Cleaning Your Dog’s Ears
June 25, 2024
If you have a dog with long ears, you may already be aware that their ears get less air flow to their ear canals. Even some dogs with short ears can be prone to ear infections and irritation. Checking your dogs ears on a regular basis can catch problems early so they don’t turn into a painful ear infection.
Four Important Points:
- It is important to know what your dog’s ear canals look like normally.
- Check your dog’s ears regularly for signs that they need a cleaning.
- Don’t clean your dogs ears too often. This can cause irritation.
- Never use a solution that is not especially made for their ears.
My model today is Graham. He is our nine year old Cavalier rescue. We adopted him when he was three. He was very shy. He came from living in a cage up until he was removed from that environment. His grooming was non-existent. With a lot of time and patience, he now does well with his grooming needs. He prefers to be clean and comes to me when it is time to do his grooming.
Graham is prone to ear infections due to poor air flow to his ear canals. His vet recommended keeping the fur trimmed back from around his ear canals. This is before I trimmed him up.
In this photo, you can see how much the air flow to Graham’s ear is improved. If you don’t groom your own dog, you can ask your groomer to do this for you.
As a preventative measure, his vet recommended cleaning Graham’s ears once a week. If your dog has never had their ears cleaned or looked at before, start slow. You can begin by just lifting their ears up one side at a time. Then you can begin looking in their ears. You can also just insert the tip of the ear cleaning solution bottle into their ear without putting any solution in it. Be patient and reassuring. Remember to praise your dog.
To clean their ears:
- Assemble your supplies first. 1) A towel 2) Cotton balls or gauze 3) Ear cleaning solution.
- In a quiet and calm space have your dog sit. I like to sit on the floor with Graham or in his favorite chair that he feels safe in. You can use dog treats if needed to make this a good experience.
- Twist open the cleaning solution top, then lift your dog’s ear. Put the tip of the bottle into the ear canal. Gently squeeze the bottle to fill up the ear canal.
4) Then, gently rub the base of your dog’s ear to help loosen debris for about 30 seconds. You will be able to hear the solution swishing around.
5) Let your dog shake their head. This is where the towel comes in handy to catch any solution they shake out.
6) Next take a cotton ball or gauze to gently wipe out the ear canal. Do not go into the ear canal any further than your first finger knuckle.
When to call the vet:
If your dog is scratching or rubbing their ears a lot, take a look to see what’s going on. If you notice any redness, swelling, discharge or debris, contact your vet.
For more information: https://akc.org/expert-advice/health/how-to-clean-dogs-ears/