Dog Ear Care: Inspections Prevent Infections

Home dog ear care with regular check up with the veterinarian in between, will keep your dog healthy and pain free. Therefore make it a routine to prevent many common ear problems. Remember that regular inspections will prevent infections and an infection if left untreated can damage your dog’s hearing.

There are several reasons to ear problems in your dog. Some infections are due to the structure of their ear for example straight ear allows inflow of more air into the ear canal whereas dogs like spaniels and bloodhounds having floppy ears allow little inflow of air into their ear canals are very prone to ear infections.

Dogs having heavy growth of hair inside their ear are also prone to ear infections. Infections can be due to warm, damp, and dark environmental conditions as well as poor air circulation. Dog’s ear canal is the perfect breeding ground for mites, yeast or bacteria which are also another reason for infections.

Certain symptoms like excessive wax, foul odor, redness, constant scratching, excessive matting of hair in the external ear, rubbing the ears against other objects, head shaking, and disorientation directs at ear problems. Prevention is usually better than cure so take care from the very beginning. But if you find that the problem is beyond the scope of your home dog ear care routine then rush to the vet for an immediate check-up.

Check for redness, excessive wax build up, or any other foreign matter with the help of a pet Otoscope. It is an instrument to locate the ear problem in the interior of the ear canal if there is any. You can also detect ear problem by sniffing your dog’s ears. Check for redness, excessive wax builds up or any other foreign matter and if you find a dark waxy discharge or a pus-like discharge along with a foul smell then it sure that your dog’s ear is infected by mites and bacteria respectively.

But if you have no experience with the problem, have your dog thoroughly checked by a veterinarian. As soon as your dog gets well, then you can start inspecting your dog’s ears regularly. This will help you to distinguish normal look and odor from the abnormal one.

If excess ear hair is the problem then apply dog ear powder to the inside of both ears and make to completely cover the hair at the base. When the powder becomes dry then start removing the hairs with your finger or a tweezers stopping a few times to give your dog a few rub. This will make your inspections hassle free.