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My dog has a greasy ear infection. Can I use Dawn dish soap?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Australian Shepherd | Male | neutered | 1 year and 10 months old | 48 lbs

My dog has a bacteria ear infection and I have been using drops twice a day for the infected ear only and a cleaner once a day for both ears. The infected ear is very greasy and I was wondering if it would be okay to clean some of the fur with dawn dish soap. I'm nervous with it being so greasy that it is collecting extra dirt which doesn't help his condition.

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA

Answered By Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA

Veterinarian, Certified Dog Trainer

Published on November 16th, 2016

It would be fine to carefully wash the hair around the ear with Dawn dish soap to make it less greasy - just make sure not to actually get it inside the ear canal, since this may make the infection worse. You can use a cotton ball in the ear to help keep this from happening while you wash the surrounding hair.
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