I have just discovered Thornit powder for ears, It sounded marvelous so I thought I'd try some, on 2 of my dogs it was fine but on the 3rd it has made his ears very infected and smelly, just wondered if anyone recommends it or otherwise? :)

i've always used thornit with no prob's,it does have a distinctive smell,but i've never had any problem's,it's great when you need to pluck the ear's the hair just seem's to fall out with no discomfort to the dog.are you sure your dog didnt already have a ear infection?

I use it on my two all the time with no ill effects either. In fact, without it their ears would be horrible - in pre Thornit days, the older one had an infection and the treatment for it was almost impossible to administer due to the contortions and hiding behind furniture to avoid the drops that went on. It was only when someone recommnded Thornit that I got the problem cleared up, plus the dogs love getting it put in.

But if I were you Mollygog I would get the third dog's ears checked out by the vet; as Keisha says, perhaps there was an infection brewing in there anyway. I suppose too that just because it seems to work wonderfully for most dogs doesn't mean it necessarily suits all of them, and I would say better safe than sorry. Once you have the problem cleared up, perhaps you could try a tiny amount in this dog's ears at first and see how it goes from there? And if it suits the other two, I would stick with it for them, as it does keep the ears in tip top condition.

Lesley

Hi The vet has gave him antibiotics for his ears today, It just seemed a bit weird that he is 7 years old never had an ear infection, and after 3 days using thornit, stuff was gushing out. I used it at first mainly as it says to keep the ears nice. Still like people maybe it doesn't suit all dogs. I will use it on my other 2 tho :)

Yes, that is rather weird! I'd lay off it then and just use it for the other two!! Did your vet have anything to say about Thornit? I have heard of vets rubbishing it, but ours just says if it works, use it!

Lesley

Didn't like to mention about the powder they probably would have said ' what do you expect' I don't think they'd agree with anything a bit weird, although usually the weird and wonderful work best usually :)

Don't think I would have mentioned it either in your position :D

Probably being a bit stupid! but on the instructions for using thornit it says don't get it in the ear hole, how can you manage not to???

If your dog had nothing wrong with its ears, then why are you using Thornit? Just curious?
My vet recommends it, however he does warn that if you use it too intensively it can clog up the canal & cause problems.
I use it routinely on the hounds & have kept ear problems very much at bay with it as long as its used very sparingly.

He has quite waxy ears that had never caused a problem so it just seemed a good idea to give it a try, obviously not! but it worked wonders on the others :)

Wouldn't you say it worked wonders on this dogs ears, too?
It's supposed to bring any gunk and stuff to the surface so that you can clean the ears easily....I'd say all that stuff was in there to start with, the thornit just did its job! :)

Thornit contains some very strong chemicals that are powdered down in a base powder - Some of the ingredients are irritants by nature. However, the product isn't licensed and therefore isn't regulated so you just don't know what else could be added in it. I know that lots of people use it and find it invaluable but if your dogs have any adverse reaction I would discontinue its use and not bother again!

Thanks everyone for your opinions:)

Thornit? Sorry to sound dim but what is it and what does it do?
Thanks

Thornit is a powder which you dust on the inside of the ear and it works wonders for shifting wax, earmites and infections, it is a very old fashioned remedy. Search for thornit on 'ask' and you can read about it :)

I think you are right about the thornit, I have been cleaning his ears since yesterday, he's ears are sparkling and no more gunge, he only had one antibiotic by then so it couldn't have been that working. No wonder he had smelly gunge coming out must have been deep down for ages, thornit to the rescue!! :)

I've used Thronit a few times with great effect. Buddy had a previous ear infection due to mites which was treated by vet with antibiotic drops etc. The vet rubbished Thronit ie with it being a powder etc.
My question is are you NOT supposed to drop it into the ear canal? I need to clear this up before i use it again.
Budmag

