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I would definitely get a second opinion. If it’s bad enough to require veterinary help, then follow their instructions.

Here are general techniques for cleaning a dog’s ears which I have used after extensive research. Remember that every case is different and follow your vet’s instructions over anyone else’s. This is not a good system for dogs with open sores in their ears:

Buy a couple condiment bottles with narrow spouts. In one bottle, mix hydrogen peroxide (the weak stuff from the pharmacy) and alcohol 50/50. In the other, vinegar and alcohol 50/50.

In the bath tub where you can rinse any overflow off the dog when you’re finished, point the tip of the peroxide/alchohol spout towards the dog’s ear canal. A dog’s ear turns downward, so you need to make sure you’re pointing the liquid in the right spot. BE CAREFUL NOT TO CRAM IT IN!!!!! You don’t want to injure the dog. Fill the ear to overflowing. Don’t let the dog shake it out unless it’s in real distress. You want to fill both ears up and massage the ear canals the best you can from the outside for a count of 60. Let the dog shake it out. Then repeat with the vinegar/alcohol, really flushing out the ear canal. No massage is necessary with the vinegar.

The peroxide cleans out the crud and disinfects the ear. The vinegar rinses the crud out, disinfects the ear, and resets the pH to fungus unfriendly levels. The alcohol disperses the water in the other chemicals from the ears and disinfects.

You should check before the ear washing to see if the dog has a fungal infection. You can tell by the smell. Healthy dog ears don’t smell bad at all. If the ears are infected, then after your dog’s ears have dried out, put in a few drops of antifungal medicine from your vet and massage the ears for a count of 60. If you have no medicine from the vet, you can use athletes foot cream, vagisil, or other antifungals.

I would advise against tea tree oil. It’s very powerful, absorbs immediately into the skin, and could harm your dog.