How to Wash the Inside of a Dog's Ear
Medium
10 - 15 Minutes
2 Weeks
Need regular grooming services?
Introduction
Washing the inside of your dog's ear is sometimes an unpleasant but necessary task to keep your dog's ears healthy and free of yeast and infection. When you clean your dog's ears on a regular basis, you can remove built-up wax, debris, dirt, and keep the ear canal a healthy place instead of a place where yeast will likely grow and cause your dog pain and discomfort. Make cleaning your dog's ears part of your regular grooming, so he knows what to expect, how it feels, and he is always in great condition.
Dog's Perspective
Having liquid poured into the ears isn't the most comfortable thing, so your dog may not enjoy this, especially at first. If he currently has an earache or ear infection, he's going to be uncomfortable and potentially in pain. Go slow the first few times to give him some time to adjust. Then try to do the task as quickly as you can to get it over with.
The Wiping Down and Out Method
Effective
0 Votes
Towel
Step
1
Wet wipes and cotton
Use a wet wipe or a wet soft washcloth and cotton balls to get your dog's ears nice and clean.
Step
2
Prepare
Gather several wet wipes that are safe to use on your dog's skin or wet down a washcloth with warm water. You will need a couple of cotton balls per ear as well. To rinse and reuse a washcloth, have a bowl full of warm water handy.
Step
3
Wipe
Use wet wipes or a wet washcloth to wipe down the part of your dog's ear you can see. To start wiping, begin with the outer ear first. Wipe off any dirt or debris you see in your dog's fur. Lift your dog's floppy ear or gently pull back his pointy ears and wipe just the inside portion of his ear you can see. Do not stick your fingers down into his ear canal.
Step
4
Cotton balls
Once you have cleaned as much of the visible ear as you can with wet wipes or a wet washcloth, use cotton balls moistened with warm water to clean the dirt out of the flaps and folds located just inside the ear. Again, don’t stick the cotton ball too far into the ear canal. Just clean what you can see and focus on the wrinkles and skin folds in the ear with the cotton balls.
Step
5
Your solution
If you have an ear solution you would like to squirt into the ear canal, you can do this now or you can wait to clean deep inside the ear for another time.
Step
6
End with a treat
Always end your ear grooming sessions with a nice tasty treat. This rewards your dog for good behavior while you do an unpleasant task.
Recommend grooming method?
The Canal Washing Method
Effective
0 Votes
Towel
Step
1
Prepare supplies
Gather all the supplies you will need to wash the insides of your dog's ears. You can make your own ear cleaning solution using apple cider vinegar and water, or you can use a solution from your veterinarian's office or pet store. You may also need some cotton balls and a soft cloth.
Step
2
Ear solution
Lift up your dog's ear and tug gently back or to the side to open the ear canal. Tip the solution bottle and pour the liquid directly into the ear canal. You want the canal to fill but not overflow. If you do not have a solution bottle with a tip, you can squeeze solution in using a cotton ball or a cloth by soaking it in the solution and squeezing into the canal.
Step
3
Let it sit
It will be difficult for your dog to stay still, but let the solution sit it the ear canal for as long as possible. While you are waiting, you can gently massage the back of his ears to move the solution through the canal.
Step
4
Shake
After several minutes of the ear solution sitting and working its magic inside your dog's ear canal, your dog may want to shake. When he shakes his head, expect the solution and whatever gunk it loosens to come flying out of his ears. To make this more pleasant for both of you, consider putting the dog outside during this headshake.
Step
5
Wipe down
After you have cleaned both ears and he has shaken the remainder of the solution out, use your soft cloth to wipe down the external part of his ear. This will be the underside of his ears that you can see as well as the outer part of his ears.
Step
6
Reward
Never hesitate to reward your pup for a job well done after washing his ears.
Recommend grooming method?
Caution & Considerations
- If you've ever used ear cleaning solution from your veterinarian or your pet store, save the bottle so you can make your own at home. This particular bottle will have a long pointed tip for easy ear insertion.
- If your dog ends up with yeast infections quite often you can help control those by cleaning his ears with apple cider vinegar and water.
- Some dogs will require a cleaning more often than other dogs. If your dog is prone to yeast infections or ear infections consider cleaning more often.
- Try to let the solution sit in your dog's ear for as long as he will tolerate.
- After letting the solution sit in the ear and massaging it down the canal, your dog will want to shake his head. This will be a messy task so cover his head with a towel or put him outside where he can shake.
- Your dog's ears, unlike human's ears, have deep canals. These canals turn at an angle making cleaning with anything but a liquid solution difficult.
- Avoid using cotton swabs on any part of the ear that you cannot see.
- Be sure you are wiping down the outer part of the ear and the visible portion of the inner ear with a clean moist cloth after using an ear cleaning solution.
Conclusion
Keep your pup's ear healthy and clean with a deep washing. Your dog might not like having ear cleaning solution poured into his ear, but this grooming task is sometimes a necessary hardship to get to healthy ears. You can trust he won't enjoy ear infections any more than cleanings, so help keep those ears washed.
