Made in Britain since 2005
The scratching stops. Six weeks later it is back, and so is the bill. Peake Petcare Soothing Ear Cleaner is the bottle British owners have kept in the cupboard for twenty years — reached for when there is a problem, and used to head off the next one.
“He can now go on walks without screaming when the wind catches his ears.”
The loop
If you own a dog with ear-prone ears — a spaniel, a doodle, a retriever, anything with a heavy flap — you have almost certainly been round this at least twice.
Head shaking at three in the morning. A back paw going at the ear. And that smell when you lift the flap.
A consultation fee before anyone has looked in the ear. Then drops, and possibly a course of tablets.
For a few weeks it all looks fine. The course finishes, the ear looks clean, and everyone relaxes.
Same ear. Same smell. Same appointment. Only now it is the fourth time this year and you have stopped counting what it costs.
Round and round. And every lap costs money.
“After 3 years of my standard poodle having bad ears, I'd paid £5,000 in vet bills and tests. After a week and a half his ears had cleared of black discharge, and there's no pain when I touch them. Fingers crossed it keeps working — it's only early days.”
Why this one
You have probably been told that ear cleaners only treat the surface. That is true of a wipe and a cotton pad. It is not true of a thin liquid delivered down the canal with a long applicator nozzle.
A dog's ear canal turns a corner before it gets anywhere useful. Wiping the part you can see never touches the part that matters. Peake Petcare is a thin liquid with a long applicator nozzle, made to travel down the canal rather than sit at the top of it.
Warm and damp is exactly what an ear-prone dog does not need. Peake Petcare cleans and then leaves the canal dry and open, rather than wet — which is the difference between cleaning an ear and simply wetting it.
No expiry date, and no reason to ration it. Twice a day for a fortnight while you get on top of a problem, then once a month to stay there. One 500ml bottle sees most dogs through all of that and a long way beyond.
The range
Same ear cleaner either way. The only difference is whether you want the colour.
Not sure which size? Most people start with the 150ml. If your dog has an ongoing problem and you'll be using it daily, the 500ml works out at less than a third of the price per ml.
Honestly compared
Not vet care — if your dog is in pain, go to the vet. This is about what you do the other fifty weeks of the year.
| Feature | Peake Petcare | Wipes & cotton pads | Waiting for the next flare-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reaches down into the ear canal | Long applicator nozzle | Only the visible flap | No |
| Works for prevention, not just clean-up | Weekly maintenance | Surface only | By definition, no |
| Has a defined routine, not guesswork | Twice daily, then monthly | Wipe when you remember | No routine at all |
| Shelf life | No expiry date | Typically 12–24 months | — |
| Needs an appointment | Never | Never | Eventually, yes |
| What it costs | £39.99 for 500ml | £5–£10 a pack, repeatedly | Whatever the vet bill comes to |
Comparison-column figures are typical UK retail prices for own-brand pet ear wipes and are indicative only.
Twenty years of these
“To my amazement it worked. A German Shepherd with ongoing ear itching she wouldn't leave alone. Vet tested and said there's no infection. I was at the end of my tether and didn't want to use heavy meds, but I used this daily for 2 weeks and now weekly. Her ears are looking better than ever. I should know — I've tried everything else.”
“Both sets of ears were 70% better after just one application. Four or five days later I had two happy dogs with tip top ears.”
“I've been in the dog grooming profession for 35 years and this is by far the most impressive, effective ear cleaner I've come across in that time. Absolutely superb!”
“Tried so many different products but most just made the dog's ears gunky and oily. Nothing cleans like this, and no residue. Worked quite quickly too — just a few days.”
“My doodle is very prone to wax on the inner side of his floppy ears, and frequently irritated with it. This works really well at removing wax and leaves his ears healthy pink and comfortable. Best I've ever tried.”
“I've tried several ear lotions and this so far is the best. It clears up any smells and wax within a couple of days. A little dearer than some, but it works — and it's saved me a fortune at the vets.”
“Just a couple of washouts and all the gunky wax is easily cleaned out. Remember to follow the instructions and warm the product first.”
“I discovered this ear cleaner around 12 years ago when we had a new puppy who kept scratching her ears. It sorted her out within a week. I've used it ever since with other dogs when necessary. It really is the best stuff.”
“I can't recommend this enough. I'm now a stockist!”
Four steps
No cotton buds, no poking around, and nothing you need to hold your dog down for.
