Bought some Thornit ear powder for my neighbours St Bernard at UK Toy yesterday but it wasnt until I got home I realised that there was no instructions on how much to use etc. Has anyone else used it and can recommend how much to use and how often Many thanks. Jan

Hi, get a teaspoon and poke the narrow end into the Thornit powder so you have a little "mountain" of it, that is no more than a good "pinch" or maybe two pinches as its such a big dog?, and tip directly into the ear canal. If the entrance to the canal is very hairy then rub a little thornit into the hair first , leave a few minutes and it plucks out painlessly ( or snip short with scissors) so you can clear the canal and the powder will actually go down it. Once you put the powder in, massage gently for a minute or two and when you let the dog go, shut your eyes for a moment in case he shakes. It doesn't usually shake out unless you put too much in. If my dogs have waxy ears or think they may have mites I do them twice a day for a week and then wait for a few days to see if it has worked. Its not often I have to do it for longer. I always do both ears even if it appears there is a problem in only one. I dont use any liquid/drops in the ear during the time I am dosing with the Thornit. The Thornit will send any "gunge" up to the surface and I lift it off very gently with a damp cotton bud, but I dont go inside the canal, just around it and the "creases". I would keep the insides and inner flaps of the ears well trimmed, so there is as much "air flow" to the ears as possible. If I was using Thornit daily for 10 days or so with no improvement or the ear was red and swollen a trip to the vet would be wise I think - though Thornit has always cleared up any ear probs my dogs have had. Its brill!

I agree. Thornit is brilliant stuff. It cleared the TH's squealchy ear no bother. I use it once a week to keep those nasty spaniel ears under control. Only drawback is that she goes around for a couple of days smelling like a dentists waiting room!

Hi, I was very interested in this thread. Barney has trouble with his ears and although the vet says there is no infection they do trouble him most of the time. Everytime I take him to the vet I say about his ears and every time she says they are okay. She did give us some "medicine" for him months ago (we had two lots) but although there is no infection they still bother him I think quite badly. But the vet keeps saying they are okay. We got something called Leo dog ear cleaner from the vet which we use but his ears still bother him and smell cheesy. It doesnt seem to last very long and we have to keep on using it which really upsets him. Any ideas of help would be much appreciated and also if you think that Thornit is okay for a lhasa apso could you please let me know where I can get it from as I dont recognise the name UK Toy. Many thanks Gina

Hi, you can order it from: Miss P Bett, Thornham, Hunstanton, Norfolk PE36 6NB. I think you can also get it from www.champion-pets.co.uk. About £6 . I use it for all ear probs, though now I put a pinch in each ear, each week my dogs rarely have an ear problem.

Thanks WL will order some tomorrow. I shall put a pinch in each ear once a week. If you think this is wrong for a lhasa please let me know. I am sure there will be some instructions though although Jan didnt have any. Hope it cures the prob for my poor lad as they do bother him.

Hi Gina
I get my Thornit from Champion Pet Supplies and I'm sure
they will tell you how to use it. My instructions say exactly
the same as Westie Lover but if it hasn't cleared up in five
days they say you haven't used enough. I'm sure you can
use it on any size dog. It really works a treat with ear
problems. The Elf also has bouts of chewing her paws so
I rub Thornit in very gently and what ever irritation was
there soon clears up. Its miracle stuff.
Jaq

Thanks Jaq and everyone. Am ordering it tomorrow. Gina

Does anyone know the active ingredients of Thornits? I used this product on a regular basis very successfully on my 3 ESS, until a few years ago when my vet recommended the use of unperfumed athletes foot powder instead. I now use this with equal success but at a fraction of the cost of Thornits. I know the main ingredient in AFP is boric acid and was just wondering what the main constituent of Thornits is.

Hi, on the label it says contents: Zinc Oxide, Talc, Iodoform, Boric - in that order, so I assume that there is more Zinc Oxide than other ingredients, but its only an assumption.

will thornit hurt on a scratch or open wound?

I remember tohme putting up a recipe to make up thornit powder last year.  If you do a search and put tohmes' name in and thornit in as the keyword,  I think it is under a thread which says always getting bad ears on 1.10.04.

Reviving this old thread, Thornit recipe was originally given to me by a very respected afghan hound breeder, and I had to scour chemists until I finally found one in Norfolk who could make it up for me (this was in the 1970's)  I mentioned to her my young afghan who had been treated for months by a vet and his useless ear drops. she then gave me a small amount of the powder with instructions and the recipe to get more made up. No word of a lie within 3 days the soreness and redness in her ear disappeared and in less than 3 weeks her ear was totally back to normal and did not reoccur EVER.Her ear was so bad the poor thing was walking around with her head tilted to one side, ear flap and entry to ear canal was bright scarlet yet it was healed in no time with the "magic powder". Now here we are some 37 years later, sadly the respected afghan lady has passed and very much missed. but the magic powder lives on in Thornit. it is almost impossible to get the recipe made up in any chemist these days, I was told it's because iodoform has to be ordered in bulk and apart from the powder they have no other use for it nowdays, so it just isn't worth them getting it.I don't mind buying thornit  at least it's available. I am NEVER without it, and have ordered pots and pots for my grooming customers for their dogs, All with success I might add in clearing up ear problems where once again the vets fail!!!.    It has many uses deters mites etc and like someone said a pinch rubbed each paw should help keep grass mites away, I use it in wounds and cuts not only on animals but myself with terrific healing results, cuts heal very quickly. One old chemist told me the smell took him bac to his younger years when women used to keep a pinch in a locket and hang round their necks to ward off flu and illness. another girl in a chemist in Swansea said her dad was an RSPCA man I presume in the 30's or 40's and this was the general "healing " powder they used on a multitude of problems with great results. As you can see from this I am it's biggest fan, Ideally it should not be put near eyes and should not be ingested, but i have never had any problems even if dogs do lick a little, they soon stop cause I guess they don't much like the smell or taste.  So if you haven't got a pot of thornit in your first aid box.... order it now, I guarantee you will be it's next biggest fan :)     and NO I do not have any connections with the producers of the product and have no monetary interest either. I just have REAL faith in something thats loads cheaper than continuous over inflated vet bills, and something that really DOES work.
Sue

have to agree,thornits cured my daughters little dogs sore ear  in less than a week,good stuff .

