How to Clean a Dog's Jowls

A dog’s jowls consist of the skin folds and loose lips around the mouth. Many dogs have lots of jowl material--some have even been bred specifically for their cute wrinkly faces and loose jowl folds that give them such an expressive look. However, there is a downside to lots of jowl material; they need cleaning and maintenance or they are prone to collect moisture, debris, bacteria, and fungus and get infections, which are not cute at all! They are foul, stinky and, let's face it, super gross! 

Due to their proximity to your dog's mouth, saliva, food, and whatever your dog is investigating on his daily walks is liable to get trapped in loose skin folds around his mouth. If these skin folds are not cleaned, infections such as lip fold pyoderma can occur from buildup of bacteria. Some breeds like spaniels, hounds, Boxers, Mastiffs, and Bulldogs have particularly pronounced jowls. All dogs can experience problems with soiled lip fold skin, and cleaning your dog's lip folds, particularly if your dog's lip folds are pronounced, is important to prevent problems.

• Monitor sores on your dog's jowls, as veterinary attention and antibiotics may be necessary for some bacterial infections.
  
• Prescription antifungal medication may be necessary for some fungal infections.
  
• Dogs with chronic infections in their jowl skin can sometimes require corrective surgery to address hygiene problems long term.
  
• Prevention of fungal and bacterial build up in your dog's jowls with daily and weekly cleaning will help prevent infections from developing that will require more intensive treatment.