- It is important to clean your dog’s ears to prevent excess build-up of wax and ear infections.
- It is also important to know how often to clean your dog’s ear.
- To know how often to clean your dog’s ear depends upon the breed, coat, ear wax production, and the physical activity of the dog.
- Dogs of certain breeds that have floppy ears so they need ear cleaning more often than others.
- To clean your dog’s ears properly, follow the recommended method step-by-step carefully.
Cleaning your dog’s ears is an important part of maintaining their hygiene. It is crucial for minimizing the build-up of ear wax and preventing the chances of your dog developing ear infections.
Excessive wax and discharge in the ear create a perfect environment for bacteria, yeast, and other organisms like ear mites to thrive and cause infection.
An ear mite infection can be dangerous for your dog. The ear mites do not bite the dog but cause irritation and itching, which causes the dog to scratch and hurt their ears, which can lead to an infection.
The main goal of cleaning the dog’s ears should be to remove the excessive discharge and wax from the ear canal with least irritation of the ear.
To clean your dog’s ears properly and effectively, it is important to know how often you should clean them, as well as the correct method to go about it.
How Often Should I Clean My Dog’s Ears?
How regularly you should clean out your dog’s ears depends on the following factors:
- breed
- coat
- level of activity
- ear wax production
It is recommended to clean your dog’s ears at least once a month. Dogs that have floppy ears and spend a lot of time playing outside, especially activitives like swimming, need to have their ears cleaned at least thrice a month.
When water becomes trapped in the ears of dogs after swimming, the harmful bacteria and yeast residing in the area can cause problems. This is why dogs that swim regular ear cleaning as opposed to those that don’t.
Which Dogs Need Cleaning of Ears more Often?
When it comes to cleaning dog’s ears, their breed and ear shape are very important things to consider. Dogs with upright ears generally need cleaning of their ears once a month.
But dogs with floppy ears, especially Labradors, need regular cleaning. Other breeds with floppy ears are basset hounds, beagles, and cocker spaniels.
These breeds do not have the best ear shape when it comes to their health and hygiene. Their floppy ears with thick hair gather more dust and dirt, and so there is more build-up of wax in the ears.
The ear shape impedes airflow; this explains why there is greater build-up of bacteria and wax. Floppy ears are also perfect for ear mites to reside thus increasing the chances of Labrador ear infection.
Things to know when cleaning your Dog’s Ear for the First time
If you have never cleaned your dog’s ear then you better practice first. You do not want either your dog running away from you or you hurting your dog’s ear. Here is a step-by-step approach when you are cleaning your dog’s ear for the first time.
- The first step for you is just touching and stroking your dog’s ear softly so that they get used to you touching their ear and do not try running away from you when you start to clean their cleaning.
- Before you start cleaning your dog’s ear, make sure you have all the necessary cleaning tools within your reach.
- Next, you have to flip the ear open with one hand and take the cleaner on the other hand.
- If your dog stumbles and does not let you clean their ear, start over with step 1. Remember to stay patient.
- When you have cleaned both the ears, chances are your dog must not have liked the whole process. Pat their body and reward them with some yummy treat.
How to Clean the Dog’s Ear
Gather the necessary supplies
To clean your dog’s ears, you must have cotton balls and an ear cleaning solution. You can easily find a good ear cleaning solution for your dog. Before buying one, make sure to check the ingredeints and see there are no harsh substances in it.
Do not use cotton buds for cleaning your dog’s ear. Cotton buds will not only irritate the inner walls of the ear but will also push the ear wax further inside which can damage the eardrum.
You can also make your own ear cleaning solution if you wish to. Simply mix alcohol and white vinegar in equal parts. White vinegar and alcohol are enough to cut through the ear wax residue and clean the ears. Make sure to use organic vinegar.
Get to work on cleaning your dog’s ears
One thing to keep in mind is that your dog will inevitably shake their head during the cleaning process, so you must do the task outside or in a room where it is easy for you to clean all the water and dog hair. Here is how to properly your dog’s ears.
- To begin with the cleaning, you need to apply some generous amount of the ear cleaning solution into the ear canal of your dog.
- Then you have to massage the base of the ear so that the cleaning solution goes deeper down the ear canal. If your dog is sensitive to the cleaning solution going down in the ear canal, soak cotton balls in the cleaning solution and use the soaked cotton balls to clean the ear.
- At this point, you can stand back and let your dog shake their head to remove the extra solution from the ear.
- Once your dog is done shaking their head, use cotton balls to gently soak the excess of the solution from the ear.
- Gently wipe away any loose debris on the surface of the ear.
- If there is a lot of debris and dirt coming from your dog’s ear, then you have to repeat the process again to ensure that your dog’s ears are thoroughly and properly cleaned.
Now that you know how often to clean out your dog’s ear and the proper way for cleaning, start prepping for cleaning your dog’s ear. Once your dog gets into the habit of regular cleaning of ears it probably won’t seem too hard.