I'm another fan too, I use it as part of the dogs regular grooming routine. Never had an ear problem but I suppose I may never have had one anyway. Doesn't do any harm and I like the smell of it.

I've never heard of this but after reading this thread, I have now ordered some which is winging it's way to me now.  I got mine from petmeds online for £8.20 for 20mls.  I have spent about 10 times that at the vet for drops and consultations since he came a month ago!! He has really stinky mucky ears but no infection? We'll see how he goes on this as nothing the vet gives works.

I've managed to get it over here in Oz, so I'm thrilled, as I've always had good results with it.  Particularly now as, due to very high humidity rates over here, Tess and Alfie seem to get recurring ear problems.  (Plus Tess is allergic to one particular type of grass here, which is very frustrating!).  I just put it on the outer edge of the ear - is that correct?

> I just put it on the outer edge of the ear - is that correct?

Oh I don't know, I sprinkle it straight into their ears. I use a small paint brush, put the brush into the tub then tap the brush against my fingers over their folded back ear so the thornit sprinkles down into the ear.

After 2 + years and hundreds of pounds and an ear flushing etc later, I put my Am cocker back on Thornit.
He hasnt been back to the vets for his ears for 1 1/2 years!!!!! Before that I was there at least once a month with his ears!!!!!
Now we put it in about once a week, - once a month and his ears are great!!!! If he starts scratching the thornit goes in.
HUNDREDS of pounds saved and a Much much happier dog!!!!!
Worth its weight in gold!!!!
Lea :) :)

It is part of most Cavalier breeders grooming regime that after they have brushed/combed the entire ear feathering a small pinch of Thornit is added to both ears. In all of my 8 cavaliers I have never had a single ear problem...so this is used as a preventative in my house not a remedy.

any other uses for thornit than ears ?

>Oh I don't know, I sprinkle it straight into their ears. I use a small paint brush, put the brush into the tub then tap the brush against my fingers over their folded back ear so the thornit sprinkles down into the ear.>

Well.. I wasn't sure either, so just had a quick look on the Thornit website.  It says to place the powder around the inner ear, avoiding ear hole...then gently massage from outside the ear. 

So although it does seem to work for my dogs ears, I do wonder if I'm not putting the powder in quite far enough...

Since most vets would poo poo putting home remedies into the ear canal, I suspect they are covering themselves.

I sometimes use Thornit on hotspots on the skin...the iodoform ( the active ingredient) is a bactericide and anti parasitic. Not good for the dog to lick it though.

> I use a small paint brush, put the brush into the tub then tap the brush against my fingers over their folded back ear so the thornit sprinkles down into the ear.

I like that idea, I shall use that when I get my next lot which I need to get soon.  Tia's ear infection is proving a sod to get rid of - hardly surprising since I learned that it is just another thing on the list of ailments that my brother left untreated for months at least :-(

I see you guys saying it can be used for other things though which gets me wondering; Tia is also having problems with a chronic chin infection (yep, that's on the long-ignored list too), at the moment we're not sure what's causing it - might be food sensitivities but given that Wagg is supposed to be the one food that it settles on I'd be surprised if it's that...

Anyhoo, would it be worth trying the thornit on that?

I use thornit for ears and also for feet(in between the pads),brilliant product.. I told my vets and they were happy with me using it and said they've only heard great things about it and for me to continue on using it..

Thank you Sue so do you use it as a preventative on feet ? and does it help with cuts ? Recently due to the dry weather and flint in the ground around here Whispa has had a couple of cuts on hius pads I wondered if it would aid healing

I think it's more for sweaty feet if you see what I mean. I'd be wary of putting it on an open cut as I think it would sting

Thank you

Yes it's used for his sweaty feet and not on open cuts etc.. Someone else uses it in the same way and raved about it and it does work!!!

> Yes it's used for his sweaty feet

Interesting thought it was used on feet for mites, one of the few things that realy does what it says. Use in ears using a small paint brush, also for itchy bottoms (mites) small smear of vaseline at base of tail and then a very small amount of powder.
One of ours is suffering from redness in the skin creases on his legs & feet - have tried everthing this summer to try & alleviate, malaseb, hibiscrub & more - do you think thornit would help. Just concerned about licking?

Wonder if it would help with interdigital cysts? Hmmmm.....

> Wonder if it would help with interdigital cysts? Hmmmm.....

Was told that with age they could stop & they have (so far!). One thing that helped was washing feet in diluted hibiscrub & keeping clean & dry. Good luck.

Hi Tessie's Tracey   for bad waxy ears, put a couple of good pinches right in, tilt head if you can and make sure it goes right down inside the ear canal, give the ear flap a little shake to help it down, then massage the base of the ear on the side of the face, really bad ears a good pinch every day, until it starts to clear then reduce it, when the ear is back to normal 1 pinch every week to keep them clean.  don't know about digital cysts, but a pinch rubbed inbetween toes keeps grass mites away

The instructions clearly say that it should not go down inside the ear canal.

I have done the same as Afmad for years with my AM cocker, and works.
Instructions on pot say not to, but anyone I have spoken to about it has said do what Afmad does.
Lea :)