Hello,

No, Monistat is not safe or effective when used in a dog's ear. The yeast organism is a different type of yeast.

The effective treatment options are Otomax, Mometamax and Conofite. Conofite only treats yeast, so I don't use that much. Otomax is my preferred. Mometamax and Otomax will both treat yeast and bacterial infections. Most ear infections in dogs are both yeast and bacteria.

Even if Monistat was effective, it still only treats yeast and not the bacteria. It also does not have a steroid that Otomax and Mometamax have for the inflamed ear canals.

I know it's a bit costly, but you can buy larger bottles to make it more economical and one large bottle of Otomax will treat the recurrent ear infections a few times a year. I think the bottles are ~ 30-50 per bottle.

In those dogs where it's a monthly issue, there is a surgery (TECA- total ear canal ablation) to remove the ear canal and associated tissue and thus cure any ear infections in the future. They do lose a fair amount of hearing, but it's an effective procedure.

I hope this helps, let me know if you have any other questions.