Properly treating ear mites

Hi everyone,
It looks like Amie might have her ear mites back.
We treated her when we got her, and they had cleared up after 2 weeks, but it looks like they are back. She is scratching again, and I can see dark brown material in one of her ears.

I am actually not surprised she has them again, as stupidly I never washed her bed since she had them last, as I thought the mites always resided in the ear canal and wouldn't be in her bed also. I have since learned otherwise.

Anyway, we will take her to the vet to get it confirmed and treated. My question is with regards to cleaning her bed/toys. When exactly do you clean them?

Say if I start treatment tomorrow morning, should I wait until the 1st week treatment is finished and then wash? Or should I wash her stuff as soon as I start treatment?
The reason I ask is, when I start treatment I presume the mites just don't die at once, and therefore if I wash her bed on the first day, and she starts using it again soon after before the end of the treatment, will the mites not simply infest the bed again?
Which would mean that once the treatment ends they could simply set up shop in her ears again?

Any help would be great.

I'd wash it on a hot setting a couple of times -- first right after you start treating her, then again two weeks after, and maybe again two weeks later. They have about a two week cycle so that's why they come back if you don't treat them over the full cycle.

Ask your vet though -- I am sure they can give you some precise advice!

Good luck; they are sometimes hard to get rid off and very annoying for people and the dog.

They are definitely annoying!! :bang:

It is so frustrating because when she was cleared of them the last time the vet allowed us to look in her ears and they were so lovely and clean! Now that they are back it is frustrating because we can see they are annoying Amie a lot!

Thanks a lot for the advice Karlin, I was thinking of the following:
- Wash bed on hot wash at start of treatment (use 2nd bed in meantime)
- Wash 2nd bed when 1st is ready to use (repeat this sequence throughout treatment)
- Apply Frontline during the treatment also, to kill any mites that have strayed
- Wash her toys in hot soapy water throughout treatment

Hopefully this will kill them all for good!!

Hi,
When we got Pixie, she had ear mites and a yeast infection in her ears. Since the medicine for the yeast infection would have messed up the medicine for the ear mites, the vet put her on revolution for ear mites. It was one topical dose on the top of her neck and then 2 weeks later, repeat. Worked like a charm! I have to wonder if that method wouldn't be easier to follow through with and more complete.

Just curious, where do these ear mites come from and how do the dogs pick them up in the first place?

my angels had them and we have no idea where she got them lol. when we was at the vet he also checked my chihuahua pups ears and said its very common for pups to carry ear mites. but bindi didnt have them just angel. the vet put her on some ear drops were all done with the course but i wanna take her to the vet to see if it has all cleared up. i was also told to try a holistic feed with angel by a nutritionist. considering that but before i done it id have to starve her for 3 days to get rid of any toxins so im unsure as of right now.
lol im glad i found this thread coz i thought they stayed in their ears too lucky my bedding gets washed alot because of bindi lol else my bed would be riddles in them
hmmm i wander why my other 2 dogs didnt catch them then? odd

and good luck to you

Just want to say that I wash my dogs' beds every week - it seems to keep the dogs fresh and clean for a long time if their bedding is clean.

Good luck with the ear mites :xfngr: - I've never dealt with mites, but have dealt with yeast in one of my cavalier's ears.