Taking care of your pets ears

Ear cleaning is an essential part of a dog’s basic grooming routine and all dogs should have their ears cleaned from time to time.

Some dogs will require more frequent and thorough cleaning than others, especially those prone to ear infections.

Why should you clean your dog’s ears?

• Whether they are long and floppy or stick straight up, dog ears are clearly very different from their human parent counterparts. Ranging from 5 to 10cm, dogs have deep ear canals which have a right-angled, L-shape bend. This makes it easy for dirt to get into their ears and almost impossible for dogs to remove it on their own.

• A dog’s ear canal is also warm, dark and moist, the perfect breeding ground for bacteria, so debris in the ear often causes ear infections and your dog may injure itself trying to deal with the irritation.

How often should you clean your dog’s ears?

• Healthy dog ears do not have much of an odour beyond their normal dog smell. Dirty dog ears can smell anywhere from vaguely yeasty to decidedly smelly. These bad odours are a sign that your dog’s ears need a cleaning.

• When inspecting your dog’s ears, it should be clean and pink, with a light coating of wax. The wax should be a pale, yellowish colour. If your dog’s ears are red or if there is a layer of black or brown waxy discharge, it is time to grab the cleanser.

• Be careful though, there is such a thing as too much cleaning. Over cleaning your dog’s ears strips away the natural wax, which can also lead to problems, so only clean your dog’s ears on an as-needed basis.

Step-by-step process

• If your dog has very red, itchy, inflamed and painful ears, consult your vet before you start cleaning. It is quite likely your dog has an ear infection, so ear cleaning will not do much good at this point. If your dog has an infection severe enough to damage the eardrum, some ear cleaners can damage the ear further so you need to be careful.

• Ear cleaning can be a messy job too, so find somewhere in the house that is easy to clean and avoid wearing your best Prada for an ear clean.

• Cleaning your dog’s ear is pretty straightforward and with a little patience and training, it can be an enjoyable experience for your dog. Learning how to clean your dog’s ears properly at home will help your dog stay healthy and happy.

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