# how to clean a dog's ear??



## jd183 (Jul 22, 2011)

My dog's ear stinks. I think it needs to b cleaned. Can anyone suggest how to clean it?? Also suggest the *cleaner* that I should use. I am a lay man about this.

Also another problem that my dog stinks after 2 days of bathing. I think it is due to the ears. What do u say??


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## Tankstar (Dec 30, 2006)

are they dirty or infected? can you see stuff in them? I use baby wipes for my dogs. 
Smell can also be due to food, what do you feed? Does the dog have upright or floppy ears? breed(s) of dog?


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## jd183 (Jul 22, 2011)

yes I see dirty and stinky things inside.
We feed him Rice.
He has floppy ears.
Breed: Labradour(black, normal hair, floppy ears,straight tail)


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## lil_fuzzy (Aug 16, 2010)

I would get a cleaner from the vet. The ones at the pet stores often have acid in them. I tried the "best one" for my poodle x with ear issues, and she HATED it, she started resisting having her ears cleaned. But when I was using the stuff from the vet she was perfectly fine with it, so I went back to that.

I usually just fill the whole ear canal with the cleaner, massage the outside gently for 30 seconds, then wipe off the excess.


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## jd183 (Jul 22, 2011)

is there any dog perfume??


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## Deeken (Feb 14, 2011)

I think your dog needs to see a vet. If his ears are that stinky, they are likely infected and quite painful for him.


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## dmickle1 (Jun 19, 2011)

Deeken said:


> I think your dog needs to see a vet. If his ears are that stinky, they are likely infected and quite painful for him.


Agreed. Does he shake his head a lot, like his ears are bothering him? Or does he scratch or paw at his ears sometimes?

If you don't feel like a vet trip is necessary, you can try cleaning his ears once and monitoring them for several days. If they're still smelly or get gunky again, he may have mites or some other nasty ear infection that will need vet care to clear up.


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## RonE (Feb 3, 2007)

> We feed him Rice.


Exclusively?


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## jd183 (Jul 22, 2011)

RonE said:


> Exclusively?


no no. we feed rice,dal,potato and sometimes meat.


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## HerdersForMe (Jul 26, 2011)

jd183 said:


> no no. we feed rice,dal,potato and sometimes meat.


I don't mean to get off topic but your dog should be primarily eating meat...

Also stinky ears are a sign of an ear infection.


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## GodivaGirl (Sep 4, 2011)

Labs are prone to ear infections. It sounds like you need to see the vet. He/she will likely give you medication to clear up the infection and a medicated ear cleaner to use weekly. You really have to stay on top of the ear thing or the infection will come right back. If left untreated, it can lead to hearing loss. I speak from experience on this.


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## lil_fuzzy (Aug 16, 2010)

Also, have the vet take a sample of the gunk in the ears and look at it under the microscope.

Pixie has been treated with antibiotics regularly since I got her, and every time the gunk would clear up only to come back with a vengeance 2-3 weeks later. Last week we finally saw a different vet who looked at the gunk under the microscope and told us it's yeast, not bacterial, which means all the antibiotics she's been on would have only made it worse. I am now putting anti-fungal drops in her ears twice a day for two weeks and then the vet will check her ears again, and will repeat for another two weeks if it's not all gone. 

When it does clear up I will have to clean her ears out once a week for the rest of her life to keep on top of it.


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## lisahi (Jun 19, 2011)

Question in this topic... how do you get a puppy to sit still when you clean her ears?

Yesterday, I tried... it did not go well. She tried to bite the tip off the cue-tip. I eventually had to switch to a wash cloth but even then I know I didn't get much cleaning done.


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## lil_fuzzy (Aug 16, 2010)

If it's a small dog, place dog on lap, reach around it to hold the head/ear with your hand while pressing it against your body with your arm. The other hand squirts cleaner into the ear.


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## LuvMyAngels (May 24, 2009)

I grab the ear cleaning solution, Buster goes to hide. I quietly continue gathering cotton balls and treats (dont forget the treats!), Buster pouts across the room. I sit on the floor on the opposite side of the room, lay out what I need to get his ears cleaned and coax him over with treats. He quickly gives in and comes over within reach, I keep my hands to myself & give a treat (reward for coming to lay beside me). Soak a cotton ball, treat, wipe inside of the first ear making sure some of the solution drips down inside the ear. Massage ear & treat. Repeat with 2nd ear and...more treats! 

Forcing Buster to have his ears cleaned is not an option, he is FAR stronger than I am. So I opt to make it as rewarding for him as possible. It pays since I can clean his ears without him fussing or having more people to help. I try for once a week ear cleanings as part of his routine grooming. He doesnt like it but he doesnt fight me.


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## barqui (Sep 6, 2011)

My poodle had nasty black goopy stuff in her ears. I used a ear cleaner from the shop (called Sulfodene). And she hated it. The ear cleaner made her ears uncomfortable and she was waking up in the middle of the night to scratch her ears. They smelt really really bad. I took her to the vet and they discovered lots of yeast in her ears, this is because the ears are warm and dark places and the moisture contributed by the ear drops I used.

The vet prescribed some ear drops and told us to keep the ears dry. I could tell that the vet's ear drops are much better than the one I bought because she didn't make a huge fuss after I cleaned her ears. She was also on steroids and anti-itch medication. I thinks those helped relieve the itching. Now her ears have cleared up and don't stink/itch as much.


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## Caniche (Oct 1, 2011)

"She tried to bite the tip off the cue-tip. I eventually had to switch to a wash cloth but even then I know I didn't get much cleaning done."

I wouldn't use a cue-tip in my dogs ears, I think I could hurt them by doing that. 

