Ear infections are a common issue that veterinarians see in every breed of dog. Many people believe that only “floppy-eared” dogs are the ones that need any sort of maintenance for their ear health, however any dog can be at risk for developing an ear infection. Often allergies are the cause of chronic ear infections and at home routine care is needed to try to keep the infections at bay. There are a million different ear cleaners and cleaning products out on the market, but a lot of them are not going to help or may actually do more harm them good. In order to clean the ear properly a liquid needs to be used. This is because the ear canal of a dog is very long, using any sort of wipe or finger cover will only touch the tip of the iceberg. There are a lot of really good ear cleaners out on the market that can be obtained over the counter, this is one that I really like. Cleaning the ears weekly or biweekly if your dog is more prone to infection will help keep the pH of the ear less hospitable to infection. Again cleaning your dog’s ears should be something you teach them as a puppy, but if you have not trained them to be used to having it done, make sure you start slow and use lots of high value treats and praise. Please make sure that your veterinarian has approved that you can safely clean your dog's ears.
How do you clean a dog ear?
Gather your supplies (suggested products are in the links): ear cleaner, large cotton balls/gauze, treats.
Make sure you clean your dog’s ears in a place that you do not mind having liquid sprayed onto. Most dogs will shake their head while you are cleaning and this can get pretty messy. I recommend doing the ear cleanings outside if they weather permits.
If your dog has floppy ears you will need to lift them up to expose the ear canal. If not you can skip this step!
Grab the ear flap and pull it gently upwards, hold on tight as your dog is likely going to shake their head, holding on to the ear flap will help prevent them from splashing the solution all over you.
Poor the ear cleaner into the ear canal until it is spilling out.
Gently rub the base ear (near the side of their head). You can feel the ear canal under the skin, which feels like a funnel shaped cone. Squish the solution around to break up any debris stuck in the deeper parts of the ear canal.
Take your cotton balls or gauze and wipe out the ear canal as far as your finger can reach. Again the dog ear canal is very long and usually not very wide so your finger is not going to be able to reach anything that would cause damage.
Once you have wiped out most of the ear cleaner and debris, allow your dog to shake their head and wipe again. The shaking usually helps bring up more debris to the surface.
Repeat the process again if you are still getting a lot of debris. I don’t usually recommend repeating the process more than twice in one sitting.
Does your dog have chronically yeasty ears?
Chronically yeasty ears are typically a sign of some sort of allergy. This can be environmental (pollen, dust, mold) or it can be from food allergies. Cleaning regularly will help prevent infections, but there is also a product that I really like called Zymox. Here is a link to purchase it: Zymox. Please make sure a veterinarian has approved you using this product, as it can be harmful your dog’s ear drum is not intact, but using this along with ear cleaning can help prevent yeast ear infections.
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