Ear Care for Pets:

Having an ear that is painful can be very unsettling for any pet. Ear infections in your pet can range anywhere from mild to chronic. Some of the symptoms of an ear infection include discharge from the ear. This can be black or yellow in color. Other symptoms include the pet being unnaturally lethargic and irritable and persistently scratching its ear. Also, soreness of the ear canal or redness underneath the ear flap along with bad odor emanating from the ear, vigorous shaking of the head or constant tilting of its head to the side can all indicate the presence of a ear infection. The exact nature of the problem can be ascertained by closely inspecting the ear under magnification and further by taking a microscopic smear of the ear wax. A thorough examination and scrutiny would be needed to look for any foreign objects like ticks or cotton balls that might have got into the ear canal, or for growths, cysts, pus, inflammations and canal wall changes.

Mild ear problems can be caused by ear mites called Otodectes cynotis. Their presence can cause a fair amount of discomfort and hence leads to excessive scratching of the afflicted ear.  This is among the easier infections to diagnose and similarly easy to cure. Chronic ear infections make the animal extremely irritable and even if it improves it can recur.  If an ear infection is left unattended it can perforate the ear drum before it proceeds to travel to the brain, where damage caused can be extensive and severe. Some other causes include dank, moist environments leading to the ear canal then becoming a perfect breeding ground for microorganisms like yeast and bacteria to multiply. Staph bacteria are the predominant bacteria involved in most ear infections. Excessive or low secretion of hormones can further harm your pet’s constitution, thereby leading to various other ear infections. Some pet’s ear problems can be hereditary. Diseases like Primary Seborrhea, Dermatomyositis and some types of tumors in the ears fall into this category.

Some common remedies involve clipping and trimming excess hair present near the ears. Try to prevent debris of any kind accumulating in the ear. Ensure you clean it regularly. In the case of yeast infections a proper antifungal can be prescribed to eliminate the problem. Antibiotics can also be recommended depending on the severity of the infection. If the problem is hormone related or due to allergies, then various kinds of therapies or medical treatments can be undertaken. In the case of dogs specifically, it has been noted that a high percentage of them who suffer frequent ear inflammations or ear infections suffer from some kind of food allergy.

Pet Ear Cleaning:

Cleaning ears of pets is one of the major requirements for pet health care. Cats and dogs that have large ears are particularly susceptible to ear infections. Cleaning your pet’s ears periodically is important in order to ward off such ear infections.

Animals’ ears are extremely sensitive, and therefore, it is not always easy to clean them. It might be necessary to restrain your pet before you begin the cleaning routine. This is because if your pet is not restrained correctly, it may start to fidget, and in the process a sensitive area of the ear may get injured.
You might need different kinds of restraints for your pet, depending on its size. For example in small pets, restraint is not very difficult. You can simply hug the pet, gently holding the neck with one hand. When you hug your pet this way, it not only reassures the pet, but also gives your hands enough flexibility to clean the ears.

Alternatively, you can also restrain a smaller animal by wrapping it around in a towel. Wrap the pet completely in the towel, allowing only the head and the tail to pop out. After the pet is completely wrapped, use the hugging maneuver to restrain it. You can use a soft cloth or a piece of gauze to clean the ears of your pet. However, in case the ears of your pet are infected or have mites, you may need a medicated cleaning solution as well. The cleaning solution allows the infection, dirt, and debris to come to the outer parts of the ear from where you can wipe them off with a cloth or a piece of gauze.

Do not use Q tips to clean pet ears, if you do not know the proper technique of using them. Since the ears of your pets are sensitive, putting in Q tips might damage them. Placing foreign objects in the ears, may permanently damage the ear canal of your pet.

Steps to follow to clean your pet’s ears:

• First clean the ears using a piece of gauze. Clean all the discharge which may be present on the surface of the ear.
• Straighten the ear and put in some cleaning solution, allowing the solution to go into the inner parts of the ear.
• Put the gauze inside the ear again and clean the debris.
• Once that is done, massage the base of the ear so that any solution which is still inside seeps out.