Sit, Stay, and Learn The Best Way to Clean Your Dog's Ears

When you brought your dog home to live with you fur-ever, you already knew that clipping their nails, cleaning their teeth, and maintaining their coats were part of the deal. If you're like most people, you probably didn't realize that it's equally important to add cleaning your dog's ears to the grooming list. If you don't clean your dog's ears once a month, you'll risk missing signs of infections, growths, or other signs of ear trouble.

Why Clean Your Dog's Ears?

Ask yourself this — why do you clean your own ears? If you didn't, you would run the risk of wax buildup and unnoticed anomalies. For the poor pooches that lack ear cleaning, these issues can have dire consequences. Oftentimes, older dogs won't be able to raise their heads, suffer from being disoriented, and deal with hearing loss — all because their ears weren't cleaned on a regular basis.

And let's not mention the critters that can infest your dog's ears. Mites, fleas, and ticks can all burrow their way into the interior folds of their ears. If their ears aren't regularly checked, your doggo could quickly develop a life-threatening ailment.

How to Properly Clean Your Dog's Ears

Although cleaning your bestest boy or girl's ears might sound a little intimidating, it's usually easier than convincing them to let you clip their nails. Whether you choose to use a vet-recommended ear wash or saline, getting those expressive ears clean is easy. Start by holding their ear open, releasing a 5-second stream of cleaner into their ear, and massaging it out with a washcloth or cotton towel. Of course, you'll want to stop along the way to dish out some treats, but it's that easy!