pet King Brands over the other one. But would buy it from a reputable eBay seller because the price is $4-5 less on eBay (& free shipping).

It is quite possible the third party seller didn't know he had a product that wasn't the real deal. Everything about the packaging and the bottle looks exactly like the real thing. In fact the bottle I got could be the the real deal. But it was good to be notified of the problem and be able to take the precaution of discarding it at no loss to me.

For an ear infection, Zymox like Patrice said is 'borderline miraculous'. We had a lab & Zymox worked better and faster than anything that the vet ever prescribed. After we discovered Zymox, no more trips to vets for ear problems.

I can’t speak for Zymox, I’ve never used it but I would never automatically assume it’s what my dog needs without seeing a Vet first. There’s lots of reasons a dog can get an ear infection, bacteria, yeast, water or moisture and mites to name a few. Sure there’s symptoms that might give us a clue as to what’s going on, but what if Zymox isn’t what the dog needs for the kind of infection it has? Then it gets worse while it’s being mismedicated? I get wanting to save on Vet bills, but it really should be looked at by a Vet first to ensure the dog gets the appropriate treatment.

Your dog, your call. After the third or fourth trip to the vet with the same thing, you learn a thing or two.

Zymox is not going to do any harm; it's enzymes. And it's Wednesday night, Thanksgiving eve. You can load up for a long trip to the emergency vet & shell out $300-500, or wait until Monday while the dog suffers, or use Zymox. The vet is going to give you a minimum of two prescriptions for internal meds, one of which will be an antibiotic that you will have to remember to give the dog twice a day for the next 10-14 days. If it is a yeast infection, you'll get a script for Ketoconazole, too. Oh, and a special ear wash. You will need to make a stop on the way home to get the prescriptions filled. Zymox is in your medicine cabinet, it's a topical and it starts working as soon as you administer it. Zymox is effective for both bacterial & yeast infections. And you do not clean the ears before applying it.

The Sheltie has told you that his Lab buddy has an ear infection (again) because he's gone into Nurse Dog mode. If the Zymox is going to work, you will know it. By Friday morning, you will notice that the dog isn't fretting with his ears. By Saturday morning, the redness will be noticeably diminished. By Monday, you will have forgotten all about needing to call the vet and the Sheltie has hung up his nurse's whites and gone back to being a regular dog.

Labrador Retriever breeders should send a bottle of Zymox home with every puppy they sell, IMO. Goldens, too. We've already been thru one ear infection with DS's eight month old Golden. (Our lab passed about 18 months ago; DS inherited all of the Zymox. We have a new Sheltie, our third one. Never an ear infection with any of our Shelties.)

100% agree cilantro!! Zymox is awesome. Can't hurt anything to try and it's literally always worked for me. My vet is the one who introduced me to it, she also loves the stuff.

Yes, it has worked for me Every. Time., too. My vet told me 'It's good stuff' but I didn't learn about it from him. I had to have read about it somewhere, probably on a Labrador forum somewhere.

So far as I'm concerned, Zymox is a bullet to ear infections. You get the med to site of the infection right now without having to wait for internal meds to get there. And without undue taxing of the liver--Ketaconazole (anti-fungal/ yeast), for one, doesn't make the liver happy. Antibiotics can mess up the good stomach flora. Antifungals/ antibiotics taken internally seem like a scattergun approach.

Interestingly and a bit off-topic, the enzyme catalase is being researched as a possible treatment for cytokine storms associated w/ severe cases of Covid 19.

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/could-a-common-antioxidant-enzyme-help-treat-covid-19#The-issue-of-cytokine-storms

patriceny The seller of the suspicious product was Levy Bellamy. If you purchased it elsewhere on Amazon it should be OK.

Fortunately our 22 year string of 5 Australian Shepherds have never had ear problems with the exception of our 3rd boy. We had him neutered in the summer, and with his cone of shame on it promoted an environment of warmth and moisture and we had to have him treated several weeks for his ears, and change the cone to an inflatable collar.

Thank you so much Wild child. I double checked and mine says fulfilled by Amazon. However it hasn't arrived yet.....shipping delay. They've pushed it out 2 weeks! We shall see.