Ear Cleaning

By Tami Foster, Poos4U LLC Owner

The easiest way to clean a dog’s dirty ears is with a solution on water, dish soap and peroxide.
You fill a cup or bowl with….
1-1/2 cups of warm water
2 pumps or squirts of liquid dish soap, like Dawn
1-2 Tablespoons of Hydrogen Peroxide

You will need a bulb syringe or also known as a baby nasal aspirator.

You add all the ingredients in the bowl or cup and fill the bulb syringe with the warm solution.
Squeeze the syringe gently to squirt the solution into the ear. You place the syringe just in the outside of the ear to flush the ear canal. You do not need to push the syringe way down in the ear.  Just at the inside edge of the ear canal.  The force from squeezing the syringe will push the solution in the ear then will push out all the debris and excess wax out of the ear.
Do this in the sink or a bath tub or with a towel up by the ear to catch the solution and debris and keep everyone, including fido from getting all wet.
Once one ear is clean then proceed to the next ear. You can check to make sure you’ve removed everything by swabbing the ear with a Q-Tip or cotton pad.
If you have an abscess or bad infection in or around the ear then you can add a squirt of iodine to disinfect.
This solution has been used at Veterinarian clinics for years. I had a client take their granddaughter to the human doctor and they cleaned her grand baby’s ears with the same technique, just minus the dish soap.
This makes for an economical broad spectrum ear cleaning solution for your dog that you can do at home and probably already have everything you need. A solution Doctors and Veterinarians have been using and suggesting for years.
If you have ear medicine for an infection, yeast or ear mites, then administer the medicine after the ear cleaning. If you have ear mites an initial cleaning should be all you need, then apply your medicine each day as prescribed by your Veterinarian. Abscesses, puss or infection may need cleaning daily. Consult with your Veterinarian as to whether you can do this technique at home for your pet. If your Vet advises cleaning your dog’s ears at home then find out, based on your dog’s diagnosis, how often to repeat this ear cleaning technique.