Monday, September 15, 2008

Ear Care for Dogs

My, what big ears you have!
Routine ear care is an important part of your dog's health. Prevention is the best medicine, and simple ear care at home will keep the veterinarian bills away. It's easy and your dog will learn to like the one-on-one attention---sort of like getting brushed.

Here is part of an article taken from the Drs. Foster & Smith Pet Supplies online library. It offers tips for maintaining your dogs ears:

  • Gently pull the pinna (earflap) upward to straighten the ear canal. Squirt an ear cleaning solution into your pet's ear and massage the base of the ear between your thumb and forefinger for 20 to 25 seconds. This ensures that the cleansing solution gets a bit deeper into the ear. We recommend a solution like Ear Clens® for this step.

  • Let your pet shake out the extra solution, then get him relaxed again for the next step.

  • Use a soft cloth or a product like Ear Clens® Pads to remove excess wax and debris that the solution and shaking have brought up. Do not insert anything down the ear canal.

  • After cleaning, fold earflaps back for about five minutes to dry ear canals, and then finish with a small amount of an ear drying powder.

You'll be surprised at the amount of debris that you can remove. Regular cleansing of your pet's ears can prevent many potential ear problems before they start and will save you time and money in the long run. Your pet depends on hearing as one of the strongest of his senses and it just makes sense to take good care of them.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

That is the cutest picture! :)

Anonymous said...

Very cute---are they your dogs? You do a great job at finding great online resources. Thanks from the owner of 2 dogs and 1 cat:-)

Pet Care Today said...

The little dog (Murphy)belongs to a friend at work, and the bigger dog (Oakley) belongs to her friend. I agree---very cute dogs!

Anonymous said...

That picture is adorable!