Ear Cleaning

[Sam, Risa and Archie]

Archie def needs his ears cleaned, but he doesn't stay still/enjoy it, not to mention I get really nauseaus of the thought of looking in his ear.  So with that said, is it relatively common to take Archie to the Vet to allow them to do it for me? Who else would clean Archies ear outside of the Vet? 

Any suggestions? 

Thanks!

Sam

[Judy, Meg & Polly Wolly Doodle]

Any groomer would do this, not sure how much they would charge just for that, probably no more than a few dollars.  My Polly gets really dirty ears even though she is groomed every two weeks, we had the groomer trim all the long hair back at the base of her ear and it has helped quite a bit.

[Judy, Meg & Polly Wolly Doodle]

I should clarify grooming around our place, we are actually bathed, hair trimmed between pads, sani-cut kept up, ears cleaned/trimmed and beards trimmed (not shaved off, just half length), nails trimmed, then Polly will be clipped and we have not determined how often that might be yet.  Lucky us, we are so rural that we only pay $18 per girl (except for Polly's clip), my daughter lives in Atlanta and pays way more than that for one and he only gets bathed and nails clipped.

[Sam, Risa and Archie]

I was able to cut the hair out of his ear that accumulated the bl

[Doris]

My groomer cleans Bodi's ears (and everywhere else) every 8 weeks.  I don't do anything with Bodi's ears.  He has had one ear infection - when we first adopted him.  His original owner (notice owner, not MOM) only had him groomed twice a year - he had mats under his ears. ICK.  I agree with Judy - short hair under the ear flaps would help!

[Sally S Miles]

Some things that can make the process easier:  instead of squeezing the liquid into the ear canal, soak a cotton ball and gently go into the ear -   squeeze the liquid in this way,  massage - allow for head shaking and then wipe your way with a second cotton ball. It has never gone over with my dogs any other way - who wants that bottle of stuff coming at your face? 

Groomer can do it, or vet tech can do it - but if you have one with ears like mine who tends to get inflammation unless cleaned regularly, well that can add up.   If you can manage with fewer cleanings, that's awesome - but not here. Teach him that it's not a bad thing, both of mine line up for ear cleaning - even though the little one doesn't need it - he likes to smell like his sister.

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

I just noticed your tags. If he has black gunky wax in his ears, he could already have an ear infection. This needs a vets attention. And you will find yourself needing to use medicated drops everyday and cleaning the black goop out for healing. Is there anyone else in the home who may not find this so nauseating?

[Sam, Risa and Archie]

Thank you!  Yes, there is so black gunk...its not a huge amount, but there is some.  It seems to be more on the outside of his ear rather than in his ear..if that makes sense? LOL.  But yes, I may take him to the Vet for it because he also has a big yucky wart on his lip that will not fall off! Its annoying and unattractive HAHA 

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

BTW.... I don't find ear cleaning particularly enjoyable, however, spending another few thousand dollars on chronic ear infections would make me very nauseous ! Lol

[Sam, Risa and Archie]

I was able to cut the hair out of his ear that accumulated the black gunky stuff, so at least thats out now.  It was like a blob of hair in black gunk, but I cut it out.

[Jennifer & Truffle]

Hi there. Once a week, I put Truffle in a down-stay, give him a piece of cookie and go into his ears by wrapping a gauze pad pre-soaked w/ ear cleaning liquid around my pinky.  I then go into his ear canal (not too deep mind you, but much deeper than I'd venture into my own ear since their ear canals are much longer than ours) and rub.  Depending on how much wax (it's brown in color) comes out, I might go in a second time for good measure.  He doesn't sit still for long - just enough to crunch on his cookie - but I'm quick enough now that I can usually do what needs to be done.  It only takes a couple of minutes.  And while it used to gross me out, it doesn't anymore. Picking up his poops grosses me out more!

Good luck!

[Sam, Risa and Archie]

I may try this...what ear solution do you use? and where do you get it? I usually get all my stuff on Chewy.com or at my local pet store here in the city.

[Jennifer & Truffle]

I've used this one: http://www.chewy.com/dog/nutri-vet-ear-cleanse-dogs/dp/46033.  I've also used pre-soaked pads from the same brand, but I prefer to soak the liquid on gauze pads myself since the gauze pads are a little bigger and easier to use.  I also know that folks on DK have used a powder solution to clean their dogs' ears - I've not yet tried that.