ear cleaning

Debi

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#1
Took Hammie to the vet (loved the new one) and he has an ear infection...which I suspected. She told me to clean his ear canals weekly with something such as Otocalm. I wipe out his ears with a cotton ball prior to his medication drops..but my question is.....is it me, or does any one else have a really, really hard time??? Hammie is a german shepard so I do very well wiping out those big ears...but going into the ear canal is something he barely tolerates. It's already tough enough putting in his drops. Do you use a long q-tip? The vet told me that if I don't keep his ears clean, the bacteria will produce rapidly causing more infections. Any tips to help this not be such a huge chore? THANKS!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) (the vet didn't show me how to do this...sure wish she would have)
 

maui

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#2
hi Debi,

I'm new here, great site!

Our puppy (13mo) doesn't like his ears cleaned either. This is a chore we attempt when he is sleepy (not cranky) and break out the peanut butter kong. Fortunately I have a great helper husband. One of us will hold the kong as a distraction. If he isn't around, I place it on a coffee table so it's nose level. We haven't had to use a Q-tip -yet.... knock on wood.

Hope Hammie is better soon!
-maui
 

RedHotDobe

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#3
Duke loves people touching his ears, so cleaning his ears has never posed a problem. I just use a cotton ball and some rubbing alcohol, which works fine for him and me.

I'd recommend taking this step by step. Have him associate having his ears touched and cleaned with positive things. Start out by just petting and massaging his ears. When he allows you to do this, treat and praise him. After he enjoys having his ears touched, move on to the cleaning. As you clean, treat and praise him during the process. After he understands that you touching his ears is a good thing, move on to cleaning his ear canals. The treat and praise method is how I got Duke use to the dremel, so I hope it works on your Hammie and his ears.
Good luck and I hope he feels better soon!
 
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#4
In order to minimize the cleaning chores, try getting some of those eardrops used for cleaning babies' ears. Don't use a syringe, though. Swab out as much as you can with a cotton pad, and very, very carefully use as swab to finish. Be extremely careful in the ear canal - don't go too far. My vet showed me how to clean one of my earlier German Shepherd's ears. The important trick is to hold the ear straight up, and don't angle the swab inside the ear canal. That way you avoid the eardrum.

You might want to call your vet and ask for more specific instructions on how to clean your dog's ears.
 

shecub

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#5
i knw of what to speak my great pyrennes isnt having any part of me trying to clean her ears, when we give her a bath is about the only time she lets me near her ears so i try to do it then. I struggle like crazy for her to sit still long enough fo e me to wipe out her ears I use virbac epi-otic its a squeeze bottle but i have to do it fast lol we have tried treats to keep her busy but its like not happening so we do the best we can
hope hammie gets better soon wishing you much luck.. Debi
 
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#6
Debi, I'm sorry to hear Hammi has an ear infection, but glad I found this thread. I have ear questions.. how often are you supposed to clean a puppy's ears? My 9 week old cocker/shih tzu-poo Buddy has long, floppy Cocker spaniel type ears and I know I need to make sure I'm cleaning them, but how often, and with what? Someone mentioned rubbing alcohol.. I have that! I can use that? And Debi, how could you tell Hammi had an ear infection? This is my first puppy and I want to be sure I know what to watch out for!! Hope Hammi is better soon!
 

Debi

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#7
Don't use alcohol...too drying. They have ear cleaning solutions that are antibiotic and gentle on the ear. I could tell Hammie had an ear infection because just like a little child would do, he started rubbing his ear and whining. Also the day I took him to the vet, he was holding his ear down and straight out instead of straight up. He has recovered..but it was a pain to put drops in for 3 weeks!!! I clean his ears regularly now. He is getting better at it.....I guess he is getting used to it. Little by little I've been able to reach into the canal......but only with a cotton ball. The vet wants me to use Q-tips...but Hammie isn't quite ready for that yet. I am amazed how dirty his ears get!!!!!!!!!!!! I think they stand up and catch everything out there. :)
 
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#8
It's strange how some dogs ears get so dirty. Bimmer's ears stay immaculate, and he's got huge stand-up ears - like Hammie's. Kharma's stay clean too, but I'd expect that since she has those long floppy ears. The odd thing is, though, that Shiva has the same kind of ears as Kharma, but hers can get pretty dirty. Fortunately, Shiva likes to have her ears rubbed, so I can distract her from the cleaning part by rubbing at the same time.
 

nohea

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#9
Maui-My vet told me to clean out our shepherds ears twice a week, make sure to use a solution meant for their ears, or ivory and water mixed together and then a water rinse are the two my vet says.
 

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