Dogs
By Suzanne Alicie
As a responsible pet owner, you want to do everything you can to make sure your dog has a long, happy and healthy life. You take your dog to the vet for checkups and vaccinations, you treat him for fleas and ticks, you groom him and keep him clean and brushed – but one area you may be missing is your dog’s ears.
Besides impacting your dog’s hearing, dirty ears can have an effect on his general health. Ear wax build up, ear mites and ear infections can occur if you don’t properly care for your dog’s ears. Basic cleaning and care will eliminate these problems before they occur. Think of cleaning your dog’s ears as preventative maintenance. The same as brushing their coat daily will prevent mats from forming, proper ear care will stop ear problems from happening.
In order to properly care for and clean a dog’s ears, it is important to realize that the dog’s ear canal is different than that of a human’s ear. The dog’s ear has two compartments. The opening of the ear canal is called the vertical canal. This compartment travels downward toward the dog’s jaw line. Then it makes a sharp turn and becomes a horizontal canal toward the ear drum. These compartments make dog’s ears prone to infection and can make treatment and cleaning properly more difficult.
Cleaning your dog’s ears is fairly simple and can be demonstrated in detail by a vet or groomer so that you can learn to do it yourself. However, often plucking the hair that grows into the ear canal is necessary and if you aren’t comfortable taking a pair of tweezers to your dog’s ear it is best that you turn this task over to a professional. When discussing ear care with your vet or groomer, you will also want to ask what they consider the best canine ear cleaner to prevent bacteria, prevent infection and promote ear wax removal. Most groomers and vets advise an ear flush anytime your dog is bathed or goes swimming. The acid base will help dry water in the ear canal to prevent your dog from suffering from “swimmers ear.”
For the exterior canal (the visible part) of your dog’s ear, you can simply swab the area with a cotton ball soaked in ear cleaner or basic soap and water. Never delve deeply into your dog’s ear canal with a cotton swab or other long instrument; you could cause your dog severe pain and injury if you don’t know what you are doing. If you suspect a deeply embedded irritant or clump of wax, take your dog to a professional.
With proper ear care, situations such as ear mites, wax build up and infection will be rare. However, it is important to know the signs that your dog is having an ear issue. The common indications are shaking his head or scratching his ear and a bad odor coming from the ears. When you recognize these symptoms, it is important to take your dog to the vet for treatment as these can signify a yeast infection, something embedded in the ear canal, ear mites, infection or other ear irritations.
Read more articles by Suzanne Alicie
- How To Get Rid Of Ear Mites
By Linda Cole Ear mites are microscopic, white crab-like critters that invade a cat or dog's ear canal. Their diet consists of ear wax and debris in your pet's ears. You can see ear mites with the naked eye, but you have to look closely. Where...
- Dog Ear Problems
The dog ear is divided into three parts as the pinna, the middle ear and the inner ear. The outer ear or flap forms the pinna. The pinna helps capture sound waves. The middle ear processes the sound waves captured by the pinna. It consist of the...
- Dog Ear Infection Symptoms
Being one of the common dog health problems, ear infection can cause severe pain and inflammation of the ear. Dogs can suffer from three types of ear infection, otitis externa or infection of the outer ear, otitis media or infection of the middle...
- Ear Infections In Dogs
Ear infections in dogs are common and can easily go unnoticed by most owners. These infections are mostly the outcome of the buildup of microorganisms such as yeast and bacteria in the outer ear canal. How Do You Know if Your Dog Has An Ear Infection...
- Dog Ear Infection Treatment
Canine ear infections are one of the most common dog health problems that usually manifests as redness and swelling of the ear with ear discharge and strong odor. Generally, ear infections are of three type, otitis externa, otitis media and otitis...
Dogs
Caring for Your Dog’s Ears
As a responsible pet owner, you want to do everything you can to make sure your dog has a long, happy and healthy life. You take your dog to the vet for checkups and vaccinations, you treat him for fleas and ticks, you groom him and keep him clean and brushed – but one area you may be missing is your dog’s ears.
Besides impacting your dog’s hearing, dirty ears can have an effect on his general health. Ear wax build up, ear mites and ear infections can occur if you don’t properly care for your dog’s ears. Basic cleaning and care will eliminate these problems before they occur. Think of cleaning your dog’s ears as preventative maintenance. The same as brushing their coat daily will prevent mats from forming, proper ear care will stop ear problems from happening.
In order to properly care for and clean a dog’s ears, it is important to realize that the dog’s ear canal is different than that of a human’s ear. The dog’s ear has two compartments. The opening of the ear canal is called the vertical canal. This compartment travels downward toward the dog’s jaw line. Then it makes a sharp turn and becomes a horizontal canal toward the ear drum. These compartments make dog’s ears prone to infection and can make treatment and cleaning properly more difficult.
Cleaning your dog’s ears is fairly simple and can be demonstrated in detail by a vet or groomer so that you can learn to do it yourself. However, often plucking the hair that grows into the ear canal is necessary and if you aren’t comfortable taking a pair of tweezers to your dog’s ear it is best that you turn this task over to a professional. When discussing ear care with your vet or groomer, you will also want to ask what they consider the best canine ear cleaner to prevent bacteria, prevent infection and promote ear wax removal. Most groomers and vets advise an ear flush anytime your dog is bathed or goes swimming. The acid base will help dry water in the ear canal to prevent your dog from suffering from “swimmers ear.”
For the exterior canal (the visible part) of your dog’s ear, you can simply swab the area with a cotton ball soaked in ear cleaner or basic soap and water. Never delve deeply into your dog’s ear canal with a cotton swab or other long instrument; you could cause your dog severe pain and injury if you don’t know what you are doing. If you suspect a deeply embedded irritant or clump of wax, take your dog to a professional.
With proper ear care, situations such as ear mites, wax build up and infection will be rare. However, it is important to know the signs that your dog is having an ear issue. The common indications are shaking his head or scratching his ear and a bad odor coming from the ears. When you recognize these symptoms, it is important to take your dog to the vet for treatment as these can signify a yeast infection, something embedded in the ear canal, ear mites, infection or other ear irritations.
Read more articles by Suzanne Alicie
- How To Get Rid Of Ear Mites
By Linda Cole Ear mites are microscopic, white crab-like critters that invade a cat or dog's ear canal. Their diet consists of ear wax and debris in your pet's ears. You can see ear mites with the naked eye, but you have to look closely. Where...
- Dog Ear Problems
The dog ear is divided into three parts as the pinna, the middle ear and the inner ear. The outer ear or flap forms the pinna. The pinna helps capture sound waves. The middle ear processes the sound waves captured by the pinna. It consist of the...
- Dog Ear Infection Symptoms
Being one of the common dog health problems, ear infection can cause severe pain and inflammation of the ear. Dogs can suffer from three types of ear infection, otitis externa or infection of the outer ear, otitis media or infection of the middle...
- Ear Infections In Dogs
Ear infections in dogs are common and can easily go unnoticed by most owners. These infections are mostly the outcome of the buildup of microorganisms such as yeast and bacteria in the outer ear canal. How Do You Know if Your Dog Has An Ear Infection...
- Dog Ear Infection Treatment
Canine ear infections are one of the most common dog health problems that usually manifests as redness and swelling of the ear with ear discharge and strong odor. Generally, ear infections are of three type, otitis externa, otitis media and otitis...