ear cleaning

[LUCY_ROXANNE]

does anyone know the best way to clean ears? Lucy has floppy ears and they look pretty dirty i got some cleaning solution from petsmart and followed the directions but it didn't work as well as i thought i should. any suggestions?..

 

[simmons]

Are you having problems cleaning the ears? or is it, that you are cleaning just fine but are still dirty?

It takes two of us to clean our boys ears and have lots and lots of treats in our hands. We just keep giving them treats while thier ears are being cleaned and then lots of praise when were done.

On cleaning the ears, we squirt just a little bit of liquid in the ear (really quick) fold the flap back over and rub them. Then I take some soft toilet paper and rub the outside of the "inside" ears.

We usually only have to clean the ears twice a month.

Good Luck!

 

[LUCY_ROXANNE]

we've been using the cleaning solution we got at petsmart but there is still a lot of black gunk in there is it safe to use something to pull that stuff out? tweezers or que tip? or should we just have our vet clean them real good first and then start doing the twice a mth with the solution so they don't get so bad again?.... thanks for your suggestions

 

[liamsmom]

we have tons of ears here!

we have 3 boxers.........a total of 6 ears! we clean them once a week.
the dogs are constantly running around in the dirt....digging holes....having a grand old time. and because of all their "fun".....their ears get filthy. so we clean everyone's ears once a week with a solution that we got from the vet. I think the name of it is Epi-Otic. we use flat cotton pads to clean their ears and it works out great. we saturate the pad with the solution and then work the cotton pad around the ear with our fingers. just make sure you don't have long finger nails ... otherwise you might scratch the inside of their ears.
i never use a q-tip because if the dog makes a sudden movement i'd be afraid of hurting their ear. i probably wouldn't use tweezers, either.
you may just have to clean their ears everyday for a little while until they get nice and clean and then move to a regular schedule of cleaning.
as long as there is no infection causing the gunk to build up in the ear......you should be fine.

 

[whitedaisy]

Just curious what the purpose of the solution is? Does it make it easier? antibacterial? drying?I have only been using tissues on the ears and not really doing a great job. I'd use a solution if it helped but I really don't want to add more moisture (her ears seem too warm and moist already) or something that going to be stickier and attract more dirt.

 

[drewkins]

If it is just ear dirt, I would try cleaning it again, but I would also want to have a good look to make sure that it is in fact black gunk, and not really dry blood. If my guys ears get really bad I always check for signs of mites before going any further with the cleaning.

 

[totallyhip]

We use the ear wipes. I just wipe inside but don't go deep. I usually do it about once a month

 

[ELubas]

When my go in for thier annual check I always have the vet do it really good and then I keep them up as needed. You should not go too deep and never put anything like tweezers in there. The wash does have anti-bacterial solution (at least mine does-it is blue?) and I use soaked gauze pads. I also will pour a little in first and massage the ear well-that tends to loosen the "gunk" up and then I can swab it out. Some dogs produce more "gunk" than others-my boy's ears have to be done a lot