Lets focus on EARS 🦮🦠

Lets focus on EARS 👂🦠🦟

Ear infection is common and by knowing the signs and how to prevent and treat it can keep your furr baby happy and healthy and most importantly pain free.

Ear cleaning should be part of a dog's basic grooming routine.  All dogs should have their ears cleaned from time to time, but some dogs need more frequent and thorough cleaning than others, especially those prone to ear infections.

Most common causes of infection: 
🦟 Ear mites
🦟 Bacteria or Yeast
🦟 Lack of airflow 
🦟 Moisture build-up (after a bath or swim)
🦟 Excessive ear wax
🦟 Allergies (environmental or food related)

Why clean a dog's ears?
When cleaning the ears, we focus on the external ear canal. Ear wax and debris can easily build up in the ridges of the external canal. If irritation occurs, either from build-up or allergies, the canal can become infected. Lack of adequate airflow to the canal can increase the chance of infection. This is part of the reason dogs with long, floppy ears are prone to ear infections.

Common dog breeds with genetic predispositions: 
🦮 Cocker Spaniels
🦮 Basset Hounds
🦮 Yorkies
🦮 Pekingeses
🦮 Beagle's 
🦮 Swimmers (dogs that love to swim!)

External ear infections cause itching and pain. In addition, because dogs with itchy or sore ears tend to shake their heads violently, they can rupture blood vessels in the ear flap and end up with a pocket of blood in the flap called a haematoma.

Signs of an ear infection include: 
🦠 Smelly ears
🦠 Frequent shaking of the head
🦠 Redness of skin inside ears
🦠 Excessive scratching at ears
🦠 Excessive ear discharge/debris
🦠 Tilting the head to one side

How can you prevent ear infections: 
🧴Regular cleaning
🧴Gently wiping the ears after a bath or swim
🧴Inspect ears weekly for redness, smell or debris
🧴Do not insert cotton balls into your furr-baby's ears
🧴Use an appropriate ear cleaner to release wax and debris.

Dogs tend to build up wax and debris much faster than people!  Some dogs have little build-up and then you can use our F10 Wipes to just wipe occasionally. Other dogs need a good clean and bath once a week.

Prevention is better than cure!

🛁  You don't want to over clean as this can cause irritation, but you want to prevent infection as well.

Sr.Lee-Ann

*Please consult your veterinarian to find out what your specific needs will be.