Waterpiks for a Cleaner Canine Ear

My first Border Terrier had ear problems in old age, and I spent a fair amount of time trying to keep his ears clean and keeping infection at bay. I did not know as much about antibiotics then as I do now, nor did I know the secret to cleaning out a dog's ears: a simple Waterpik dental machine.

A dog's ear canal has a vertical and a horizontal component and this elaborate construction predisposes dogs to ear infections as debris has to work its way upward rather than just straight out as it can with humans.

Ear problems in dogs usually stem from over-production of wax, which may be due to an irritation caused by debris, allergies, mites, or excessive inner-ear hair growth. You will know your dog has ear problems when it starts to shake its head, and when you get a rank smell coming from its ears.

If your dog has ear problems, shave off the inside ear hairs with a small clipper so that the wax will dislodge easier and the mites and fungus have will less opportunity to thrive.

After you have clipped way the inner ear hairs, give the ear a good cleaning with a dilute solution of hydrogen peroxide and a Waterpick. If you do not have a Waterpik, use a syringe or squirt bottle and swabs. Go slow and be gentle, as the dog may be in a lot of discomfort. The hydrogen peroxide should loosen up the black wax, dirt, dead mite bodies, and infection, and help float it out. Do not shove the pikor swabs in too deep -- the tip should always be visible. Keep cleaning the ear until all of the debris is out. This may take several rounds over the course of a day if the ear is really gross. It always helps if there is another set of hands, some cotton balls, and a towel or two.

In order to knock down fungus and ear mites, I recommend putting a dog that has had ear problems on both ear mite medication drops (available from any pet store without a prescription) and also putting them on a 14-day regime of cephalaxin. (Fishflex or Keflex) The drops will help wipe out the ear mites, and the cephalaxin will knock down any inner ear infection. Work the ear mite drops deep into the ears and dose with cephalaxin by weight, as with a flesh wound.

Re-clean the ears and remedicate with ear mite medication drops every day for three days, keeping the cephalxen regime going throughout. After three days, stop the ear mite medication for a week, but keep the cephalaxin regime going. On the 10th day, reclean the ear, medicate with otitis medication every day for another three more days, and keep going on the cephalaxin until 14 days have gone by. At the end of this regime, the dog's ears should be back in order.

In extreme cases, you may have to keep this regime going for three weeks, rather than two. Recurring infections may be due to allergies, thyroid disease, or a weakened immune system in your dog, or perhaps an oddly shaped ear canal. Regular cleaning of ears may be all that is needed to keep things in shape, however.
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