Ear Hygiene

Photo credit:
www.petsugar.com/Pet-Peeves-My-Dog-Has-Dirty-Ears

  Ear hygiene is an important factor in a dog’s over all health. Wax can build up in the outer ear and needs to be wiped away using a tissue with a small amount of ear cleaner. There are many different brand of ear cleaner and they can be purchased at your vet office or any local pet store. Never put a Q-tip, or your finger for that matter, down in the ear canal. Only clean what you can see in the outer ear. The wrinkles and folds can be stretched out and wiped between by bending the ear leather in a way that allows you to access the crevasse you need. If an ear becomes infected it will have a smell to it, along with a dark or discolored discharge. If you notice your dog has an excess of discharge or wax it is important to consult a vet as it could be an infection or ear mites. 

  A prolonged ear infection can spread to the inner ear and cause severe damage. Ear mites tend to resemble a coffee-grind like discharge and are actually a microscopic mite, chewing at your dogs ear. These problems need to be treated by specific drops from your veterinarian, and anything you purchase over the counter at a pet store is not likely to have a sufficient effect on the particular micro-organism at hand.

 Another useful piece of information as published by Cesar Millan on his webpage, is that “Dogs [who] suffer from allergies, either environmental, such as pollens (grasses, trees and weeds), dust mites, molds or food (beef, chicken, fish, soy, etc.) are predisposed to ear infections. This is due to the microscopic inflammation that allergies cause in the skin allowing overgrowth of bacterial and yeast organisms that normally inhabit the skin.”

Ear Mites
photo credit:
www.squidoo.com/dog-shaking-head