Counter Surfers Unlimited
Labsr4U Pawsitive Advice
Cleaning Ears and Treating Ear Infections
The following article was composed
from numerous posts written by Ellen Morris.
Ear infections make dogs and their owners
miserable. The dogs itch, and scratch their ears until they start to
hurt or bleed. All dogs with ears that are long and hang down,
particularly the water-loving Labrador Retriever, are subject to ear
infections since a moist, dark and hot ear is an ideal growth medium for
bacterial or yeast infections. Because of this, it is important to keep
your dog’s ears clean.
All owners of floppy-eared dogs should regularly check the ears for a
brown waxy build-up or an odor, particularly if the dog scratches the
general are of the ear a lot, shakes its head often, rubs its head or
holds its head crooked. If your dog has these symptoms, you are probably
looking at an ear infection. Ear infections are only dangerous if
they’re ignored, because the eardrum can perforate or the infection
could travel to the brain since it is so close to the ear canal.
In order to get your dog’s ears clean and rid him of the infection,
follow this procedure… First, the ears must be cleansed with a substance
that will dissolve the dark wax. There are numerous wax removers,
including Oticlens, Nolcosan, Oticalm, and Ellen’s personal favorite,
ADL Ear Flushing Drying Lotion, which foams like peroxide and has
salicylic and acetic acid in it. Some of these products are only
available through a veterinary.
Using the nozzle of the cleaning solution bottle, insert the liquid into
the dog’s ears. Alternatively, an ear syringe or 5 cc syringe (without a
needle!) works even better than the bottle’s nozzle (these are available
in all drug stores). Verify the bottle’s label to determine the amount
of liquid to insert into the ear.
Now, carefully massage the base of the ear to loosen and dissolve the
way. Let the dog shake its head, and then using a paper towel, Kleenex
or a cotton ball, remove the wax from the outer ear. Never insert
anything deep into the ear that is smaller than your elbow.
If you are dealing with an infection, once the wax is removed you should
now enter the liquid antibiotic into the ear. One of the good products
available on the market is called Otimax. These types of products are
only available through your vet.
If you've used the ADL Ear Flushing Drying Lotion, you’re done.
Otherwise, wait two hours and take a water and vinegar douche to flush
the ears. Using the oral syringe, insert about one teaspoon or less of
the solution into each ear, massage the base of the ear, let the dog
shake its head, and dry the outer ear with a towel or cotton ball. The
idea behind doing this is to change the pH in the ear, and this makes it
inhospitable to bacterial and yeast growth.
Some people like to use an alcohol mix to clean the ears instead of
using this vinegar douche. Although alcohol works well, it burns like
crazy, and will be very unpleasant for the dog, so it should be avoided.
To treat ear infections, the above procedure should be done on a daily
basis for 10 to 14 days, until there is no sign or infection for at
least 5 days.
As a maintenance routine to keep the ears clean and avoid infections,
the ear cleaning routine should be done between every few days to once a
month. The frequency of the ear cleaning depends on the temperature (do
it more often if you live in a hot and humid climate or during the
summer season), and on how often your dog goes swimming.
When cleaning your dog’s ears, remember to never insert anything into
your dog’s ear canal… If something is stuck in there, please let your
vet take a look at it instead of trying to do something yourself.
If, despite following the above routine regularly, your dog still gets
ear infections, it may be due to a food allergy. If you believe this to
be the case, you may want to try a good quality lamb and rice
formulation that does not contain ethoxyquin and has very few chemicals.
It can take many weeks for a food allergy to resolve, so be patient!
All text and graphics are Copyright © by LabsR4U. Please do not copy any
text or graphics without permission.
All text and graphics are Copyright © by LabsR4U. Please do not copy any
text or graphics without permission.
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