With long and floppy ears, dogs are frequently the victims of various ear infections. In order to avoid chronic infections of ears, it is the best to make routine ear cleaning an important part of your dog-care schedule. There can be various symptoms of ear infection in your dog.

• Preparing to clean ears of your dog

It is best to clean the ears of your dog in the bathroom, a mud room, or another room of your home where you will not mind a potential mess. Remember that most canines do not enjoy having their ears cleaned that means spills are unavoidable.

The best ear cleaning tools are some cotton balls and a good pair of hemostats. You should not use Q-tips on a dog’s ears, as these can push dirt further inside the ear canal, or even injure the ear of your dog. Hemostats can be availed at pharmacies, drug stores, or from your vet. You can also purchase an ear cleaning solution specifically created for the dogs, or you can mix one up at home.

If you want to make ear cleaning solution at home, then you can use 1 part white vinegar to 1 part of water. This ear cleaning solution works wonders on canine’s ears that have chronic bacterial or yeast infections. Another ear cleaning solution for dog that you can mix at home is 1 part hydrogen peroxide to 1 part water. You should never use alcohol to clean the ears of your dog because alcohol can dry out the sensitive skin inside the ears of dog and cause allergic reactions.

• Simple Techniques of Ear Cleaning

You can start ear cleaning of your dog with a good belly rub and soothing words. It will relax your canine companion and let him know that ear cleaning times are not a bad experience. Place a small amount of the ear cleaning solution in the ears of your dog, and then gently massage the base of the ears. At this point your canine companion will want to do a head shake. Then, give your pooch a good shake which will help loosen debris inside his ear.

After this, lock down a cotton ball in the hemostat and softly use it to wipe out the inside of the ears. Repeat it as often as needed, working from the inside out with a fresh cotton ball, until no more wax is seen on the cotton ball. You should finish up the session of ear cleaning with a treat and extra words of encouragement to help soothe the nerves of your canine companion. Remember that it can be easy to become obsessed with the ear care of your pet, but you don’t want to clean the ears of your dog too frequently. Over-cleaning of dog’s ear can actually upset the natural flora balance of his ears, which leads to infections. Once in a week ear cleaning is sufficient to help maintain clean and healthy ears of your dog.