# Why are my dogs' ears so dirty???



## jzgrlduff (Feb 15, 2008)

I'm curious, too. Macy has slightly dirty ears and I'm not sure what it's from. Sometimes they stink, sometimes they don't. 

You use baby wipes to clean them out? Hmm, interesting, I never thought of that. I use cotton balls in warm water.


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## Bailey & Bentley (Feb 25, 2007)

Yes it is normal and every dog is different. If there is a smell there may be an infection so you might want to have it checked out. But usually with weekly cleaning you can maintain their ears pretty well. Sounds to me like you are doing the right thing. I only like to clean their ears when they need it, but if you dogs ears are always dirty-brown buildup inside, then once a week should be good. If you notice your dog scratching or the inside of the ear canal is swollen and red, that would indicate an infection.


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## Jersey's Mom (Nov 25, 2007)

Slight hijack here, sorry: Jzgrl-- I would recommend against using water on the cotton balls to clean your dog's ears... I could be wrong (and someone please correct me if I am) but I'm pretty sure water in the ear canal can help bring on infections. Think swimmer's ear. There are products you can buy for cleaning a dog's ears, or I have a make-it-yourself recipe that's a bit cheaper if you're interested. 

Julie and Jersey


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## Bailey & Bentley (Feb 25, 2007)

Jersey's Mom said:


> Slight hijack here, sorry: Jzgrl-- I would recommend against using water on the cotton balls to clean your dog's ears... I could be wrong (and someone please correct me if I am) but I'm pretty sure water in the ear canal can help bring on infections. Think swimmer's ear. There are products you can buy for cleaning a dog's ears, or I have a make-it-yourself recipe that's a bit cheaper if you're interested.
> 
> Julie and Jersey


I think you are right.  I think a solution made for cleaning the dogs ears is better because it is made to try right up, therefore, leaving the ear protected against wetness and bacteria.


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## Shining Star (Jan 7, 2007)

This is what my Vet. Recommends for my girls Ear Cleaning.

DermaPet
MalAcetic Otic ,AP
( Ear/Skin Cleanser For Pets )
It smells like apples.


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## jzgrlduff (Feb 15, 2008)

Yea, that makes sense. I soaked the cotton in warm water and squeezed the excess off and wiped Frankie's ears down when they were bad. It did help, I have to admit. I also have the purple stuff from the pet store, and I have Otomax if anyone's ears get real bad. Right now, Macy just has like little specs of dirt on the pinks of her ear.


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## Bailey & Bentley (Feb 25, 2007)

jzgrlduff said:


> Yea, that makes sense. I soaked the cotton in warm water and squeezed the excess off and wiped Frankie's ears down when they were bad. I did help, I have to admit. I also have the purple stuff from the pet store, and I have Otomax if anyone's ears get real bad. Right now, Macy just has like little specs of dirt on the pinks of her ear.


At least you clean your dogs ears.  There are a lot of people who don't.


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## PeanutsMom (Oct 14, 2007)

My boy Buddy has recurrent ear infections and they get terribly nasty. After clearing it up this last time I bought some some dog ear cleaner at kmart. It has done wonders. We still have to clean his ears at least every other day. On another note, my other two goldens do not have all the hair in their ears that Buddy has. I'm thinking his hairy ears may be connected to his excessive wax?


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## norabrown (Jul 20, 2007)

Samson has very clean ears. Delilah's get dirty and require regular cleaning. I also use a baby wipe on the ear flap. I use the liquid cleaner or in the ear.


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## Shining Star (Jan 7, 2007)

PeanutsMom said:


> My boy Buddy has recurrent ear infections and they get terribly nasty. After clearing it up this last time I bought some some dog ear cleaner at kmart. It has done wonders. We still have to clean his ears at least every other day. On another note, my other two goldens do not have all the hair in their ears that Buddy has. I'm thinking his hairy ears may be connected to his excessive wax?


When my girl is groomed they trim or cut a lot of the hair from the inside of her ears.
The groomer says all that hair on the inside just collects dirt and holds moisture in the ear.
Down side is as the hair grows back it sometimes tickles her ear.
Better to have a ear that tickles from growing hair then from dirty ears


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## ShadowsParents (Feb 27, 2007)

An inexpensive solution that you can make at home that is recommended by many vets is: WAVE

Water
Alcohol
Vinegar
Equally


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## AmbersDad (Dec 25, 2007)

Amber's left ear produced three times the amount of wax/dirt that her right ear does so I end up trimming the hair down short around the inner ear in both once per week to keep the moisture level down and use ear cleaner in both once per week as well, But for her left ear I clean it out very well every other day. The vet did show me how to clean inside the ear canal(I was a corpman in the navy as well) so every now and then I do an extra cleaning in both to help with the build up. Seems to work wonders for her and never had an infection and she rarely has her ears bothering her. some pups as others have stated previosuly do produce more wax then others and as in my case even one ear produces more then the other. Just keep cleaning properly and you should help prevent infections as mucha s you possibly could.
Phil & Amber


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## jessiebuck (Mar 20, 2008)

*Ear solution*

My 2 goldens had chronic ear infections. They were on almost every ear meds from the vet with nothing helping 100%. My breeder suggested this cleaning solution that you can make yourself or buy from this one store. I bought a bottle as I could not find all the ingredients and within 1 week of using it their ears improved 80%!!! I now use it once a month and they have had no ear troubles since then!!! Just make sure you apply the solution outside as the purple can stain floors and carpeting when they shake their head. Here are the web sites. One is how to make the solution and the other is the site to buy it (Canadian, not sure how much to ship if you live in US):

http://www.woodhavenlabs.com/ears.html
http://www.urbancarnivore.com/uc_online/moreinfo.cfm?Product_ID=8

Good luck!


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## Celeigh (Nov 29, 2007)

Fergus's ears never seem dirty (which is a good thing because he runs and hides when he sees me open the drawer with the ear cleaner in it). Lily's right ear produces so much gunk that I clean it every day. The left ear is fine. I was planning to take her to the vet just to be sure it wasn't an infection, but there is no smell, it's not red and she doesn't scratch/shake her head. Just brown gunk.


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## jessiebuck (Mar 20, 2008)

*To jzgrlduff :*

Hi! I cannot reply to a personal message as I have not sent enough posts. I do not know these people. My golden breeder sent me the site when I was having problems with my golden's ears for the recipe and some cleaning tips.

Thanks!!

Leslie


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## jcasks (Oct 14, 2007)

I use a liquid cleaner from the Vet's office and clean Tucker's ears once a week as they are prone to getting dirty!! I love a clean ear!


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## Cam's Mom (Apr 13, 2007)

My guys get dirty outer ears from wrestling in grass and dirt, and from desert dust. But so far no infections.

I wash the outer ears of my dogs with shampoo (EfaHyLyt) and rinse with gentle spray of warm water. Then dry with a small towel(washcloth) They get water in their ears when they go swimming too, but seem to dry out OK. I once tried the cleaning/drying stuff in my own ears, and it stung like Billy-O, so I've never used it on the dogs.


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## Shining Star (Jan 7, 2007)

I use a liquied cleaner called ( DermaPet )( MalAceticOtic AP )

You can buy it on line or get it from a vet.
It smell like Apples when using it.


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