Stand the bottle in a cup of warm water for five minutes, then shake it hard for two. Skipping this is the single most common reason people think an ear cleaner hasn't worked — warm and properly mixed is what lets it run down the canal instead of sitting at the top.
Take the nozzle cap off, put the nozzle in the ear and squeeze until the canal is properly flooded. Be generous. Half-measures are the other reason cleaning fails.
Rub around the base of the ear. You'll hear it working. Most dogs lean into this bit rather than away from it.
Step back and let your dog shake its head — that is what brings the loosened wax up and out. Wipe the flap with a tissue. Never push anything down into the canal.
Start with twice a day for up to two weeks, depending on how bad things are. Then once a day for another week or two. After that, once a month is enough to keep on top of it. There is no expiry date, so a bottle sees you through all of it.
Who makes it
Peake Petcare has never been a marketing exercise. It grew because groomers told other groomers, and owners told other owners at shows. Twenty years on, that is still where most of our customers come from.
0+
Years making the same ear cleaner
0
Average review score
0
Reviews across the range
0
Species it's made for
0800 622 6190 Mon–Fri, 9am–5pm — a real person, not a chatbot.
Straight answers
Including the awkward one at the top, which somebody else has probably already put to you.
We run a pet advice helpline. Ring it. We would rather talk you out of the wrong product than sell it to you.
0800 622 6190Mon–Fri, 9am–5pm
Of some of them, yes. A wipe or a cotton pad only ever touches the part of the ear you can see, and the part that causes trouble is round the bend, further down. If that is what you have been using, the argument holds.
Peake Petcare is a thin liquid delivered through a long applicator nozzle, designed to go down the canal and then leave it dry and open rather than damp. That is a different job from wiping a flap.
We would also say this plainly: if your dog has a genuine infection, an ear cleaner is not a substitute for a vet. What it is for is the twelve months either side of that appointment.
Nothing that matters to the ear — it is the same cleaner doing the same job.
The purple is the original. Some people prefer it because you can see exactly where it has been and how much you have used. The colour-free version exists for pale and white coats, for show dogs where any tint is a problem, and for owners who would simply rather not have the colour.
Most people start with the 150ml. It is enough to get on top of a problem and then keep going for months.
The 50ml is a good size to keep in the car or a bag, or to try it with before committing.
The 500ml is what groomers and multi-dog households buy, and it works out at roughly a third of the price per ml of the 50ml. If you know you will be using it daily for a while, buy this one.
The directions are: twice a day for up to two weeks, depending on how bad the problem is. Then once a day for the next one to two weeks. After that, once a month keeps things where they should be.
Two things people skip and then wonder why it didn't work: stand the bottle in warm water for five minutes first, and shake it hard for two minutes before every single application.
There is no expiry date and no reason to be sparing — under-dosing is the most common reason ear cleaning fails.
It is not formulated to sting a healthy ear, and most dogs tolerate it without any fuss at all.
An ear that is already sore, broken or inflamed is a different matter, and that is a dog who should see a vet before anything goes in the ear. If your dog reacts badly, stop and ring us.
Yes, and we'd rather tell you now than have it surprise you. It's an alcohol-based formulation, so out of the bottle it smells sharp — a few customers have compared it to methylated spirits.
That smell is the alcohol doing the job. It's what carries the solution down the canal and then evaporates, leaving the ear dry rather than wet. It goes within a minute or two of application. What it replaces is the smell most people come to us about in the first place.
It isn't, and customers say so — "a little dearer than some" is a fair summary.
Two things worth weighing. First, it has no expiry date, so a bottle doesn't go off in the cupboard between flare-ups the way a dated product does. Second, the 500ml works out at roughly a third of the price per ml of the 50ml, which is why groomers and multi-dog households buy that size.
The comparison most of our customers actually make is not against another bottle. It's against the consultation fee.
This is the most under-rated problem in ear care and nobody talks about it.
Two things help. First, the nozzle means you are not poking anything into the ear — you squeeze, massage the base for a few seconds and step back. Second, because it works quickly, you are doing this far less often than a daily wipe routine.
Most owners tell us the fight stops once the ear stops being sore.
Yes. It is made for dogs, cats and horses, and a good number of our long-standing customers are on the equine side.
Send it back within 90 days and we will refund you — opened, half used, whichever. We would rather have the bottle back than a customer who feels stung.
UK delivery is free on every order. Order before 2pm on a working day and it goes out the same day.
One bottle
If it doesn't do what we say it does, send it back within 90 days — opened or not — and we'll refund you. You are risking nothing here except the habit of going back.
