Dirty ears

EAR CLEANING

If your dog’s ears smell and he is pawing at its ears or shakes its head often, this is an indication of an ear problem. Best to be seen by your vet; could be an ear infection or a yeast infection.

Certain dogs have allergies and red ears are an indicator.

Cleaning ears: use pet store ear cleaner that isn’t alcohol based as this can sting if open cuts are in the ear from scratching. If your dog has hairy ears the hair may needed to be plucked and trimmed so your dog’s ear can breathe.  Plucking to excess can also be detrimental and irritate the ears. Trimming ear hair may be easier using blunt-end scissors; be careful not to nick the skin. Make sure no hairs fall further down the ear canal.

After removing hair (if needed) you can now clean the ear.

Use a few drops of the ear cleaner on the inside flap of the ear, not too much so it doesn’t run down into the ear canal. Then rub the dog’s ear working the drops into the ear.

Use gauze or cotton balls and wipe away brown waxy debris.  

Let the dog shake its head, this will loosen up more debris. If a lot of debris is in the canal use a Q tip. Wet the tip of the Q tip with clean cleaner and then very carefully go a little further down into the ear. The Q tips are good for digging debris out of the crevices. You don’t go too far down the canal or you could damage the ear drum.
If there is a lot of debris still, an ear flushing may need to be done by your Veterinarian.