OK, how do you go about cleaning out yur dog's ears? My German Shepard is having fits trying to scratch and clean his ears. I tried to clean them with cotton pads moistened with rubbing alcohol, but I don't want to hurt his ears.

Any suggestions?

LEO need not respond. (Just kidding)

Q-tips

See if your vet will sell you the liquid they use (it's light blue in color).  Rubbing alcohol won't kill yeast in a dog's ear.

Quoted: Q-tips

Seems like a good way to hurt his ear drums, no?

120psi shop air up his ass.  Money back guarantee.

I got some ear rinse from the vet. Just squirt some in the ears, massage it around, and run while he shakes his head.

Quoted: See if your vet will sell you the liquid they use (it's light blue in color).  Rubbing alcohol won't kill yeast in a dog's ear.

Stuff I was given wasn't blue, but Vets do have stuff you can use.  Just squirt it onto a cotten ball and then squeeze it into the dog's ear.  Squish it around in there to make sure it gets around.  Then wipe any excess from the dogs ear with a dry cotten ball.  Repeat on other ear.  Then let the dog run and shake his head which will send the remaining nuggets out of their ears.  Have fun.

Both of my Labs have had ear problems.  The problem is moisture, which leads to yeast.  My dogs' ears were so bad that there was a rust-colored liquid in their ears that would dry and was a bitch to dig out.  With my black Lab, I had to take her to the vet and have her put under so the vet could clean the ears to the ear drum.

Get some ear cleaning solution from the Vet and put it in the ear (gently) with a cotton ball.
Soak the cotton ball, slip it in gently and gently massage the ear with the cotton ball inside.

We went round and round with yeast in our dog's ears and that finally took care of it. No further problems since.

Could also be ear mites and they have a separate soution for that I beleive.  Your vet should have the solutions for the job.

Hydrogen peroxide, do it outside the house and let the dog shake the shit out esp. the crap deep inside the ear canal kinda of rub the ears with your fingers to let the peroxide get deep down. When you’re happy that it’s clean for the first day take some GoldBonds med anti itch cream and rub a very small amount to keep the scratching down. Might take several days for the stuff to get loosen up so take it slow.

Too much talk about putting Q-tips in peoples pets.

Quoted: Get some ear cleaning solution from the Vet and put it in the ear (gently) with a cotton ball. Soak the cotton ball, slip it in gently and gently massage the ear with the cotton ball inside. We went round and round with yeast in our dog's ears and that finally took care of it. No further problems since. Could also be ear mites and they have a separate soution for that I beleive.  Your vet should have the solutions for the job.

I thought that too, but after looking in his ears with a flashlight, if he has ear mites they are very waxy.

Quoted: I'm doing the yeast thing right now with a 1.5 Year old Golden Retriever. Good luck! (Dayum! Thats a strong dog!) It took the vet, me AND two nurses to hold her down for the initial squirt of medication.

Magnum is 15 months, 85 lbs, and strong as hell!

I wouldn't put a q-tip down his ear for that reason.

agree with q tips.

Quoted: See if your vet will sell you the liquid they use (it's light blue in color).  Rubbing alcohol won't kill yeast in a dog's ear.

I got this at TSC,so you could probley get it at any farm or ranch store.

Go see your vet.  They will give you something like Vet Solution to begin with.  You should use a cotton ball to apply it.  Q-tips are nice, but DO NOT stick it down the ear and just move it about because damage can be done.

I just spent about $1,000 on my pet lab in the last year with ear surgery to open (eliminate) the ear canal area where it enters the side of the head.  This "bowl" allowed the build up to pool and create a problem.  Things are just getting better now and he has had this problem for 4-5 years.  It began with a mild infection in his right ear and after about 2 years it was in both ears.  I have been to three vets for help.  The most recent has been the best.  They also treat my Police K9 and I recommend them to everyone.

The build up can be ear mites, yeast (usually has an odor), or bacteria.  If you get on it soon you may be lucky to treat it with some antibiotics.  I have tried quite a few things and surgery was the last resort.  Atleast he is now comfortable (far more so than before).  

For simple ear cleaning and maintence stuff check out Dr Foster and Smith (drfosterandsmith.com).

Good Luck,

Mike

Quoted: Quoted: Q-tips Seems like a good way to hurt his ear drums, no?

A dogs ear canal makes a right angle, it's not straight in like a humans.   Q-tip away!

Inferno(usedtoworkatavetclinic)715

I went to the vet and got some of the cleaning solution and I put some on make up pads. The pads I got from walmart the women use to clean make off thier face. they are round about 2 inch across. I put some on it stick it in the ear and clean it around. Brown stuff used to come out of my dogs ear. then I use a dry one and wipe it out. repeat as necesary.

Mine rides in the back of the truck when we hit the car wash....Everything comes out squeaky clean....

Babywipes!!

I have 3 Basset Hounds so I know a little about ear cleaning.

I use the ear cleaning solution from Foster and Smith catalog. ( R-7)

But the big thing is baby wipes, they work terrific for wiping the ears out.

The vet. showed me how to do it with Q-tips, but I don't trust myself.

    Good Luck, 3

Thanks for all the great info guys.