Herbs Than Can Help Your Dog: Rosemary

Our Great Pyreness sometimes gets ear infections. 

 Strangely, his doesn't own the floppiest ears in our flock but he is prone to these infections. 

It could be my fault. See, I call him "Gunny Gunny Bo Bunny" and he kinda hates it. He throws his paws up over his ears and ignores me.  I call him that anyway. You just can't let him know I told you. It will be Our Secret. I know I can trust you...

As Mr. Mutt and I began our  "Herbs Are Great And Cheap If You Grow Them Adventure" we stumbled across a recipe for a dog ear wash.  We use it every time one of our brood gets an ear infection - works like a charm. 

If you are one of the many people who have a Rosemary bush... you'll thank me for finding a way to use this under rated greenery.  

There are many facets to Rosemary but since we are talking about ear infections, here is a bit about it's ability to relieve pain:

"The ability of rosemary essential oil to relieve pain has resulted in its extensive use in treating headaches, muscle pains, rheumatism and even arthritis. Massaging the affected area that is in pain with rosemary essential oil can give quickly relieve the pain. Vapor baths with rosemary oil are also found to be effective in the treatment of rheumatism. It has certain anti-inflammatory qualities as well, which makes it very good for relieving the pain from sprains and joint aches. Furthermore, it is known to stimulate blood circulation, which can relieve pain and also aid in coagulation of wounds for faster healing". (source)

One of the constituents of Rosemary is Salicin, a natural painkiller! 

♪♫ Gunny Gunny Bo Bunny ♫♪ heh heh

Here is the Rosemary Wash we use to help Gunny...gunny bo bunny

Rosemary Ear Infection Wash

3 parts Rosemary (dried herb)

1 part Witch Hazel

Crush the rosemary with a mortar and pestle or whir it around in your Ninja or whatever whirring apparatus you have.  

You are ultimately looking for a crunched up consistency

Combine the Rosemary and Witch Hazel into a bottle (we use glass) and let steep in a warm, dry spot for 1 - 2 weeks.  Be sure to shake the bottle everyday!  

Strain the solution and re-bottle. 

If you keep it in a cool dry place this tonic can last up to 6 months.  

To Use: In the morning just dip a cotton ball into the wash (don't touch it with your fingers, you don't want to contaminate the wash - use tweezers or chopsticks or something like that) and swab your dogs ear (this time using your fingers to hold the cotton ball).  Then, drop 1 teaspoon of the wash into your dogs ear.  Massage very lightly.

Swab the inside of the ear at night (with a dry cotton ball no wash) until the ear is dry.

We repeat this for about 3-5 days and Gunny...uhhh ok I won't say it ... is fine.

So moral to the story?
 Don't call your dog a name they don't like but if you can't help yourself - try this ear wash.

The recipes offered on this web site are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, mitigate or prevent any disease. The use of herbs and essential oil for the prevention, treatment, mitigation or cure of disease has not been approved by the FDA or USDA. We therefore make no claims to this effect. Keep in mind that we are not veterinarians. Don't apply these things or follow our advice just because we say it.  Do your own research. We offer information for herbs that we have used for our pets and provide our findings to you. You should always consult your vet before making any changes in your dogs diet.

 In other words, use a commonsense approach!