Animals and Pet Care
Your Pets Ears
by Dr. Rod Jouppi, Walden Animal Clinic
INSTRUCTIONS FOR EAR CLEANING
Grasp the tip of the ear and pull it straight up and slightly away from the head (toward you).
Fill the ear with cleaner until the liquid just starts to spill out of the ear canal. Some of this cleaning liquid can also be rubbed on the ear flap if necessary.
Grasp the ear cartilages at the base of the ear and gently squeeze or massage the ear canal. You should hear the medication "squish" in the ear. Continue with the massage for 1 to 2 minutes, then let the pet shake the cleaning solution from the ear. Remove loose debris from the ear flap and entrance to the ear canals with a dry cotton ball or cotton swabs.
Never push cotton swabs down into the canal of the ear. This will force debris further into the ear. Use the swabs to clean debris only from those areas of the ear you can clearly see.
Repeat the cleaning procedure .
Your ear medication should be paced in the ear immediately after the cleaning procedure. Always consult a Veterinarian if your pets ears look irritated, have excess discharge or if your pet is shaking his head or scratching at the ears.
PROPER MEDICATION OF YOUR DOG'S EAR
After placing the medication in the ear, massage the canals as outlined above for the cleaning procedure. If you have enough medication in the ear, you will just begin to hear a "squishing" noise as you massage. I the inner part of the ear flap is involved, place half of the prescribe amount indicated above in the ear canal and place the other half on the involved part of the flap. Spread the medication over the flap with your finger (ideally covered with a finger cot or rubber glove.) The entire affected area should be covered with a very thin layer of the medication. If medication/debris is noted to accumulate on the flap part of the ear, it can be washed away with a shampoo whenever necessary. Prior to shampooing, however, the opening to the ear canal should be plugged with dry cotton balls to prevent water from getting into the ear canals.
