# Do You Clean Your Dogs Ears



## Lee H Sternberg (Jan 27, 2008)

I only had one dog that I ever cleaned his ears. That was because he was prone to infections. None of my other dogs ever seemed to have any ear problems what so ever.

If you do clean how often and what do you use?


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## Ashley Campbell (Jun 21, 2009)

I clean them if they get really grimy, this has been maybe once every 6 months or so, in fact, I just did this last night when I gave the smelly thing a bath - if they don't smell funky (yes I sniff the dogs ears if they look nasty) I just use hydrogen peroxide. If they smell funky, I get ear cleaning solution from the store.


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Lee H Sternberg said:


> I only had one dog that I ever cleaned his ears. That was because he was prone to infections. None of my other dogs ever seemed to have any ear problems what so ever.
> 
> If you do clean how often and what do you use?



If the ear is healthy, light pink inside (unless you have a breed that has another color like light spotted gray inside the flap), no inflammation, no debris in the canal (just the usual slight wax coming out onto the flap), no odor, then you never want to introduce moisture, which creates a yeast-friendly (and some kinds of bacteria) environment.

eta
If you ever did need to clean a dog's ear, I could describe an efficient (and the safest) method.


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## Nicole Stark (Jul 22, 2009)

Only if I'm not feeding the dog right.


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## ann schnerre (Aug 24, 2006)

i only clean them when they have dirty grime in the "loops and swirls", then i use peroxide, cosmetic pads and q-tips.

how often really depends on breed and individual dog; i've had dogs i think i only cleaned ears on once or twice in a life time, others, every month or so-and i've mostly had prick-eared dogs. so it just depends....

as connie said--if the ear is hot/red/swollen i use a product (novalsan otic) which is gentler than peroxide. but i've only had to use that on maybe 2 dogs.

connie--please do post your method, i'm sure it will come in handy for someone in the future if not the present!


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

When I have a new dog who came with ear infections, first I get the debris looked at so I know whether it's yeast or bacteria or both (and generally after that, I can pretty much tell, if it recurs, whether it looks/smells the same as the 'scoped first one). Then I use a product called Flush, which has (I think) three types (like the Malaseb Flush if it’s yeast). No Q-tips, no tools but the Flush and the dry cloth (or those disposable cosmetic pads that Ann mentioned). 

I do this near a door to the outside (or in the bathroom, or actually outside if weather permits) because there will be vigorous shaking-out-of-ear-stuff. I squirt in the Flush and fold down the ear flap and swoosh it around gently (and you will hear the swooshing sound); the Flush will foam in there. Then I let go and stand back. The dog WILL shake his head like crazy.

The debris will be moved from deep down towards the outside by the Flush combined with the vigorous shaking.

Then I take a cloth and gently wipe the debris and Flush from where it is now in the ear flap.

Then I do the Otomax drops in the now-visible canal opening. I have it shaken down into the applicator tube part of the bottle first so I’m not squeezing air into his ear and then having to do it again. I massage it around with my hand on the outer flap.


Then comes addressing what is triggering the ear infection.


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Lee H Sternberg said:


> I only had one dog that I ever cleaned his ears. That was because he was prone to infections. None of my other dogs ever seemed to have any ear problems what so ever.


Yes, a good general plan: leave a healthy ear alone.


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## Tammy St. Louis (Feb 17, 2010)

I clean my dogs about 2 times a yr with just a dry q tip and klenex,, except for my Dogue, in the summer she swims alot and gets lots of wax, in that case i have to clean her ears a couple times a week . moslty i just wipe out the wax, but if its really bad, I use PPP ear dry soulution.. works great, and one bottle lasts me like 10 yrs


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## ann schnerre (Aug 24, 2006)

connie-what's the dif between "flush" and peroxide as far as ingredients go? 

when i was raising catte and they got ear infections, i'd squirt, oh, 5 cc's of peroxide in the ear, then do the massage (dogs and calves groan with the massage and are conflicted about the bubbles; kind of amusing  ), turn loose and STAND BACK--pus and peroxide fly!!

it only took about 3-4 of these treatments, plus antibiotic injections to cure them.

one of the reasons i go with Otic vs peroxide with dogs that have infections, is that peroxide seems to have a less, IDK, "pus-loosening"? effect in dogs. perhaps (probably) due to different inner ear structure. speculation on my part-where's maren ? 

and of course, a prick-eared vs floppy-eared dog is another whole deal--cocker spaniels are the WORST for chronic ear infections, IME. but i haven't noticed anyone trialing a cocker on here, so....i digress.

so: what's in "flush"?
and tammy-what IS 'PPP'? haven't heard of it.


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

One of my GSDs gets water in his ear when swimming and shakes and hangs his head for a day but it never develops into anything. I leave it alone.
My KBTs were the only terriers that needed regular cleaning. they had a non shedding coat like a poodle and I had to pluck the hair out of their ears or else they would get infections occasionally. 
I do that now on a regular basis  ......Oh wait!.......:-k....we're talking about the dogs huh?! :-&:grin:;-)


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## Tammy St. Louis (Feb 17, 2010)

PPP is just a grooming product name , its a good brand


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## Joby Becker (Dec 13, 2009)

Ashley Campbell said:


> I clean them if they get really grimy, this has been maybe once every 6 months or so, in fact, I just did this last night when I gave the smelly thing a bath - if they don't smell funky (yes I sniff the dogs ears if they look nasty) I just use hydrogen peroxide. If they smell funky, I get ear cleaning solution from the store.


Do you generally sniff nasty looking things?