I read that some fill the ears with a liquid, squash the ears the wipe the excess. It's the method I use. I also read not to do that and just wet a cotton ball with the stuff and wipe the ear. Maybe a professional groomer could enlighten us on that.

Personally if my dogs had strong odor coming from their ears I would get them to the vet.


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## jeffsrealm (Sep 21, 2011)

For Lab ears, they need cleaned once a week. I would have your vet show you how and get the solution form the vet. Cleaning ears is actually pretty easy, LOL well maybe not that easy. In theory it only takes a few minutes, depending on the dog. I have 3 labs. 1 takes 2 people to hold down while I do it. The other comes up and hates every minute of it but deals with it and just does it and gets it done. The last one a puppy, fights it when I put the solution in but then settles down during the massage part.

However it is pretty simple to clean ears, providing the dog cooperates. Tilt head, with ear folded back. Gently squirt some cleaning fluid in ear, not a lot, this is where it gets fun so be prepared, your either going to have a bucking bronco on your hands at this point or at least one that wants to shake his head. Hold head still as possible then behind the jaw start gently but vigorously massaging until you here a sound that is kind of like when you pinch your own cheek and pull and push it against your mouth. That's the ear canal getting the cleaners down in there. Keep rubbing for a minute or so. They usually like this part, the rubbing part. Just that putting the fluid in will cause one hell of a reaction. Then let the dog shake its head, this will bring the fluid back out. Then wipe the ear out with a cotton ball or wash rage or something. For lots of gunk put some solution on the cotton ball as well. You can really get in there with a cotton ball, the ear drum is down deep inside, so you can wipe around in there gently. However like other said if it is infected, like all red then be very gentle rubbing and get to the vet ASAP. Then do the other side. But Labs are prone to ear infections so you have to clean weekly. Also with certain food make it worse. One lab was on a chicken and sweet potato, never give them white potatoes. He got ear infections all the time like 4-5 a year and I cleaned ears every week. Once I switched him to natural choice lamb and rice, never had another ear infection. 2 years ear infection free now. Every dog is different, but high quality Lamb and rice for my labs really made a difference in mood, coat, and health. 

Oh yeah and if I do forget a week to clean. I know because yeah the ears start to smell. I have no idea how long you have not cleaned your labs ears but yeah the stench from the ears I imagine can make you gag. 



lisahi said:


> Question in this topic... how do you get a puppy to sit still when you clean her ears?
> 
> Yesterday, I tried... it did not go well. She tried to bite the tip off the cue-tip. I eventually had to switch to a wash cloth but even then I know I didn't get much cleaning done.


Don't use a cue tip, you could injure your pup especially if he jerks his head.


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## jeffsrealm (Sep 21, 2011)

Oh yeah and treats, treats, treats. Treat before cleaning, mid cleaning and after. The happier of an experience you make it the easier it will get. Thats why my oldest tolerates it so well.


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## jeffsrealm (Sep 21, 2011)

Oh and I forgot another thing, labs don't really need baths unless they rolled in something. Bathing takes all the natural oils and stuff off their coat. If you feel they need a bath just rinse them with water. Lab find the hose great fun. My labs can go and play in the mud. I let them dry off and quickly brush out their coat and they are good as new. They do get a bath maybe twice a year. But for the most part the natural oils keep them pretty clean. Plus I have a pond and they go in that daily as long as it is not frozen over. Which another thing as long as the oils are their coats, they go in the pond and 15-20 minutes later they are dry. However during that 15-20 minutes they are super affectionate. There is no more affectionate creature on the planet than a wet Labrador. ;-)

Labs are usually pretty clean dogs, low maintenance. Ears and nails then brushing a lot when shedding unless you don't mind the hair all over the house. Brush outside, I try to put most of the hair in a plastic like grocery bag and can easily fill it but I let a lot of the hair just go outside in big clumps. Birds use it for nests.


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## Bordermom (Apr 28, 2010)

His diet should be mostly meat and bones, some veggies. Not sure where you're from but a good dog food would be better than the rice, if that's not an option then feed more of a meat based diet - if you can get meat and bones (RAW) feed that or look online for recipes, but meat should be a big portion of his food.

I find with my guys, they need the carbs so I feed pasta/potatoes/other grains as part of their raw diet. Not the norm, I know, but they seem to need it and it helps them keep weight on. That being said they get a cup of that plus 2-4 cups of raw meat/bones etc... so it's not mostly what they eat. If I run into an ear issue I cut the grain out for a week and that seems to help. My old girl couldn't do much grains in the summer or she'd get an infection.

I use baby wipes for regular cleaning, just take one and 'stuff' it into the ear, massage the outside of the ear and then remove, repeat if needed. If I find they have an infection I'll put a squirt of hand sanitizer in and work that around the clean ear. In extreme cases or when they're bathed, a squirt of soap goes in, gets worked in and then GENTLY flushed out with warm water. I don't spray or force water into the ear but just let it flow down the ear flap, in and out. This is only for the greasy gunky build up issues that sometimes happen. 

A good inbetween solution is vinegar, alcohol and water (equal amounts). Squirt in and let them shake it out, it helps prevent problems and keep the ears dry. I don't use qtips as I find they will damage anything that's healing, if the dog has sores for example you can pick them off and cause more problems/pain. At the most I'll use a paper towel on my finger but find the baby wipes work very well. I had one student who plucked her dogs ears every day and asked what to do because he hated it so much but his ears were always red, I suggested she limit that to once a week - the ears were red because they'd had the hair pulled out and never got a chance to heal because she'd pull more the next day. I told her to have the groomer do a better job on his ears and that seemed to help too, most of the hair was clipped or pulled out (he didn't even really have hairy ears).


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