How To Clean Dog’s Ears

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By peace | May 21, 2006

Ear care is vital for our dogs and probably one of the hardest spots for us to clean. Here are some tips for people that are new canine parents or for some that need extra ideas, woof!

Trobled Ears: If your dog has any complaints about his/her ears, here are some symptoms:

Vigorous head shaking
Ears standing crooked (on breeds such as German Shepherds, etc.)
Constant scratching of the ears
Rubbing head and ears on the ground and furniture
Red ears or off color ears
Excessive wax, off color wax (reddish brown, yellow, black specks etc.)
Foul odor

If any of these symptoms are present, do check it with his/her vet first. All ear infections are not caused by the same microorganism and treatment without proper examination is strictly guessing.

What not to do: Improper ear cleaning can result in cuts in ear canal, pain or even worst a ruptured eardrum. Please pay extra care when cleaning your dog’s ears and do not insert sharp objects, q-tips etc. in your dog’s ears. Also, please do not pour unknown solutions into the ear canal without consulting with your dog’s vet.

Ear Cleaning
You should be able to use a small flashlight to look in side your dogs ear and if you see anything out of the ordinary, you must contact your dog’s veterinary. This is not something you should treat at home since you really do not know what it may be. Long term ear infections can cause deafness if they go untreated.

Dogs get minor irritations due to allergies, bug bites, ruff play etc. You can use a mild ear cleaner or oil based cleaner to wipe off dirt, grime, wax, soothe bug bites and minor scratches. If you see something irregular such as reddish brown wax contact your dogs’ vet as it may be Ear mites (Otodectes cynotis).

Dab some gentle ear cleaner on a cotton ball and clean the outer ear (cartilage of the ear) with a cotton ball and also can wipe the ear lobe gently.
You may want to redo this process if ears are not clean.
If you are going to use a q-tip to clean in between the areas in the cartilage of the ear, do it gently and use it only on the outer ear. Ask your veterinarian on how to use a q-tip properly on your dog.

If your dog is nervous or upset about having his/her ears cleaned, keep your sessions short. Never yell or hit your dog. Any and all you do will be remembered by your dog next time you grab your grooming bag, cotton balls or that ear cleaner bottle. So go easy, repeat steps, calm down if you get frustrated and keep it short.

Once the cleaning is done, tell your dog that he/she was a “GOOD” baby and offer some kisses, hugs and some yummy treats. You will both be experts and wipe those ears with ease and move on to the better things in life real soon.

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