Cleaning the dog's ears is a behavior that we should carry out on a regular basis, since it is not difficult and is very important for our canine friends.
We have to bear in mind that this is a delicate area and we must do it with the greatest care in the world. In this article on our site we tell you everything you need to know about how to clean a dog's ears.
Why is it important to clean a dog's ears?
Cleaning our dog's ears is a fundamental part of canine hygiene, since constant cleaning of the dog's ear can prevent various infectionsCanine otitis is a great example of an inflammation that can appear due to not cleaning our canine friend's ear properly.
On serious occasions, if the ear is very dirty or has some kind of infection, not cleaning our dog's ears can even lead to deafness. In this way, it is very important to remove dirt from the ear through good hygiene as we will see below.
What can I clean my dog's ears with?
We must gather all the materials we may need to clean a dog's ears properly:
- Sterile Gauzes
- Dog ear cleaner or saline
- Gloves
We can choose to use saline solution or an ear cleaner that we can find in any pet store. It is preferable that the product has a neutral pH, in any case we recommend seeking advice from the veterinarian. It is also advisable to apply sterile gauze, since the cotton can fray inside the ear of our canine friend and rot. In this way, in no case can we use cotton swabs.
How to clean a dog's ears step by step?
We will start by separating the hair that prevents us from accessing the ear and removing dead hair. In principle, if we take regular care, we will not find excessive dirt in this first stage. Here we explain how to clean a dog's ears step by step:
- Using gloves, shake the ear cleaner and squirt it into the ear.
- Apply gentle movements to the outside of the ear.
- Let our canine friend shake.
- Using sterile gauze we insert our fingers into the dog's ear little by little, without overdoing it.
- We massage the inside of the ear with the gauze, little by little and taking care that our dog does not move.
- We change gauze and use a new one for the other ear.
Can I clean my dog's ears with hydrogen peroxide or alcohol?
If you don't have the products mentioned above, you can use a mixture of drinking water with hydrogen peroxide to clean the ears of your dog, as long as it is not in excess because you could cause irritation. In the case of alcohol to clean a dog's ears, it is better not to use it, since it can irritate the canine's ears and can cause inflammation in his ears.
In this way, it is better to use specific preparations that we can find in any pet store. Also, if you have any questions we always recommend consulting your veterinary clinic before using any product.
Can I clean my dog's ears with vinegar or chamomile?
As explained above, if you don't have an ear cleaner for dogs or saline, you can use a mixture of drinking water with vinegar or cold chamomileto clean your dog's ears, as long as it is not excessive. We remind you that it is preferable to consult a veterinarian.
If you want to visually see how to clean a dog's ears step by step, we leave you a video below.
How often do you clean a dog's ears?
Maintaining a routine cleaning of our dog's ears is essential to avoid infections. To do this, it is recommended to check and clean the dog's ears once a week In the event that our dog's ear is not dirty and does not have bad smell, no cleaning necessary. The time to bathe our canine friend can be the ideal time to clean his ears.
Dogs with floppy ears or those that tend to accumulate dead hair in their ears, such as poodles, schnauzers, cockers and basset hounds, must follow a very strict hygiene routine to avoid infections. Depending on the breed and shape of the ears, you should be more constant in the routine cleaning of your dog's ears, otherwise he could often get infections.
