My dog uses back paw for Q tip.

[heidimarie1969]

My small dog scratches inside of her ear with Paw, then licks the paw off when she's done.  I never gave it a second thought until someone told me that it might be a sign of food allergies. Could that be true? The person told me that a while back their vet told them that was a sign of a type of yeast infection in the ear due to food allergies. Any answers?

[heidimarie1969]

Thanks for your help. I actually do have a vet appointment for Millie tomorrow. :-)
I kind of thought it might be a natural instinct to do that with her ears and the back paw. Lolo

[ginger899]

You don't need to be putting ANYTHING into her ears unless you are sure there is definitely an infection. And the best way to find that out is to have her diagnosed by a vet.
I have never met any dog yet who didn't scratch their ears with a back foot. That in itself is perfectly natural and doesn't mean there is anything wrong with the ears. A normal scratch now and again....and licking her paws afterwards ....is just absolutely normal. What wouldn't be normal is if she was constantly doing it, there was an unusual smell from her ears, blood or discharge, or she was making her ears scratched or red.

[sorrymom]

Hi Heidi, I use some filtered water and Bragg apple cider vinegar mixed together, about 1/4 cup of water with 1/2 to 1 tsp the vinegar.I wipe them out about 1-2 times a week even if they are not scratching their ears. It could be an allergy but you can try the vinegar because it might be a yeast infection. Hope this helps