Hi me again, it says on the instructions dust around the inside surface of the ear NOT the ear hole and massage in. I find it a bit difficult not to get it in the ear canal! :)

can it be used on humans!!!!! Kids even. The one thing I hate is seeing kids with waxy ears, The only thing I know of is earex!!!!!! Sorry, daft question.(My dog has never had problems with her ears(6 1/2) touch wood!!!!!!!!!!!!
Lea:)

Wondered about that myself, when you think about it what were willing to use on the dog we should be willing to try on ourselves!:)

Thornit "powders" are used in such small amounts in a huge amount of plain talc to  pad it out. This recipe was given to me in 1974 by Margaret Niblock who is sadly no longer with us , but who was know as "mrs Afghan" she has written THE best definitive study book on afghan hounds. It was she who first gave me the recipe to get made up at a chemist , which I found very difficult, although I did eventually managed to get one pound in weight made in a small chemists in Norfolk somewhere.  on my travels all over the place to get this recipe made. I was informed of several things from people working in different chemists, and the chemists themselves. This powder was the main cure it all used by the rspca in much earlier times and used to heal apart from bad ears a myriad of other problems, one chemist told me ladies used to put a pinch inside a locket and wear around their necks they thought it warded off ills lol.
I do use it on myself all the time, if i cut myself with scissors (I do grooming) i simply pack the wound with the powder it heals painlessly and quickly.I even packed a burst abcess I had and that healed in record time with no infection too. my first afghan bitch suffered with terribly painful waxy ears for over 6 months before i got to use this powder, it was 100% cleared within i'd say 3 weeks at most. and that was after spending goodness knows how much at the vets and his endless useless differing ear remedies all of which appeared to do very little to relieve her problem. Margaret told me this WILL clear it and she was right. over the years i gave a lot of mine away to people whos dogs had terrible ears and not showing improvements with vets treatment. There is not one dog  I can think of whos ear problems were not cleared up fairly quickly, infact all the owners have been completely amazed  just as I was.
Ideally it should not be put where the animal can lick it, although Thornit says a small pinch rubbed in the toes can deter grass mites and stop endless licking of feet. I can honestly say I have never has any dog show any adverse reaction to it. I fear some vets will poo poo it as rubbish, as just an old fashioned quack remedy, why??? because they will be missing out of robbing you of your hard earned cash! thankfully my vet is more open minded and says if it works use it, he has seen the results for himself on my dogs.
I would not like to try it in your childrens ears, they cannot shake their heads as dogs do lol, which is what helps remove dried bits of wax from a dogs ears. It sounds like I am promoting it and have some monetary interest, I don't at all, I like everyone else now have to buy it from ebay, it's impossible to get it made at chemists now days as they don't seem to stock the iodoform.

I used it in one of Bens' ears which has a narrower hole than the other and tends to get a fair bit of wax, which is difficult to get to, plus he hates having it done and arses about, the Thornit cleared it up in a few days, the wax came out virtually on it's own and I was able to wipe it out. I did get some down the hole which your not supposed to do but it didn't do any harm.

Well I've tried it on Tia's chin - certainly seems to be helping.  I reckon she's got the same infection/mites/whatever it is everywhere, because she's scratching her ear then licking her foot, wiping her chin etc she's just spreading it around so the Thornit seems to be helping.

Thank you everyone for your discussion on Thornit - my lovely Labradoodle (I know he's not a show dog but he is still my Champion) has terrible ear trouble which has cost us so much through the Vet so I have decided to give Thornit a go and will let you know how he does with it.

My vet read the ingredients & couldn't see a benefit or to be fair anything harmful.  I've never had problems with my dogs ears but a bitch I had from someone else at over a year old has had awful ear infections & nothing touched it.  The previous owner had always used Thornit, so I gave it a try, couldn't believe that it cleared her ears up within a couple of days!  Not sure it is meant to clear up infections but it obviously sorted something out within her ear!

Does anyone know if it can remove staining?