Ear wax

[Jonnydog]

I was shown how to clean ears by the vet, when Jonny was a pup and had ear mites. With the cleaner I had then, you scoosh some into the ear, massage for a few moments, then clean out the result with cotton wool. Unless your fingers are absolutely tiny, you can't go far enough into the ear canal to cause damage, especially as the finger is wrapped in a ball of cotton wool. Nowadays, since neither dog actually has anything wrong with their ears, I just moisten the cotton wool and folow the same procedure. There's usually some wax there to get out.

[Rolo12]

Rolo has some dark brown dirt inside his ear. One of the trainers at his puppy class noticed it and told me to use cotton wool with some olive oil and then it should come out on its own. I just wiped it as best i could but didnt go far in the ear. He would let me anyway! I hope this is ok, I was worried about doing it but it doesnt seem to have affected him.

Not sure if its worked as i havent had a chance to look in his ears again yet, hes too mad!

[Jonnydog]

It's quite a good idea to get him used to having his ears cleaned, even if they don't need it, then if he does get a sore ear at any time he'll let you at it! I learned this the hard way with one of our dogs that needed ear drops three times a day. That's why I've cleaned Penny's ears from day one and got her to enjoy it by lots of smooching and Primula cheese. Now she goes into a sort of ecstatic state when we do ears 

[john51]

I'm only saying that if the ears are healthy to begin with and not having any problems, then why bother messing with them?

I don't fundamentally disagree with that, praia, and I'm sorry if I gave the impression that I did. Obviously you monitor your dogs' ears closely and know that they are healthy. Many dogs will have healthy ears with the regime that you describe. However, many won't and will benefit from periodic cleaning. I am not sure that cleaning ears is much different from cleaning teeth. Teeth cleaning is something that I always do because I believe it avoids potential issues in the future and I think the same of ear cleaning. It's certainly not something that I believe is harmful unless done too frequently, so certainly for any dog that has shown a potential for ear infections or other problems I would think it is a good idea.

I'm now well beyond the limit of my knowledge but would question whether wiping the external ear folds with cotton wool plus some form of cleaner is very effective in terms of what is going on in the ear canal. If the ear has shifted the wax all the way along the canal it is probably not causing much problem. It is what is happening at the base of the ear canal where it's moist and warm that give the potential for infection. To help here you need to use a cleaner as described elsewhere to help shift the rubbish (technical term).

I also don't see this as poking and prodding because, in reality, all you are doing is dripping some cleaner in, giving it a massage from the outside, and letting the dog shake the liquid out.

[Jane57]

Is Riley scratching the ear a lot Jane? Dylan had a lot of brown wax on the visible opening and was scratching that ear a lot. My Vet gave me the Canaural drops and I've been putting them in and cleaning the visible area with ear wipes. My first Cocker used to build up a lot of wax and I used to put drops in weekly to release it, Dexter has never had any wax or problems at all and he's nearly four, so I don't put anything in his ears, just inspect every time I groom.

No Debbie, he isnt scratching at all. It was only that I noticed little bit wax, which incidently hasnt increased since I cleaned it away.
Im just going to monitor and do as Ive been doing for now. Thanks.
I was only meaning the visible wax, I had no idea people actually went "into" the ear to clean out possible wax, I guess its understandable that Im hesitant to do such when there are conflicting views on whether to or not. I really should ask the vet next time Im there.

[theshrew]

Missy had a little trouble with her ears when she was a pup for about the first 8 months of having her this is what i found.

When she was young i used to clean her ears every day with just a dry tissue etc as they used to get loads of wax. She was always scratching etc. Tried drops from the vet no change. In the end i tried a small ammount of thornits only put it on once she got a lot better. Since then the last 3.5 years i never really have to clean them (until a few weeks ago) The vet told me the more you clean the more wax will come i thing this is very true with Missy anyway.

However a few weeks ago she started scratching again. Took her the vets yesterday and we seemed to come to the conclision its probably due to the weather being so wet and warm and her hair is a lot longer than i used to keep it takes a age to dry now.  Pretty much warm damp conditions in the ear are brilliant for little nastys to grow. So shes got some drops and is booked in for a good hair cut tomo.

Id say check the ears after every walk clean if you need to but dont go cleaning more than required as the wax is in the ear to help protect it.

[debbiedaywalker]

Is Riley scratching the ear a lot Jane? Dylan had a lot of brown wax on the visible opening and was scratching that ear a lot. My Vet gave me the Canaural drops and I've been putting them in and cleaning the visible area with ear wipes. My first Cocker used to build up a lot of wax and I used to put drops in weekly to release it, Dexter has never had any wax or problems at all and he's nearly four, so I don't put anything in his ears, just inspect every time I groom.

No Debbie, he isnt scratching at all. It was only that I noticed little bit wax, which incidently hasnt increased since I cleaned it away.
Im just going to monitor and do as Ive been doing for now. Thanks.
That's good, hopefully you won't see anymore wax.
I was only meaning the visible wax, I had no idea people actually went "into" the ear to clean out possible wax, I guess its understandable that Im hesitant to do such when there are conflicting views on whether to or not. I really should ask the vet next time Im there.
Yes it is okay to clean the outer ear but you shouldn't go into the ear canal.

[Rolo12]

What exactly does the ear wax look like? Rolo has dark brown stuff in his ears and he does seem to scratching them but not sure if its anything to worry about or not?

[Sheryl]

I thought dark wax was a sign of ear mites?  I could be wrong though.  Look ear mites up and see if the wax looks the same x

[debbiedaywalker]

What exactly does the ear wax look like? Rolo has dark brown stuff in his ears and he does seem to scratching them but not sure if its anything to worry about or not?

Yes sounds like Rolo has wax/mites, it is irritating him if he is scratching, if you are not confident cleaning them yourself I would pop him to the Vet.

[Rolo12]

Just googled it. It doesnt look like that so think were ok! Its not sticky or anything so might just be dirt?

[theshrew]

Its probably just dirt + ear wax it builds up and comes out just like it does in a hooomans ear. Some dogs get more than others. If you have never cleaned them it might just be that.

Depends how much your dog is scratching if its all the time just go the the vets probably give you some ear drops. Genrally its nothing serious but can require more than just drops if left.