Is your dog or cat tormented by ear infections? Do you spend time and money at the veterinarian’s office trying to bring relief to your beloved pet, only to find that another infection appears over time? If so, you may want to try some more natural approaches to preventing and treating your pet’s ear infections. Dogs and cats have an incredible sense of hearing. To protect their hearing and prevent damage to the ear drum, their ear canals are L-shaped. The problem with this design is that it allows the ears to trap parasites, moisture, debris, and earwax, and any of these can lead to ear infections. Up to 80 percent of ear problems in dogs are linked to allergies, and ear mites are often the cause of infection in cats. The traditional treatment for ear infections is to give antibiotics, antifungal medications or other drugs. The problem with this approach is that drugs upset the normal chemistry inside the ear and can possibly turn a simple infection into a long-term problem. It makes more sense to deal with underlying allergies and strengthen the immune system so that it is able to fight bacteria and other germs BEFORE they cause infection. Also, there are many natural treatments for cleaning the ears and stopping infections without using drugs.

These are the Signs of an Ear Infection:

*Pet shakes head or holds it to one side.
*Pet scratches or rubs ears, or rubs head against furniture or carpet.
*There is a yellow, brown or black discharge in one or both ears.
*Ears smell bad or are tender or red.

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If you have pets, you probably know all too well how difficult it is to control a flea problem. Those pesky creatures cause discomfort for your pet and ‘camp out’ in different areas of your home. How do you get rid of these pests? Since commercial flea killers are probably unsafe for your dog or cat, try natural approaches instead.

Problems with Commercial Flea Killers & Traditional Flea Bite Treatments

Chemicals that act as poisons are strong enough to kill fleas, but the long-term effects on pets are unknown, although they are probably not safe to use. (Employees manufacturing these products must wear protective clothing and use respirators. Plus, the product labels warn against skin contact. So, if the chemicals are potentially harmful to humans, they are probably an unhealthy product for pets. ) Prednisone & other corticosteroid drugs used to give relief from flea bites help to stop itching & inflammation. But, they also suppress a pet’s immune system and have possible long-term side effects: water retention, liver or thyroid damage, hypertension, obesity, & heart attack.

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