Importance of Regular Home Dog Ear Care
Routine home dog ear care is very important to the health ofyour dog. Performed between your regular checkups with theveterinarian, it will help keep your dog’s ears healthy and painfree. If you see signs of trouble you may be able to head themoff before they require an extra visit to the vet. Excessivewax, foul odor, redness, constant scratching, excessive mattingof hair in the external ear, rubbing the ears against otherobjects, head shaking, and disorientation can all be signs ofear problems.
Inspect Your Dog’s Ears Regularly By Using Your Eyes & YourNose!
By performing a home dog ear care inspection; you will beable to detect problems early. Use both your eyes and your nose.If you need help seeing inside your dog’s ears you may want toinvest in a pet scope. A tool very similar to the kind yourdoctor uses to check your ears. Check for redness, excessive waxbuild up or any other foreign matter.
Sniffing your dog’s ears is another way to detect problemsearly. Normally a dog’s ears shouldn’t smell foul in any way. Ifyou see a dark waxy discharge this may be a sign of ear mites.On the other hand, if you see a pus-like discharge along with afoul smell this may be a sign of a bacterial infection.Allergies are also known to cause some dogs to have smelly ears.If you’re new to this and are unsure have the vet check yourdog’s ears. Right after the vet gives your dog a clean bill ofhealth make sure you inspect your dog’s ears. This way you willlearn how your pet’s ears should normally look and smell.
Is Your Breed of Dog More Susceptible To Dog Ear CareProblems?
Due to the warm, damp, and dark environment, as well as poorair circulation, your dog’s ear canal can be the prefectbreeding ground for mites, yeast or bacterial infection. This iswhy, for certain breeds, home dog ear care is even moreimportant. Some pets may require routine applications of dog earcare products to keep their ears free of mites, yeast orbacterial infections.
Some dog’s ears stand straight up which allows for more air toflow into the ear canal. Dogs with floppy ears, like spanielsand bloodhounds, are very prone to ear infections because verylittle air flows into their ear canals. There are also breeds,like the Lhasa, that have a heavy growth of hair inside theirears. This hair must be routinely removed as a preventionagainst chronic ear problems.
If Excess Ear Hair Is A Dog Ear Care Problem Learn How ToRemove It
If you suspect that excess ear hair is a problem, you mayneed to pluck the hair that grows inside your dog’s ears. Thisis a routine dog ear care task that can be performed at home andis much easier then it sounds. You will want to apply dog earpowder to the inside of both ears. Make sure that the hair iscompletely covered, especially at the base. Once the powder hasdried start plucking a few hairs at a time with your fingers ora tweezers. Plucking just a few hairs at a time will be lessirritating for the dog.
You may want to stop a few times to give your dog’s ears agood rub. Make sure you give your dog lots of praise and a fewdog treats too. Once all the inside hair has been removed,follow up by cleaning and inspecting the ears. If you are unsureabout this dog ear care procedure, have your vet or aprofessional groomer show you how to do it.
Things You Should Know About Cleaning Your Dog’s Ears
Some vets recommend that owners routinely flush their dog’sears with warm water at the slightest hint of odor. Other homedog ear care cleaning remedies include mineral oil, hydrogenperoxide, or a combination of equal parts of vinegar and rubbingalcohol. If your dog has open sores its best not to use thevinegar and alcohol because it will cause a burning sensation.
If your dog is prone to ear infections you may want to use apet ear care product that is specifically formulated to cleanand dry up excess moisture in the ear canal. A dog ear washcontaining Tea Tree Oil, which is also formulated to dry the earcanal is an excellent choice. Tea Tree Oil’s natural antiseptic,antibacterial and fungicidal properties can help keep your dog’sears problem free.
It’s also a good idea to use a pet ear-drying agent afterbathing or swimming especially if your dogs ears retainmoisture and dont dry promptly. There are many good pet earcare products available for routine ear cleaning that willdissolve wax, remove foreign debris and dry the ear canal. Thereare also home dog care treatments available that will kill peskyear mites and ear ticks.
A dog’s ear canal is L-shaped. It descends vertically and itmakes a 90-degree horizontal turn before it reaches the eardrum.Even though your dog’s eardrum is better protected than ahuman’s, you should still proceed with caution when cleaning theear canal. Many vets urge caution when inserting anything intothe ear canal, especially cotton-tipped swabs. They can actuallypush dirt and foreign matter deeper into the ear if not handledproperly. You can even lose the cotton tip in the ear canal.
Start cleaning the external part of the ear by swabbinginside the earflaps and all around the gnarled area at theentrance of the ear canal. If you choose to use a cotton-tippedswab you will need a long type since a dog’s ear canal is muchdeeper than ours. If your dog will tolerate it, gently andcarefully swab the inside of the ear canal. A much safer methodis to fill the ear canal with a pet ear cleaning solution andgently massage the outer ear. After a few minutes allow your dogto shake his head to help clear the ear canal. If you’re using acommercial pet ear care product be sure to follow theinstructions carefully.
Make Ear Inspections An Important Part Of Your Home Dog EarCare Routine
Checking your dog’s ears only takes a few minutes so make ita part of your dog grooming routine. And when your dog’s earsneed a cleaning don’t put it off. Remember regular cleanings canprevent many common ear problems. If you think a problem may bedeveloping that is beyond the scope of your home dog ear careroutine, take your dog to the vet for a check up immediately. Aninfection, if left untreated, can be very painful for your dogand could even damage your dog’s hearing.
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