How often do you clean your dog's (problem) ears?

[vicky2200]

I woke up this morning very early because I heard Ditto panting really hard. I realized she wasn't in the bed, which was weird. I took her to get some water and after drinking quite a bit, she seemed fine. Then she started scratching her ear. This is nothing new for her. She is always very itchy. I checked her ears a few days ago because she was scratching and Weegee was interested in them, but they looked great. But this morning, her ear was bloody. In the past this only happens when she has an infection, although she has become more obsessive so it may not be an infection. Obviously, we will be taking her in to have it checked and get some antibiotics if need be. In the meantime (it will probably be Wednesday before the vet can fit her in) I am giving her benadryl to stop the itching.

This isn't her first infection, assuming it is one, but she doesn't get them as frequently as some dogs. How often should I clean her ears with ear wash to help prevent infections? I am semi-concerned that if I clean them too much, that could be problematic as well. I will be talking to the vet about this when she goes in, but I wanted to hear what everyone else does.

[Zeeva]

I think your vet will have the best answer. I only clean ears probably once a month or if I see (usually very little) black gunk in there. I simply rub it out with my finger (probably a big 'no no')...Keep us posted on how Ditto's ear is c: Wish Ditto good health vibes and all the best at the vet!

[vicky2200]

Thanks. I am not overly concerned about the infection itself. This is the third or fourth one she has had that bothered her enough to cause her to scratch until she bled. I usually "catch" it before it gets this bad, but this time I didn't see anything in her ear that would signify an infection. Usually when it looks red/bumpy I start putting ear drops in, without the vet consent ( you shouldn't do this, but we wouldn't be able to afford the dogs if every time she had an infection we went in.) Of course, this time, I am out of ear drops. I guess we will see what the vet has to say.

[Sunflowers]

Try Vetericyn.

That stuff works on everything.

[llombardo]

I really don't touch the ears unless I have to. I check them all the time. Both my golden and GSD had minor ear infections when they were puppies, knock on wood, nothing since.

[BowWowMeow]

Something is causing the ear infection and it's almost certainly an allergy of some sort. Is it the right ear or the left ear that's most affected?

For treating ear infections I use Zymox. That stuff is amazing. However, you've got to figure out the reason for the infection so that you can treat the underlying issue.

[vicky2200]

It is her right ear. We are fairly sure that she has allergies, but nothing severe. We had her in to see the vet, but the day before I got a better look at it and realized the infection was much worse than I thought it was. It is worse than any of her previous infections. I really don't understand how it got so bad because I checked her ears a few days prior to finding the infection and she looked fine. Anyway, they put her on a steroid to help stop the itching, they gave me a medicated ear wash, and ear drops. It is a yeast infection, likely from her being on antibiotics about a month ago for a skin infection.

[shepherdmom]

Buddy has had a life long battle with ear yeast infections. I smell them every day and clean them the second they start to get stinky, or when his brother was alive the second his brother started licking at them. Since his brother passed his ear infections are not as frequent but he still gets them. I have tried many ear washes over the years and a few years ago I found something called vets best cleaner and so far it has worked better than most of the others.

[Chicagocanine]

I got Vetericyn otic (ear) rinse, that stuff is great. When my cat was having a problem I used it daily but I tapered off when the Vetericyn cleared it up. Normally with the dogs I just clean them if they are gunky, or if the dog has a tendency to buildup, maybe once a week.