Vinegar has acetic acid but it is at a lower concentration. You can use this but need to use 1.5X as much.
Another alternative is lemon juice. It has citric acid but it also is at a lower concentration so you also need to add 1.5X as much.
The issue is the difference between a "strong" acid and a "weak" acid. HCl is a strong acid and acetic and citric acid s are weak acids. To continue producing free chlorine dioxide from chlorous acid you need a weak acid. This gives you extended bacteria killing performance from the residual left in the dogs ear after the application.