Dog Ear Cleaning

Although many pet dogs don't require too much grooming time, there are certain things that you should not overlook when it comes to caring for your dog. Whether your dog has long hair or short, you will still need to clips the dog's nails, give it at least an occassional bath, brush its teeth, take it to the vet regularly, and feed it the proper food to maintain good health. It is also important to give dogs some exercise every day to avoid obesity and behavioral problems.

It can be easy to forget to take care of certain tasks relating to your dog's health, however. One example of this has to do with cleaning your dog's ears. You may not have given it much thought before, but even a dog that looks perfectly healthy could have dirty ears that need to be cleaned out. Neglected to take care of your dog's ears could lead to health problems over time including ear infections.

Although many groomers will wash your dog's ears for you, you might prefer to do this task at home yourself. It only takes a few minutes, and you will save money and avoid hassle by simply taking care of the cleaning at home.

To clean your dog's ears at home, follow these steps:

1. 1. Use a bottle of ear wash made especially for dogs. You can find this ear wash as most pet stores, or from your veterinarian.
2. 2. Apply ear wash to a cotton ball. Although humans often use cotton swabs to clean their ears, this is not always safe for dogs because they can get injured if the swab goes too deep into the ear canal.
3. 3. Wipe the inside of the dog's ear with the soaked cotton ball, picking up any visible dirt that might be stuck. Be gentle and be sure not to try to clean too deep into the ear canal. Repeat with a new cotton ball is needed.
4. 4. Make sure the insides of your dog's ears get dry. You can fold back your dog's earflaps for a few minutes to allow air to dry out the inside of the ear.

Keeping your dog's ears clean is fairly simple, and if you remember to do it regularly you can help avoid health issues in the future. If, however, you notice that your dog's ears have strange build-up, mites, or a bad smell, take the dog to the vet as soon as possible instead of trying to clean the ears on your own.