Lots of dogs come into shelters and rescue groups with dirty, itchy ears. Do you know how to clean them safely and effectively?
Dr. Karen Moriello, Clinical Associate Professor of Dermatology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine, recently gave a Maddie’s Institute® webcast on canine ear problems, and had this to say:
When you want to do gentle ear cleaning, probably the simplest thing to do is to take your cotton ball, which is in that ear there, and saturate it with your ear cleaner, gently tuck it into the ear and squeeze and allow the ear material to drizzle, literally drizzle down into the ear, and then gently massage the ear.
I prefer this technique over squirting ear cleaner directly into the ear canal, because if there’s bacteria or yeast or anything there, you can contaminate the tip. Secondly, squirting a cold stream of fluid into the ear is uncomfortable. Also, in some dogs, when that fluid hits the middle ear, it can make them very, very dizzy and they can get vestibular signs, and that’s very scary because it can also look like a seizure.
When you are using an ear cleaning product or a topical, use something which is antibacterial, gently cleaning it. For treatment, use a combination otic product, such as an antibiotic, anti-fungal, and steroid. And there are many, many products out on the market available to use.
When you are putting drops into the ear, it is important to kind of look at that ear and look at that canal and think about it. If you just put one or two drops in there, do you really think it’s going to cover the surface area? No. You really need to put in a generous amount. And there have been a number of dermatologists that have done some smaller studies where they’ve actually looked at the volume of ear medication that may be directly related to the outcome, especially when you’re using liquid products.
Want to know more about ear problems in dogs, with a particular focus on dogs in animal shelters and foster homes? View Dr. Moriello’s complete presentation here!