Cleaning Your Dogs Ears

A two minute pet tip from Wendy Nan Rees.

I always knew the importance of cleaning dog’s ears and for that matter general grooming and hygiene, but last week I had a very scary experience as a reminder.

I received an emergency phone call from my friend that her black lab, Charley, had two seizures. I rushed immediately over; although by that time Charley was acting normal, we still needed to take him to the vet. When we got to the vet, they did a full physical on Charley, full blood panel, and asked to keep him the rest of the day to observe him. At the office, I suggested whether it could possibly be an ear infection as it is important for us to be our own best advocate whether it is our own health or our pets. We need to work with the doctors as a team; we can not always expect them to know everything.

By 8pm that night we found out Charley is a very healthy, fat, 9 year old black lab, with a double ear infection so severe it displayed itself as a seizure. This is why my tip today is how to clean your dog’s ears. It is very simple and if you are lucky enough to start when they are puppies this should be an enjoyable time for bonding play and of course the almighty treat.

Recognize when a dog is shaking and scratching their head, even whining, he may have an ear infection. In extreme cases, dogs can exhibit a loss of balance or head shaking. There is a simple way to avoid such extreme blockages or infection, by keeping your pet's ears clean.

You can learn this technique either at the vet or a pet groomer.

• Basic Supplies – Take rolled cotton and break off a piece about two inches long. Don't use alcohol, use hydrogen peroxide and warm water and never use Q-tips!

• First, dip the cotton in warm water and thoroughly clean the ear. The warm water will help soften the wax. Gently but firmly remove as much wax and dirt as possible.

• Next, tear off another piece of cotton and drench it with hydrogen peroxide. Apply the cotton to the dog's ear. Its okay if it drips inside the ear cavity as this will help dry it out and loosen matter. Repeat steps one and two until the cotton is clean.

• Lastly, tear off another clean piece of cotton and dry the inside of the ear off.

And please don’t forget the almighty treat at then end!

This procedure may need to be done once a week or once a month depending on your dog’s breed and ear type. Dogs with big, floppy ears tend to trap moisture inside so they need to be cleaned more often - dogs with small perky ears, less so. Start maintaining clean ears as puppies so they get used to being handled. They will love you for it!

There are also ear cleaning products available at pet stores and veterinarian offices. Some even make your pet's ears smell like wintergreen!

I hope this tips comes in handy, but what I do know is it can be a life saver. I’m glad we rushed Charley to the vet because his ear infection would have only gotten worse, becoming septic in his body. This condition could even lead to death. Something as simple as cleaning the ears can prevent a tragedy.

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