Veterinarians see a lot of patients with ear infections. In
fact, it's the second most common reason for a client visit, according to pet
health insurer, VPI Pet Insurance. With ear problems prompting so many trips to
the vet, should ear cleaning be a necessary part of grooming your pet?
Generally, cleaning
a dog's ears on a routine basis is not necessary, according to Leonard Jonas,
DVM, MS, DACVIM, a veterinarian with Wheat Ridge Animal Hospital in Wheat
Ridge, Colo. That's because animals have a naturally occurring self-cleansing
process.
"I've had pets my whole life,"
Jonas said. "I don't remember ever routinely cleaning out their
ears."
However, that doesn't mean pet owners should
never take notice of their dog's ears. Certain breeds, lifestyles and physical
characteristics will make a dog more prone to what Jonas calls "abnormal
situations," in which the pet's normal homeostasis is disrupted. This is
when something, either systemically or locally in the ear, interferes with the
normal surface barrier defense system and the normal cleaning process that
keeps bacteria and yeast under control.
There are signs to
watch for if your pet is having an issue with its ears. These, according to
Jonas, include:
- Shaking its head
- Flapping its ears
- Rubbing at its ears, either with a paw or by rubbing against
furniture or carpet
- Self-massaging the ear to ease itch, pain or irritation
- Debris and/or redness inside the ear
- Sores inside the ear
- Odor in the ear due to abnormal oils and bacteria
"If you [the pet owner] look in the ear,
you can see sometimes a lot of debris," said Jonas, explaining what an ear
with an infection or problem may look like. "Then [you] see redness on the
ear flaps (inside) or sores developing. And then there's also odor that occurs
when you have an abnormal ear."
Breeds to watch
There are certain breeds of dogs—such as Shar Peis, bulldogs and poodles—that
have narrow ear canals and have a higher chance of incurring ear issues.
Poodles, especially, have more hair in the canals, Jonas explained. "The
hair itself is not a problem, but if they've got something abnormal with their
whole defense system, all that extra hair in there makes it difficult."
Cocker spaniels are notorious for ear
problems, Jonas added.
When to clean your pet's ears
According to Jonas, it's best to consult your veterinarian before going forward
with an ear-cleaning regimen. Unlike cleaning the teeth, cleaning the ears does
not need be done regularly. If a pet owner suspects that something may be wrong
with the ear, it's advised to visit the veterinarian and establish whether the
dog's ear needs to be cleaned by the owner either routinely or for an
instructed period of time.
Cleaning the dog's ears without first seeing
a veterinarian is not a good idea, Jonas said, "because you don't know
what's going on inside. You don't know if there has been a ruptured ear drum;
you don't know if there's a stick or a stone or something stuck down inside the
ear that needs to be fished out by a veterinarian."
A veterinarian can diagnose the problem and
make the proper recommendations, which may be cleaning and/or medication.
Typically, there are two situations for which
a dog's ears would need to be cleaned regularly. The first is when a
veterinarian instructs for it to be done, and the second is when the dog is
frequently in water. "Water in their ears disrupts the normal defense
barrier system in that ear, and can make them prone to getting infections and
irritation and inflammation," Jonas said.
If there needs to be ear cleaning
A veterinarian should show the owner how to properly clean the dog's ears
because "there are a lot of different techniques, and it depends on what
the problem is," Jonas advised.
There are a couple of precautions to always
remember, according to Jonas. First, never use a Q-tip, because it tends to
push the wax and debris further into the ear. Second, be sure a groomer does
not pluck the hair out of the dog's ears, unless that hair is contributing to
an ear problem; Jonas believes that doing so may cause irritation.
One thing pet owners should also consider is
that if the dog has an ear infection, it could be very painful for them.
Forcing the dog to get its ears cleaned or putting medication in them can be a
dangerous situation for the owner and the dog.
"If your pet doesn't want you to do it,
don't, because it hurts," Jonas said. "You're just going to create a
problem, and you need to look to alternatives."
