Dog Ear Care:

What’s that? What’s that you said? Speak up, ok? Well, while a dog may not be able to specifically tell you of ear problem; hopefully with the proper dog ear care and prevention, there won’t actually be a problem.

As for the numero uno priority for a dog owner as it relates to ear care? Keeping them clean. To maintain the cleanliness of your dog’s ears, incorporate proper ear care into your grooming techniques. At least once a week be sure to conduct dog ear care on Fido.

So, what exactly should you look for? Several things which will only take a few minutes. While caring for your dog’s ears, be sure to check for waxy buildup, excessive matting of hair in the external ear, especially redness or inflammation around the external part of the ear, retention of dirt, foreign material, or even objects in the ear canal.

Even a slight little object can create a lot of discomfort for your dog. So…as weird as this may seem you should actually smell your dog’s ears as it relates to dog ear care. Anything murky or not normal could be a problem. For instance, mites, fleas, and ticks like to nest in dark, somewhat moist areas of the ear.

If you think there could be a problem as you conduct your weekly dog’s ear care routine, definitely call your veterinarian as soon as possible. Like any other health issue, neglecting a problem thinking it will eventually go away could lead to bigger problems. So, now that you have the ‘how to’s, let’s deal with the ‘not to do’s:

Do not use soap and water
Do not poke the internal ear canal
Whatever you do, definitely do not use cotton tipped swabs. They could only push dirt or objects deeper into the ear canal.

For proper dog ear care, mineral oil applied to cotton can be used to gently wipe the surface of the external ear. In other words, think about how you would check your own ears or an ear of a child; you would gently prod and clean and would not poke and push.

And, some breeds of dogs are more prone to ear issues than others so there are important signs to lookout for in dog ear care as it relates to various dogs. For instance, cocker spaniels and bloodhounds are susceptible to ear infections since there’s very little air circulation around the ear whereas terriers and poodles usually retain dirt and wax inside their ears as a result of hair inside the ear canal.

For more information about your specific pooch, be sure to talk about proper dog ear care to your veterinarian. He or she can specifically show you how to properly clean the ears and what symptoms to look for. The Dog Bowl also has several wonder ear cleansing & maintence products (click here to see these.)

Overall, proper dog ear care is important for your dog’s overall health. One way to contribute to your dog’s overall health is to incorporate ear care for your dog into your regular grooming routine. At The Dog Bowl, nothing is more important than your pets’ health and well being. For more information about dog ear care and to shop - click here!