How to Clean Your Dog's Ears
Your veterinarian may recommend routinely cleaning your dog's ears as an important way to reduce the chance of ear infections and excess wax buildup. Ear cleaning is fairly simple. Koja posed for pictures to help show how easy it is!
Step 1: The Right Supplies
Here's what you need:
- Ear cleaner recommended by your veterinarian --We usually recommend Epi-Otic Advanced (Virbac) ear cleaner. Occasionally we prefer a different cleaner for certain conditions, so check with your vet first.
- Large cotton balls or pieces of cotton from a roll
Step 2: Apply Ear Cleaner
Pour a liberal amount of ear cleaner into the ear canal. If your dog is nervous about the bottle near his head, then just saturate a piece of cotton with the ear cleaner and squeeze it into the ear canal. Most dogs don't mind this.
Step 3: Massage and Dry Now massage the ear gently. You can feel the cartilage of the ear canal just below the ear. You should massage this area, too. Most dogs love this step. Koja is so happy to get an ear massage!
Next, take some dry cotton and place it over your finger tip. Gently swab away any liquid and debris from the opening of the ear canal. Keep repeating this step with clean cotton until it comes away from the ear dry and clean.
Don't worry if your dog starts to shake his head during the cleaning. The shaking is normal and will loosen more debris. Just wipe it away with clean cotton.
Even if your vet does not recommend using ear cleaner for your dog, it is always a good idea to dry the ears with cotton after swimming or bathing to prevent ear infections. For more information about ear problems in dogs, please read our
Ear Problems Handout on our website.
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