Our boy has good ears, thankfully. Probably cos he doesn't like to submerge himself in water, only wades. So his ears never get really wet. But a few weeks ago he was scratching his ear and shaking his head. So I took out the special ear cleaner I'd bought from the vet. I followed the instructions to insert a few drops into the ear. Well, my boy did not like that! But he was quite happy for me to do this: I put a few drops on some cottonwool and then screwed the cottonwool into a stick shape and twizzled it in his ear. A lot of gunk came up and my boy seemed much relieved. I did this for a few days and it cleared up beautifully, ears back to pink and cool. The question is: how often should I clean his ears with this ear cleaner? I give them a cursory wipe with a dry towel every time he's been in the pool, which is about three times a day (not swimming, just wading). But that ear cleaner for dogs is potent stuff! I learned first hand: I was rushing out one day and needed to put some drops in my eyes to wet my contact lenses. Grabbed what I thought was the contact lens wetting solution and put a drop in one eye. Oh my word, the pain! Felt like I had seared my eye and took about an hour to recover (flushed out with water and saline for about 30 minutes). It was the ear cleaner drops, meant for dissolving debris in the ear. So I'm wondering if it is too harsh to use as a daily ear cleaner? What do you all do wrt to ear cleaning? Thanks!
Re: How often to clean ears? I would only use the ear cleaner if he is shaking his head and looking like he has an infection. In fact, if that were the case I would probably take him to the vets. The only ear cleaning I do is very gentle wiping of the outer ear with a cotton bud if they are looking a bit mucky.
Re: How often to clean ears? I've never cleaned Riley's ears. Like ours I figure they're pretty self regulating. Only to be messed with if they have an infection or have shown that they get recurrent problems and need a helping hand. In that case I'd be guided by my vet as to how frequently to clean or what signs to look out for. Hope your boys ears stay nice and clear
Re: How often to clean ears? It's not all that normal for a dog to have very dirty ears - they have a self cleaning mechanism. Cleaners keep the ear wet, which isn't a very desirable state, so best avoided unless really necessary. If your dog is getting gunky ears, I'd check with your vet. There could be a problem, or a simple reason - eg a few extra hairs that are trapping wax or something like that. Or just a small oddity in the shape of the ear. My boy is prone to yeast problems in his ears and we clean with a cleaner once a week which keep the Ph levels right and this prevents problems. This has been quite a long process of trial and error - the dermatologist would prefer us to not clean his ears at all, but if we don't, we get problems. It's not the process of removing wax that keeps the problems at bay though, it's the Ph levels in the cleaner that helps.
Re: How often to clean ears? I clean megs ears every so often, but only the underside of her ear flap. She does love to roll (I know, she's 14 ) and seems to get mud on the inside of the flap. Her actual ear canal stays fairly clean but if it does look a bit dirty I use canaural, recommended by vet. It's quite a gentle cleaner.
Re: How often to clean ears? Thanks everyone for your comments. My vet recommended the ear cleaner when I'd taken him for something else (5 months ago) and mentioned that he had been shaking his head every now and then. The vet checked his ears and said one had a mild infection that was easily fixed with the ear cleaner, nothing else needed. He put some drops into his ear in his rooms and thereafter there was no further head shaking, so I decided -- as I've read from your posts -- that it was best not to mess with something that didn't need fixing. The vet actually recommended the ear cleaner as a regular cleaner, but after discussing with my husband, we thought it best not to be putting drops into ears when none were needed. The instructions on the bottle are to put in a few drops every day! A few weeks ago, as I mentioned, he was shaking his head again. I followed the instructions that my vet had provided five months previously, to use the ear cleaner, and the "bad" ear cleared up. He was nipped on his ear (about 5 months ago) and my vet reckoned that a drop of blood can cause an infection (when I'd asked him then what he thought caused the infection). I actually had no idea how much ears bleed, it took about a day to stop oozing blood. The other dog's tooth had almost pierced the thicker part of the fold. It is now that ear that is the "bad" ear, ie the one that had the gunk when I was cleaning it out. If the head shaking comes back, I will take him to the vet. Thanks all!
Re: How often to clean ears? My last lab would get very dirty ears and recurring ear mites so we cleaned her ears regularly otherwise the head shaking would start and the wax/dirt would build up and it had a very distinctive smell. If she did have a bad flare up we would also have a prescribed medicine to drop in her ears. Our vet said she had very narrow ear canals?! She got used to her monthly routine and when she saw the ear cleaner & cotton wool she would happily oblige as she knew that a tasty pigs ear would follow as a treat!! Most dogs don't need a regular ear cleaning routine though unless they have problems so I would just observe and if it appears to be recurring speak with your vet who will advise the best routine to stick too.
