General Question Ear Cleaning Questions

[Taylor]

Hey Guys,
I was hoping to get some opinions on this topic. I tried to do this myself last week...Mike held her and I tried to clean her ears, but she was NOT having it. He was holding her tightly but with their facial shape it made it difficult to get a good grip without hurting or choking her.

So I've decided this probably isn't the best option for us, as neither of us feel comfortable restraining her properly and I think it hurts our relationship with our dog.

First question: How often should we be cleaning her ears? I heard every 1-2 weeks, but with little wax buildup and because she is so against it, would it be bad to do them once a month?

Petco offers this service...but it makes me really nervous that their staff may not be trained well, or they could hurt her (either by digging around in her ears, or using Q-tips or something), or hurt her through restraining her improperly. Does anyone have any experience using these groomers? I bathe her myself so I don't have a groomer.

I called and left a message with the vet's office to see if they will do it, but I wonder if they will charge me for a wellness visit, in which case I can't take her to the vet twice a month to get her ears cleaned.

Any advice? I'm sure your dogs don't really love this either

 

[Baconator]

Bacons ears get cleaned every week or two depending on buildup, we had issues in the beginning but persistence and lots of treats and he will allow us to do it now. I tried holding him and having Jen clean them in the beginning but he was just to fidgety. Try it when he is sleeping or really sleepy, you may get less resistance

 

[PeterPanAndWendy]

Do it in small steps, so its not you forcing her to lay down.

Sit on the floor and pet her, and just rub on her ears. When she gets comfortable laying down like that for you then try the ear cleaning... at first just try putting the cleaner in her ear and rubbing her ear to massage it in. When she gets use to that then try to take a rag/cotton ball and rub the inside - but not to deep. We NEVER use q-tips... ours is to spontaneous when he moves and I don't want to jab him with it.

Remember lots of praise and pets... treats are nice too! And when you let go - remember she's gonna shake her head and let all the ooze fly out - so be prepared. We normally lead Pan straight outside so it doesn't get all over the house.

Good luck!

 

[JAKEISGREAT]

Here's a way we do it..both of my dogs love it. I use witch hazel. Soak a cotton gauze and..squeeze out excess..but you still want it wet. Wrap around your index finger. Reach into their ear and you can go as far as you can. Swab whole inside..Repeat until pad is clean. I got this from my sister who is a groomer. I did it every other day until the pads were just not dirty. Then once a week is fine. The great thing about witch hazel is..it's a natural astringent so will dry by itself! No worries about left over moisture...AND it's soooo cheap!

 

[Taylor]

Thanks guys...
She will let me play with her ears and pet her, she will lay down when told and let me touch her ears, but as soon as I get any sort of cotton or ear cleaning container near her she will bolt up and run away. If we do "pin" her down, she will snap at us, so it's become something unpleasant for us all. We've tried treats too, I don't think we can get her used to it.

 

[aprilemari]

just try a tissue bunched and wrapped around your fingers at first. you can get the wax out with just a tissue. now i put a little ear wash soln on the tissue and swab that around her ears. n
i never put the liquid directly in her ears

 

[elearn]

You will have to keep trying until you get her used to it. Don't give up - this is what my breeder told me about nails as well. I wouldnt trust sending her to PetSmart or PetCo - or any groomer not familiar with bulldogs. Maybe if there is a mobile groomer near you where her grooming is done at your house. But I'm sure that costs more than the vet.

Herman was the same way, so I let the vet clean them (oddly enough he stood still for the vet) and I just keep maintaining the big cleaning the vet did. I am also more calm when I try to do it now. First time was a total fiasco, I had cotton balls, cotton squares, alchohol, mineral oil....and my husband holding him so tight and petting him that I couldnt even reach his ear - and yelling at me that I was hurting the dog and to HURRY UP LOL It was a complete disaster.

I found that being calm, like it's not a big deal and doing it BY MYSELF gets better results. Once you get better at it, she will probably trust you more to do it.

Can you put her up on a table where she can't get away maybe?

 

[bullmama]

Squirting the solution in with a nice ear massage... Then wipe out when done. This is how many vets taught me to do it and since I do it this way I have not had any ear infections in 10 years. I use malecetic otic and rarely have any bad dirty ears. Once a week. Until I was taught how to do it this way we always had ear issues. Yeast, bacteria, infections. The solution is self drying and continues to break up dirt and bacteria even after you are done cleaning.

Sounds like the whole ear thing has her traumatized. Is it any way possible she has a minor ear infection now which is why she doesn't want you to clean them?


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[kazzy220]

I have to say that since changing to Fromm I've never had a problem with ear infections ... until we tried the Fromm chicken n veg ... and that's when we found out about Maggie's chicken allergy!! So I don't really use an ear cleaner because they don't really get dirty.

As [MENTION=2092]JAKEISGREAT[/MENTION] suggested I use the witch hazel about once a week just to clean them out. However, I get the witch hazel pads. Very cheap and picked them up from Walmart in the medical aisle. I just wrap it round my finger and give a good ol rub and itch. They all love it. I also use the witch hazel wipes on all their wrinkles and tail pocket too. Naturally astringent so I don't have to worry about drying off afterwards.

As for the approach, I don't know where cuddle time is for you, but say for example it's on the couch. Well, I'd keep the tub of wipes next to me on the couch and then just make it part of your time together.

I can imagine that if the two of you get all tensed up to do it, she will react to the way you are feeling and it just becomes worse for the three of you. So make it relaxed and pleasant.

 

[Stoagie713]

What brand did you use? [: I'd like to use this method [MENTION=2092]JAKEISGREAT[/MENTION]

 

[dalmatina38]

Amber gets her ears cleaned during bath time. We put the solution in her ears, rub it around and then let her shake and she is done. She has pretty pink ears but also likes you to scratch her ears so I do have some cotton gloves I put on (you can get them in a bunch at lowes for a couple of bucks) and I put one finger down in her ear and just rub around to see if anything is in there. Always comes out clean but she thinks it is attention instead of conflict. Throw the gloves in the wash when your done. Everyone is happy.

 

[JAKEISGREAT]

What brand did you use? [: I'd like to use this method @JAKEISGREAT

I buy store brand...if they have it. It's very inexpensive and works great. Even though I have to chase Jake down...once he settles down, he loves it!

 

[sheshistory]

Yikes! Sounds like your Miss Charlotte does NOT like getting her ears cleaned.

Neither of mine love it, but I have to do it every to my one bully, Linus because he is prone to chronic ear infections. He is an 81 pound dog and I developed a way to clear his ears, even if he objects.

First, he ALWAYS gets a goody afterward. One of the great things about bulldogs, if they know there's a treat in it for them somewhere, they become instantly more willing!

Now, this might sound weird but I get my cleaning solution in hand, along with a baby wipe and come up behind Linus and sort of straddle him (not sitting - standing!) and gently squeeze him between my legs. He really can't go forward or backward now so I pet him and tell him good boy, then I gently (but firmly) grasp the ear, squeeze in the solution, massage gently at the outer base of the ear, then allow him to shake his head. I then wipe the outer ear down with a wipe and repeat on the other side. The trick is using your legs to gently keep your bully in place so you have two free hands to work on the ears. It also avoids a physical confrontation with your bully.

I have also used a Q-Tip on Linus' ear when he has a lot of build up but, if you do this, be sure to use the swab on the outer ear ONLY and only when you're sure you've gotten Miss Charlotte to the point she won't jerk her head and hurt herself by accident.

I hope that helps!