Cleaning A Little Dog's Ears

[Katdogs]

My big dog Stevie is the only dog I've had that's had ear trouble, until now. Terry my foster boy is only 7kg and his ears are tiny. With Stevie I can just about fit my fist into her ear, so this is a new problem for me!

When Terry first arrived his fur had been shaved off and he'd been 'vetted' and his ears looked dirty, but not a problem. Now I've noticed that one of them is pink and clean and neat, just a little tiny bit of wax on the outer hair, but his other ear has bright red patches, and has gunky matted fur (worse than before). I can't see very far because his ear is so small. I've got some of the proper Ilium Oticlean stuff, but how deep can I delve to clean out his ear, and if it's already got bright red bits should I just go to the vet anyway? It doesn't seem to hurt him when I rub the base of his ear - I can hear squelchy noises, but that might have been the Oticlean getting through.

Vet or just keep cleaning bit at a time? Can I use a cotton-bud?

He's (probably) a multi-shit Maltese x Shih Tsu, so are his ears like to be the type that need 'plucking'? If so, how do I do that?

ETA his ear doesn't smell bad, his breath is ok too

Edited August 16, 2008 by Katdogs

[lea]

give this a try, it will not only keep the ears clean, but its fantastic for plucking hair out of the ear with your fingers. http://www.microchipsolutions.com.au/store...mp;productId=16

[Georgie-boy]

DON'T use a cotton bud. I use a cotton ball on the end of my finger and use that to wipe around - after a good clean that is.

[persephone]

IMO- it's far better to flush gunk out with ear cleansing liquid- and then wipe away the exudate without delving in!

Don't go poking around- just in case

[Lowchenlove]

never ever use a cotton bud. Only clean what you can see of the ear.

Use cotton wool with a very mild detergent to clean area you can see - always ensure ear is dried afterwards and detergent removed. Barring any ear infections - which need a vet to diagnose - simply use a ear cleaning solution in the canal - 1-2 drops. .

Yes, this breed does require ear plucking. You can use haemostats or simply use your fingers. When the dog is nice and relaxed - say on your lap in the evening look into the ear. Gently remove a few hairs at a time working from the outer edges towards the centre. Only pluck hair actually on the inside of the ear - the hair on the outside part is very very sensitive to plucking.

Some groomers use a powder to get a better grip. Personally I don`t feel the need.

Some dogs love having this done and others create merry hell. If your dog hates it be persistant but patient - only do a small amount each evening so as to avoid stressing the dog out - eventually it will get used to it. It always reminds me of plucking your eyebrows for the first time. It does get easier and easier.

Good luck.

If all else fails just take him to a groomer for a ear pluck - they do it every single day.

[percyk]

i find baby wipes are good - just with my finger

but i usually use a piece of chux cloth

[Katdogs]

Thanks for all the tips.

I've used the cleaning stuff just in the reachable area of his ear, not going any deeper than I can see, wiping a little with a tissue. The redness is not getting worse but not really getting better, and there's still gunk. He seems a bit off-colour and acting a little 'sensitive' - even growled and snapped at a visitor to the house last night, first time I've seen anything like that from him. So we're going to the vet tonight.

[~*Shell*~]

When Zero had an ear infection, he didn't get a bad smell to it at all - it just got gunky and when the vet had a look at it, it was a pretty bad infection. I only noticed because he looked like he had some wet, reddish staining around the ear.

I used opticlean and some cotton wool to clean his ears - and then we got some ear drops from the vet too. He was a little difficult to treat in the first couple of days - but once his ear stopped being as sore, he was fine and would lie there and let me clean his ear out. Admittedly his ears are a lot bigger so if you're going to go to the vet, I'd ask about the best way to clean them out and maybe book him into a groomer for his ears (my groomer will do a very careful bath and then pluck the ears - Zero doesn't need it really but we do it because his ears are very fluffy on the outside and don't let the air in to them to dry them out) if you don't feel like you can do them yourself.