Re: How often to clean ears? Had a similar issue with Jake but the one thing i really noticed a few days ago was golf ball sized lump on his neck it was an enlarged lyphm gland which acts as gate to stop an infection in the ear for instance travelling to the the rest of the body . Thankfully he did not have any infection just a build up off wax and gunk we are currently using Surolan only to used for 7-10 days then it expires after 30 days of been opened , He did recommend picking up an ear cleaner form the local pet shop to help clean out the ear 2-3 times a week and once my wife and i are happy that Jakes ears are nice and clean cease using . And if and when we suspect that the issue has returned then go back and see him and he will take another look . Mike
Re: How often to clean ears? Thanks Mike and Nicola for your comments. Nicola, Snowie also doesn't mind the ear cleaning; in fact he'd twitch his ear up to provide easy access! And he didn't get a treat after -- I'd better not tell him about the pig's ear! Mike, I thought it might be interesting to also include the name of the product: CleanEar. Very creative!! These are the ingredients: Malic acid, Benzoic acid, Salicylic acid, Docusate sodium - in an aqueous/propylene glycol base. It says to instil 5 - 10 drops into each ear twice a day, massage gently to assist breakup of debris, and then use cotton wool to remove excess wax and debris. It says it cleans the ear, normalises the pH, and by removal of wax and debris, allows better penetration of antibodies and miticides. Mike, I hope Jake's ears clear up quickly and that the lump goes away quickly, too.
Re: How often to clean ears? [quote author=MF link=topic=7844.msg110413#msg110413 date=1410980717] These are the ingredients: Malic acid, Benzoic acid, Salicylic acid, Docusate sodium - in an aqueous/propylene glycol base. [/quote] Sounds like it could have welded your contact lens to your eyeball
Re: How often to clean ears? [quote author=drjs@5 link=topic=7844.msg110453#msg110453 date=1410985375] [quote author=MF link=topic=7844.msg110413#msg110413 date=1410980717] These are the ingredients: Malic acid, Benzoic acid, Salicylic acid, Docusate sodium - in an aqueous/propylene glycol base. [/quote] Sounds like it could have welded your contact lens to your eyeball [/quote] All that acid, amazing it didn't affect my eye more -- just bloodshot for the day. Perhaps my contact lens protected my retina. And of course flushing my eye for 30 minutes with saline and water. But really makes you think twice about putting these pharmaceutical substances into and onto our dogs. I do avoid most chemicals (anti-flea liquids, flea sprays for bedding, etc) and rely mostly on my trusty apple cider vinegar, which works wonders for minor itches, abrasions, hotspots, etc, and my boy doesn't mind the vinegar one bit.
Re: How often to clean ears? When mine get wet ears after a swim then I dry them as well as I can because previous dogs have had problems more with wet ears becoming infected than dirt. I only ever use cleaner supplied by my vet nothing off the shelf, if anything goes wrong I like to know the vet knows what is in the treatment to deal with it.
Re: How often to clean ears? [quote author=Julie1962 link=topic=7844.msg110557#msg110557 date=1411034087] I only ever use cleaner supplied by my vet nothing off the shelf, if anything goes wrong I like to know the vet knows what is in the treatment to deal with it. [/quote] Such a good point. This EarCleaner came from my vet. I also don't buy anything off the shelf to treat my boy (except the apple cider vinegar), but it is amazing how our boy's "medicine cabinet" has become so full of all the stuff that the vet has sold us over the past 2.5 years. Every time I've been there I am sold yet another lotion or potion. My original vet (I subsequently go to someone else) used to always make sure I left with a full bag of stuff. And of course I was such soft-sell, never refusing anything for my boy! I now try to ask more questions and make absolutely sure an item is necessary.
Re: How often to clean ears? lump has shrunk to normal size for his glands which happened in less than 24 hrs and all is well . Mike
Re: How often to clean ears? [quote author=Mike link=topic=7844.msg110664#msg110664 date=1411058368] lump has shrunk to normal size for his glands which happened in less than 24 hrs and all is well . Mike [/quote] So glad to hear, Mike.
Re: How often to clean ears? When Penny went in for speying I mentioned she shakes her head when she barks so could they have look down her ears while she was under sedation. When I went to pick her up they said her ears were fine but gave me so cleanaural anyway. The instruction label said to use it 2-3 times a week but not for how long and they said nothing about getting her ears checked again. I used it once a week for two weeks but I wasn't getting anything out so I don't think there's anything wrong with her ears - they probably just gave it to me to shut me up! Lol The fact that you did get gunk out of your dogs ears says to me that he did need them cleaning, but it could just have been a one off. If he keeps getting a persistent build up or they seem sore and inflamed I would get it checked out properly
