Zymox

[AliandShooter]

anyone recommend this ear cleaner?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It's not really similar. Dogs with dense non-shedding coats, like Poodles, have that thick wooly hair in their ear canals. The combination of the hair with the normal ear wax and the dark moist conditions created by their long floppy ears (no air circulation, as there is with humans and dogs who have ears that are exposed to light and air, like Shepherds) creates the perfect situation for the growth of yeasts and bacteria. In fact, chronic ear infections in dogs are known as "Poodle ear". In some dogs, the ear canal is narrow and twisted, and this creates even more of a problem. There are cases where dogs have had to have surgery to remove the entire ear canal; we had one doodle here who had this surgery, called ear ablation. Those of us who have lived with Poodles and breeds with similar coats for many years are very well versed in the need for routine ear cleaning and maintenance. 
Doodles who have straighter coats and/or who shed (mostly F1s) usually don't have these issues. My Jack had straighter hair and shed heavily, and he never had an ear infection in the 12 years I had him. Never needed ear cleaning or maintenance. But doodles with curly, wooly, or non-shedding coats do need regular ear cleaning and will most likely have at least a couple of infections in their lifetimes. This is something the breeders rarely mention, but they should. 

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

My Bichon Frise growing up however (poodle-ish) had to have her ears cleaned very frequently.  I don't think she ever had an infection in her 18.5 years but we stayed on top of the cleaning.

Luna (flat-coated F1 goldendoodle) doesn't need her ears cleaned, she doesn't have any hair in there and there's no buildup.  I actually used to clean her ears when she was a puppy but I soon realized it was pointless and she didn't need it :p

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

One big advantage to the shedding, straighter coated doodles. :)

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

Yes if you don't mind chasing tumbleweeds and keeping a lint roller handy ;)

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

That's the downside. Everything is a trade-off. Tumbleweeds, lint rollers and vacuuming, or ear infections, matts, and tons of time/ $$$$ for grooming.

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

I've been using Thornit for seven years about once a week and my boys have never had an ear problem so far.