Ear Care

TAKING CARE OF YOUR DOG'S EARS

EAR CARE

Dogs' ears are rather prone to all kinds of ailments, and indeed, various ear infections are one of the most common reasons for visiting the vet. Lop-eared breeds in particular are prone to ear infections, so their ears must be cared regularly. Ears can be cleaned with a special ear cleaning product. A small amount of cleaning product is poured into the dog's ear canal. As the dog will generally dislike this, you should have your dog in a calm but firm grip. After the cleaning product has been applied, the dog will shake its head, which will detach the dirt from the ear canals. You can help to remove the dirt with a cotton ball with or without the cleaning product. Great care must be taken when cleaning the dogs ears - do not push the cotton ball too deep into the ear canal, as the dirt will only slide deeper into the canal. 

WHAT MAKES DOGS' EARS ITCHY? 

If your dog is scratching its ears and shaking its head, there could be many reasons behind it. The dog's ears could be infected, or it could have ear mites. Allergies can also cause ear infections. Ear mites are external parasites, and your vet will help you get rid of them. They are considerably more rare in dogs than in cats and they cause dry, cracked, reddish brown goo in the ear canal, that looks like coffee grounds. Regular ear cleaning helps with the prevention of ear mites, so that the ear mites would not have a chance to spread to the dog's outer ear.

EAR INFECTION

Ear infections are a common canine affliction with symptoms such as itching, bad smell, redness and dirt in the ear canals. Ear infections are commonly caused be caused by yeast, bacteria, fungi or ear mites. Lop-eared dogs with long earlobes and dogs that have excessive hair growth in the ear canals, are more prone to ear infections than others. Scratching can lead to scabs on the inner surface of the ears. If your dogs ears are infected, a vet will help you treat them.

An ear infection can be one of the symptoms of an allergy. An allergy can show up in dogs at any age and be caused by various allergens such as food ingredients, dust, mold spores, grass, cleaning products or cigarette smoke. Cleaning your dog's ears regularly is a great prevention against ear infection. Also, dogs who tend to swim a lot are more prone to ear infections and therefore their ears should always be dried properly after swimming.