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## Joby Becker (Dec 13, 2009)

Bob...I noticed the hestitation, in your post...

Is this YOU?


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## Faisal Khan (Apr 16, 2009)

I clean (dog's) ears/clip nails once a month. Just take a paper towel and soak it with a 50/50 solution of vinegar/water from a squirt bottle and wipe the ears. No mess, no infections and the dog really enjoys it, it's like doggy porn to him.


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## susan tuck (Mar 28, 2006)

Lee H Sternberg said:


> I only had one dog that I ever cleaned his ears. That was because he was prone to infections. None of my other dogs ever seemed to have any ear problems what so ever.
> 
> If you do clean how often and what do you use?


Me too. When I had a dog that developed "yeasty" ears, when the ears would get "yeasty", I cleaned them the way Connie described. I have never used a Q Tip because it seems like I could do more damage than good, I'm kind of a klutz. I stick to twisting Kleenex into a wad, then using it to blot out the dirt that comes up after using "ear flush" to flush the ear.


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## Ashley Campbell (Jun 21, 2009)

Joby Becker said:


> Do you generally sniff nasty looking things?


Only if it's questionable 
Dead stuff, no, I imagine it does smell bad...my toddler when she wanders by, yes, better than chasing her down to determine if the diaper is volatile or not.


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Ann, I have to come back later to answer you. However, I do have bottles of both anti-yeast and the other one here and can tell you the exact active ingredients. (The anti-yeast one obviously has an anti-fungal.)


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## Alice Bezemer (Aug 4, 2010)

if i can avoid it i dont clean the ears but if it would be neccesary i use otoclean from the vets and no added stuff like cotton balls of qtips or such...just squirt it in slowly...close up ear and masage it into the earcanal and then run for cover !

only had to do this once when my dog came back from a stay at friends for a week and had earmite! 

nailclipping is another thing i never do...i just have them run up the hill out back of the house...has a concrete bikepath which takes care of their nails for them pretty damn efficiently...throw a ball up the path and nails get worked while having fun and building some musscle and stamina


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## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

ann schnerre said:


> speculation on my part-where's maren ? .


Awww, it's nice to be wanted. ;-) I just started my internal medicine block. Back to being busy. :roll: Blech.

To answer the question, I think the usual school of thought is to inspect them at least once a week for buildup of either discharge or smell. If they are naturally clean with no discharge or smell and a healthy (not bright red) pink, they shouldn't really need to be cleaned. Keeping it dry is great. If they do need to be cleaned (my husky/Rottweiler has had chronic ear infections and multiple deep ear flushes, so been there, done that), I like extra extra large cotton balls or wads (not q-tips). I don't like peroxide. Peroxide is not good for tissue healing in general, especially if it's inflamed. For general cleaning, I like the ones that have both a surfactant to help clean out the debris and drying agents to keep things dry.

If the ear is actually infected by a bacteria or fungal infection (REALLY really common), most vets have prescription products they prefer with antibacterial/antifungal agents, so get guidance from them as they'll be able to do a cytology and look for specific critters. But for routine cleaning, I have used Virbac Epi Optic and Derma Pet Ear/Skin Cleanser, which were both fine. There is also another product out there by Sogeval called Duoxo and I really liked their seborrhea shampoo, so I may try the ear cleanser too. Ah dermatology...


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

Joby Becker said:


> Bob...I noticed the hestitation, in your post...
> 
> Is this YOU?



DAMN! :-o I thought I got rid of those black rimmed glasses when Buddy Holly died.


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## Melissa Blazak (Apr 14, 2008)

I started using the blue power ear wash solution for a chronically yeasty ear and it has worked magic. I did get the ear cultured to determine what it was, but my holistic vet is not big on giving medication when it can be solved either by diet adjustment or a natural remedy.

You can make it at home.

1 bottle of isopropyl alcohol
4 T. boric acid powder
16 drops of gentian violet

The boric acid powder and gential violet I ordered from my pharmacy and it was not expensive.


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## Don Turnipseed (Oct 8, 2006)

Do prick eard dogs have a problem with yeast infections in there ears?


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## Don Turnipseed (Oct 8, 2006)

I have never washed my dogs ears or given them a bath in their entire life. If it is one of the dogs that comes in the house, I give them a good brushing occassionally and top it off with Gold Bond.


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## Melissa Blazak (Apr 14, 2008)

Unfortunately when you live with a poodle one of the facts of life is baths. And ear hair plucking. Although some do not pluck as much as I do.

Really it was the constant swimming all summer and into the end of October that made the ear hard to clean up. His other ear is fine. Go figure.

But this stuff works great!


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

Don Turnipseed said:


> Do prick eard dogs have a problem with yeast infections in there ears?



No where near the drop eared dogs but individuals can be prone to it. 
I've only had ongoing problems with a KBT bitch I had and she had all kinds of ear problems. Even taping for the show ring was a pia because I couldn't leave them pasted for long.
Her first cancer was in the ear canal. I later (of course) found out that her grandsire was a top cancer producer in the breed.


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## Nicole Stark (Jul 22, 2009)

Bob Scott said:


> I later (of course) found out that her grandsire was a top cancer producer in the breed.


Not that this dog was but that can be a bit of a draw back in using popular sires I think. Same thing happened to me with my first dogue. Lymphoma at 2 1/2 ears of age, her grandsire died from the same at 5.


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

I suspect it's all different breeders but show breeders in particular are often very secretive of problems their dogs may pass on. 
From Kerrys, Norwich, Border, Bull and JRT, I've seen that in all the terrier breeds I've owned. Not all my dogs (not a breeder) but all those breeds that I personally know of.


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