How to Keep Your Dog's Ears Healthy and Clean

A healthy dogs' ear is pale pink and has no odor. A little bit of wax or dirt in the outer portion of the ear canal and around the ear leather wrinkly area is perfectly normal, and it's okay to carefully remove this with a piece of gauze, cotton ball, or a cotton swab (Q-tip). By keeping your dog's ears clean and healthy, you can avoid having him suffer from a painful infection.

All dogs can develop problems in the ears. The ear canal gets hot, red, inflamed, and full of smelly gooey stuff. If you touch the ear the dog will groan or yelp. Sometimes the ear leather (the underside of the dog's ear) looks dry and flaky. In many cases, the dog will frequently shake his head and scratch his ear because ear infections itch and hurt! If he has a severe infection, your dog might flinch, cry out, or attempt to snap at you when you touch his ear.

Things You'll Need

  • Ear solution - either home made recipe or from your vet or pet store.
  • Gauze or cotton balls
  • Q-tips
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Instructions

    • 1

      Prevention is the best medicine. From the day you get your dog, check his ears regularly for excessive dirt or unusual odor.

    • 2

      Keep the ears clean with a weekly cleaning by using what your vet recommends for an ear cleaning solution, or use a home-made recipe of equal parts water, distilled white vinegar, and rubbing alcohol. (That is what I have always used to clean my dog's ears.)

    • 3

      Make sure the solution is at room temperature. Lay your dog on his side and pour an amount onto the ear leather and gently into the ear canal. Starting at the base of your dog's ear (where it attaches to his head) massage it in thoroughly.

    • 4

      Continue for about 15 seconds working the cleaning solution into the ear massaging from the outside while holding your dog's ear up. This will help loosen normal dirt and wax. (Dog's generally enjoy having this massage.)

    • 5

      Then use a cotton ball to dry as much of the ear as you can reach without pushing down into the ear canal. Your dog will naturally shake his head after a few seconds of ear cleaning; this will help to release any internal debris.

    • 6

      Hair that grows inside the dog's ear canal is very easy to pull out. You can ask your vet or groomer to show you how it's done. If you start doing this when your dog is a pup, he won't you a hard time. Many dogs like having the ear hairs pulled out and become very relaxed!