Do you clean and monitor your dog’s ear regularly? If not, then it’s time that you understand it’s importance. No matter the breed of your pet, ear care is extremely necessary. Talking about ears, there are four types of ears, namely: long haired ears, short haired ears, ears that lay and ears that stand. Every type of ears are sensitive, hence need regular maintenance in order to prevent your fuzzy friend from getting infection. But dogs don’t like to get their ears cleaned, so you have to work with them and if not done right, can cause serious damage.
Ear infections is a common thing that most dogs suffer from. The common signs for this are rubbing or scratching the ear and head shaking. Also, there could be swelling or redness or you may smell an abnormal odor from their ear. A little basic maintenance will help in keeping them clean and healthy.
What Happens?
So, how exactly this happens? It all starts when your pet goes outside to play and roll in the dirt. Or you may live in an area that have a lot of dust around. So, this dirt, dust and grime gets stuck in the folds of your dog’s ear along with the hair that are in their ear canals. And when after getting done with playing around, their ears lay flat, the bacterias make it their home. The reason being the dirt and grime mixes with the moisture present there while making their way in their ears. The lack of airflow due to the ears laying flat, results in the birth of bacteria. When left unattended, this leads to infection.
If your dog is short haired or grow hair in ear canal only in minimal amounts, you are lucky. But any pet can be prone to ear problems even when having short hair as is the case with dogs having stand up ears. This is because folds and creases in your pet’s ear also holds grime and dirt leading to infections.
However, with long hair, the issue intensifies. Here you have to worry about the ear area surrounded with hair. So, remove these hair and perform a general cleaning routine once a week. It will save you the hassle and time. Also, make sure that you take your dog to vet for regular checkups to avoid any serious issues.
How to do it?
A regular maintenance or grooming routine is necessary for the health of your pet. So, how do you go about it, take a look:
1. Of course you don’t want a squirmy pet in your hands who will make the process more difficult and lengthy. Bring your pet into this slowly and associate this experience with something positive such as a bag of treats.
2. Instead of using cotton swabs, use cotton balls as swabs can hurt their ears. For cleaning, use gloves or simply wash your hands before cleaning. As for ear rinse, look for one that is safe for your dog, has no alcohol, steroids, toxic materials or antibiotics and can get the job done. And have all these things within reach.
3. Start from the outside and work your way in until you feel resistance. Be cautious with this and do this at least once a week.
If the cotton balls comes out dirty, schedule an appointment with a vet. And don’t forget to give your beloved pet lots of love and treats when you are done.
