Whole Dog Journal readers often try techniques and products described in the magazine, but sometimes years go by before we need something we read about, or it disappears from the market, or we have trouble finding it, or we simply forget all about it. Last month we revisited systemic oral enzymes and EMT gel, and our September issue revisited green tripe, Seacure, and Willard Water. Here are three more go-to products featured in previous issues that might now be perfect for you and your dog.

Pellitol Ointment
Nine years ago, we described a smoky-smelling pinkointment that worked wonders for seriously infected ears: Pellitol (see “Chronic Ear Infections in Canines,” WDJ June 2004). Pellitol contained zinc oxide, calamine, bismuth subgalate, bismuth subnitrate, resorcinol, echinacea fluid extract, and juniper tar. These ingredients are both disinfecting and adhesive, so that as the ointment gradually dried and shrank (a process lasting several days), it healed ulcers, dried pus and debris, and reduced bacterial growth. In addition to being effective, this apply-it-and-leave-it approach spared patients the discomfort of repeated ear-cleaning treatments.

We learned about Pellitol from holistic veterinarian Stacy Hershman of Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, who became interested in ear infections while working as a veterinary technician in her teens. “This is a subject that isn’t covered much in vet school,” she told us. “I learned about treating ear infections from the veterinarians I worked with over the years. Because they all had different techniques, I saw dozens of different treatments, and I kept track of what worked and what didn’t.”

Chronic ear infections are the bane of long-eared dogs, swimming dogs, recently vaccinated puppies, old dogs, dogs with an abundance of ear wax, and dogs with allergies, thyroid imbalances, or immune system disorders. In other words, they are among the most common recurring canine problems.

Dr. Hershman’s maintenance program for healthy ears involves gentle cleaning with cotton balls, cotton swabs, and room-temperature green tea or an alcohol-free acidic ear cleaner. Mild ear inflammation can be treated with careful flushing.

But if the infection is serious, she takes a different approach. When she began her veterinary practice, Dr. Hersh-man met dogs who wouldn’t let anyone touch their ears. “I knew that nothing I’d learned in vet school was going to help them,” she says, “so I thought back to all the treatments I’d seen over the years. The one that seemed most effective was a combination of boric acid and a thick, old-fashioned ointment that looks like pink toothpaste. I couldn’t remember its name, but I never forgot how it smelled – really peculiar, like burnt embers.”

The ointment was Pellitol, and as soon as she tracked it down, Dr. Hershman combined it with boric acid. “Like the ear powders I learned about from groomers,” she explains, “boric acid dries and acidifies the ear. Yeast and bacteria are opportunistic organisms that die in a dry, acidic environment. They thrive where it’s moist, dark, and alkaline.”

Because boric acid is toxic (note warnings on the label), it should not be inhaled or swallowed. Shielding the face is important and usually requires a helper, someone who can hold the dog’s head steady while protecting the eyes, nose, and mouth.

Experimenting with her own dogs and dogs at the animal shelter where she volunteered, Dr. Hershman placed two or three pinches of boric acid powder in each infected ear unless it was ulcerated, bleeding, or painful. “Being acidic,” she explained, “boric acid might irritate open wounds. In that case, I would use the Pellitol alone. Otherwise, a pinch or two of boric acid was an effective preliminary treatment.”

After applying boric acid, she would fill the ear with Pellitol and let it work. Within a week, the dried ointment would fall out of the dog’s ear, leaving it cleaner and far less inflamed.

The Replacements
When its developer retired and closed his business, Pellitol disappeared. Fortunately for its fans, new versions of Pellitol are manufactured by compounding pharmacies.

Dr. Hershman orders Pell Otic ointment from Wedgewood Pharmacy in Swedesboro, New Jersey, which packages the ointment in 15-milliliter syringes that retail for $24. This ointment contains zinc oxide, calamine, bismuth subnitrate, resorcinol, juniper tar, and bismuth subgallate, which are (except for echinacea) the same ingredients as Pellitol in a slightly different formula. Wedgewood Pharmacy ships to all states except North Carolina. Pet owners can order Pell Otic ointment by phone or online, but orders must be accompanied by a veterinarian’s prescription.

Dr. Hershman likes the new product. “Instead of a tube, it comes in a syringe that you dial, which makes it more economical, and it has a convenient long nozzle for applying it deep in the vertical ear canal,” she says. “It works the same as Pellitol. It’s just more brown than pink in color, possibly due to less calamine and more bismuth. It still smells good, like burnt embers.”

She recommends turning the dial once for 1 milliliter per ear unless you’re working with larger ear canals, as with Coonhounds, Spaniels, or Basset Hounds, in which case she uses 2 ml per ear. “There is a cap for the end of the syringe so it will not dry out,” she says, “and it is actually a lot less messy with the syringe than a tube. The metal Pellitol tubes would break and dry up and the ointment would be wasted. This is a better arrangement.”

Like Pellitol, Pell Otic ointment is sticky. “I tell people to protect their furniture for a day or two. The ointment will stick to anything it touches, and when you fill the ear, it can stick to the outside of the ear or the dog’s face. That excess will dry and fall off. You can remove it with vegetable oil, but leave the inside of the ear flap alone.”

Another version of Pellitol is available from Specialty Veterinary Compounding Pharmacy in Stafford, Texas. Re-ca-litol Otic Ointment contains resorcinol, bismuth subgallate, bismuth subnitrate, zinc oxide, calamine powder, juniper tar, glycerin, and petrolatum.

Re-ca-litol Otic Ointment is available in 20-gram toothpaste-like tubes costing $24.63. Orders accompanied by a veterinarian’s prescription can be placed by phone or online. Specialty Veterinary Pharmacy does not ship to Arizona, Arkansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Nebraska, North Caroline, or Virginia.

“Pellitol-type ointments can completely cure mild ear infections,” says Dr. Hershman, “but for severe purulent (pus-producing), ulcerative, long-standing Pseudomonas andProteus bacterial infections, the ointment by itself may not be enough. Sometimes conventional antibiotics with anti-inflammatory or anti-fungal ingredients have to be alternated with the ointment treatment since these bacteria are difficult to eradicate. In severely resistant cases, I go back and forth between the ointment and ear powders containing boric acid and zinc oxide along with conventional medications. But even in severe cases, Pell Otic ointment makes a big difference.”