HOW TO CHECK THE CLEANLINESS OF YOUR DOG'S EARS
Our pets' ears should be checked regularly. At least once a week, look into your dog's ears and check for dark earwax or foreign bodies, e.g. ear stalks.
If the ears are clean, free of odor and discharge, and the skin color is slightly pink, it means that the ears are healthy. Such ears do not require your daily care, only regular prevention in the form of check-ups.
However, if you notice dark discharge with an unpleasant smell or your dog's ears are tender and red, be sure to see a veterinarian!
The onset of ear diseases can also be recognized when the dog shakes its head or tilts it to the side, frequently flaps its ears or rubs its ears against furniture or bedding.
If your dog has long and very hairy ears, they collect much more dirt during walks than the ears of short-haired dogs. It is worth combing them after each walk and getting rid of any seeds, grass blades or twigs stuck in the fur.
Observe your dog and if he rubs his ear after a walk or shakes it violently - check if a foreign body has got into the ear canal. The sooner you act, the better, because rubbing the dog's ear to remove a foreign body usually has the opposite effect - it gets deeper and deeper into the ear canal. In such a situation, a visit to the veterinarian will be necessary.
Remember to dry your ear canal after each bath - regardless of whether it is in a lake or a bathtub - using a cotton pad or a soft towel.
If you bath your dog at home, be careful not to pour water into the ear canal. The specific structure of a dog's ear canal means that water that gets into it may have difficulty flowing out of it.
HOW TO CLEAN A DOG'S EAR?
To care for your dog's ears, prepare a liquid and a cosmetic pad. Do not use cotton wool, fragments of which could get stuck in the dog's ear.
Also, give up using cotton buds intended for the care of human ears. Using them could be unpleasant for your pet, or even harmful in the event of sudden movement. We do not use cleaning agents such as spirit, hydrogen peroxide or iodine - if we do not have a special preparation, plain water will suffice.
However, we recommend using ear cleaning cosmetics available on the market, including:
-liquids that are applied to a cotton pad and then gently wiped over the ear,
-liquids that are instilled into the ear canal,
-wet wipes and pads.
Over-grooming ears that are otherwise healthy can cause unnecessary irritation to the ear canal.
If there is an infection in the ear, the veterinarian will recommend the use of special medicinal drops to be instilled into the ear canal.
Begin ear care by getting your dog used to this treatment. As soon as your puppy arrives at home, conduct manipulation training with him as often as possible, including: at the ears, eyes, paws.
1. Apply the cosmetic to a cotton pad and wipe the visible part of the ear. Remove dust, dirt and discharge from the ear. Do not insert the lobe too deep into the ear canal.
2. Use a separate cotton pad to clean each ear to avoid accidentally transmitting an infection.
Also remember not to use cotton buds intended for cleaning human ears.
Caring for healthy dog ears should be gentle so as not to irritate this delicate area.
Regardless of the type of ears and length of your dog's fur, the most important thing is prevention in the form of regular inspection of their condition.
Depending on your lifestyle, the degree of overgrowth or the length of your dog's ears, adjust the regularity of their care. Some dogs will require it once every few days, others once a month.
EAR DISEASES - fungal infection , parasites, bacteria
The occurrence of yeast or bacteria in a dog's ears is usually preceded by irritation, spilling water during bathing or an allergy, which makes the ear more susceptible to infection.
1.Dark, dry discharge, pain and severe itching are symptoms of scabies. These symptoms usually appear a few days after infection. To minimize the risk of your dog becoming infected with scabies, make sure your pet does not have contact with stray dogs or cats and eat a healthy, balanced diet.
2.Dark, brown, moist and sticky discharge with an unpleasant odor is a symptom of yeast infection. Under normal conditions, yeast lives on the animal's skin and causes an infection when its immunity is weakened.
3.Yellow, sticky discharge and severe pain are symptoms of bacteria.
Regardless of the color of the discharge in the dog's ear, whenever you see disturbing symptoms - go to the vet as soon as possible and do not clean ears showing symptoms of disease yourself. The doctor has special qualifications and skill, so firstly, he will do it painlessly for the dog, and secondly, cleaning it yourself may prevent the correct diagnosis. Not only this makes it difficult to diagnose the disease. Self-administration of medications or applying antibiotic ointment to the ears without prior consultation is also harmful because it makes it impossible to take a swab from the ear. Therefore, we cannot determine the causes of inflammation. Also remember that the wrong medicine can harm your dog.