Ear cleaning-how often?

[Brody the Newf]

I usually clean Brody's ears when he gets a bath. Sometimes when I'm brushing him I lift up his ears and look to see if they look dirty.

My method missed an awful, odorless ear infection. By the time Brody started acting like something was wrong, his ear was filled with black pussy slime.

I feel like the world's most awful pet owner so I'm wondering if I've been doing things wrong all this time?

 

[Angela]

I usually clean ears weekly if they are OK, and daily if there is any waxy stuff there.

 

[Brandie&Maggie]

Maggie has terrible ears due to some extra tissue growth from fleas and chronic untreated infections before we got her. Due to that, I clean 3-4 x per week if she's having a dirty phase, daily if she gets an infection, and otherwise 1-2 x per week.

You're not awful - it happens. I hope Brody feels better soon!

 

[janices]

Depends, like others clean every 1-2 weeks and at bath time. See something starting then it's every day to 2 days week.

 

[2newfs4now]

Depends on the dog around here... Our little Lab needs his done at least once a week or he gets infections. Charlie is good to go getting his ears cleaned once every month or so. Max is an every day guy; every other day with solution.

 

[Brody the Newf]

Depends on the dog around here... Our little Lab needs his done at least once a week or he gets infections. Charlie is good to go getting his ears cleaned once every month or so. Max is an every day guy; every other day with solution.

Wow that's a lot of ear cleaning!

Thankfully Brody just sits there and lets me work on him.

 

[Angela]

Wow that's a lot of ear cleaning!

.

Multiply that by 4:roflmao:

 

[Leonard and his bud Snuffles]

Snuffles use to get it every day with solution and a cotton ball when he got a yeast infection per the vet. The problem seem to go away after several vet checks after like at a semi annual checkup. It was so messy on his fur around his ears, that I dropped it to 2 times a week, and so far still the vet is happy with what she sees down there.

 

[R Taft]

When there are no obvious ear issues, I spray the inside ear flap with apple cider vinega once a week.....Only messy ears, like Annabelle's and Lukey's (when we first got them) almost daily. But I am very lucky, because tessa does a lot of ear cleaning :lol:..She spends hours looking after the outside. And so far that has kept our ears OK......
Tessa's ears hardly ever need a clean. Only after katy has slobbered all over them

 

[Tula]

Once a week for our crew! Kim

 

[ajcooksey]

Every two weeks here. So far no ear problems but our breeder and vet recommended it to keep their ears healthy.

 

[heather pluciennik]

We neglected a week or two and now Morgans letting us know it.
Usually just after baths but 1 to 2x week now due to her scratching her ears.
They don't smell but do have a little dirt so all's good.

 

[plafleursr]

We do it at least once a week, sometimes more, as Venus is a Therapy Dog and we visit two or more times a week. We use baby wipes.

 

[Brody the Newf]

Wow who knew? Every time I have cleaned Brody's ears in the past, they've always been clean. I thought I was doing it enough times.

I've learned my lesson!

 

[blaue_augen]

Suki only ever gets her cleaned when we go to the groomer (every 6 weeks). Even with that seldom, the groomer says her ears are very clean and don't need it more often. The groomer owns/breeds/shows newfs, so i think she is a reliable source of information. I will ask our breeder about it too next time I email her. Maybe Suki's ears stay clean because she's still a puppy (11 months) or because we don't swim? But when/if we need to, we'll do it more.

 

[plafleursr]

We do not allways find them dirty, they allways seem to have waxie smell. but it's good to check them weekly. We light brush daily and just look in ears or clean if needed.

 

[lmfoltyn]

I have to do Jakes every other day now. We seem to have the infections under control but don't want to take the chance of getting them back. His ears seem very dirty and he is never outside playing in the dirt or grass so don't really understand how they get so dirty!

 

[Gigi M Knier]

I was told it was because their ears are heavy and don't let air in readily.

 

[2Paws]

Ours get it once a week. During the summer months, they also get it after swimming.

For routine maintenance I use organic olive oil on a cotton ball and swap around inside the ear. My holistic vet told me the oil will draw out any wax deeper inside the ear.

After a swimming session I will swap the ear out with a cotton ball soaked in a vinegar/alcohol solution to dry out the ear.

With an ear cleaning routine, you won't always see dirt in the ear. That's a good thing. I've been cleaning ears like this since 2008. During this time I haven't had an incident of an ear infection. Now I hope I didn't just jinx myself.

 

[lmfoltyn]

2Paws...great advice! I prefer anything organic these days!