Dog Guidance Blog

Cleaning your dog’s ears can be a very frustrating experience. But by changing how you do things you can make the whole experience at least a little more enjoyable for you and your dog.

Dog’s are prone to a wide range of ear problems. In fact it is estimated that at least 20% of the cases a veterinarian sees is related to ears.

One way to prevent and treat ear infections is through regular cleaning of your dog’s ears. Here are some quick tips to make this more enjoyable.

1. Only use cotton balls to clean your dog’s ears. Never use cotton tipped wooden sticks. This can break off and cause severe damage in your dog’s ears. Only your veterinarian should do deep ear cleanings.

2. Find a good ear cleaner and fill your dog’s ear canal. Then close the flap and massage it into the ear canal for at least thirty seconds or as long as your dog allows. Then let your dog shake its head. This massaging and shaking action and loosen a lot of debris making the cleaning so much faster.

3. Use friend to help you do this. Many times dog owner’s become frustrated because they have trouble holding onto the dog and doing the cleaning as well. Using two people to accomplish this makes the whole job go faster and easier.

4. If possible elevate your dog. Squatting down on the floor to try and clean ears is hard on the knees. If you happen to have a grooming table or some other elevated surface to use that is great. When you are in a comfortable position not only will you do a better job, but you will enjoy it more.

5. Do not pluck the hairs in your dog’s ear canal. When a hair is plucked from the ear canal a drop of serum forms. This serum is a great place for bacteria and yeast to grow. This is why you often see ear infections in Shih Tzu and other dogs that have been recently groomed. Hair in the ear canal should only be plucked if there is a medical reason to do so.

Remember if you think your dog has an ear infection or other problem, see a veterinarian as soon as possible.

I hope these 5 tips make cleaner your dog’s ears easier for you. The most important thing to remember is to be very careful and to do no harm to the ear canal.