Article 2

Ear Care

By Paul Jensen

A dog's ears require regular care. If Buster is scratching his ears against the carpet it is time to take a good look at what is going on. All dogs have bacteria and yeast growing naturally in their ears. The irritation starts when there is an abnormal build-up of earwax or yeast because of an increase in humidity or a lack of ventilation. As with most things, prevention is always the better solution than cure. Inspect your dog's ears regularly. Look at the ears and smell them. If there are brown deposits (earwax) or the ears smell bad, its time to get the ears cleaned. There are several home remedies that you can use for minor irritations. Try pouring vinegar into the ear canal and then rub or massage the ear. Vinegar lowers the PH of the ear, breaks up the wax and kills the yeast. A yeast infection is usually the most serious of the conditions found in dogs. Some owners use hydrogen peroxide that will also break up the wax and allow for the removal of the wax using cotton swaps. We have also tried light mineral oil. It seems to have a soothing effect especially when you massage the ear after you have filled the ear canal. It is best that you do this outdoors because after you release the dog he will shake his head violently and the oil will spread all over.

For more serious conditions, you should see your veterinarian who may prescribe Panalog or a Panalog Hexamite combination. Panalog has an oil that breaks up the hard earwax, an antibiotic to combat bacteria, a fungicide to stop yeast growth and a steroid to decrease the itch and inflammation. Hexamite kills ear mites. To prevent reoccurrence, a treatment should always be carried out over several consecutive days even after it looks like the ears have been cleaned up. Most treatments are prescribed for about 10 days.
Neglecting an ear infection will result in a chronic scarring and narrowing of the ear canal which will result in decreased ventilation, increased wax, moisture, yeast, etc. - a vicious cycle.

About the author:
Paul Jensen has been involved in raising, training, showing, judging, and breeding dogs for more than 30 years. To learn more please go to The Small Munsterlander web site.