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Permalink Reply by Cindi on December 3, 2008 at 10:41am

Ears are always an issue. Be sure you clean them well. (No Q-tips, please)

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Permalink Reply by Natalie, Lance &Tucker on December 3, 2008 at 10:57am

When we brought Lance home and took him to the vets office, he ended up with an ear infection! His ears were dirty too, our vet said that their ears shouldnt be dirty, usually a sign of infection. I am not sure how true that is but he hasnt had dirty ears since then at least where we could see it. Maybe have him checked by the vet to make sure he doesnt have an ear infection? Is he scratching at his ears at all? Shaking his head alot?

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Permalink Reply by D46 on December 3, 2008 at 8:50pm

I had noticed not long after I got Bubba he was shaking his head more often and more violently. I decided to take him to the vet to see if they could figure out what was going on. To look at his ears as far as you could see, I saw no noticeable problem. They put that scope down in his ear canal and said it looked like a wax/dirt buildup but they didn't have some particular kind of equipment to get it out. I took him to another vet they recommended and she checked it out and tried to dislodge it without further complications(mainly having to anaesthesize him) by squirting that ear cleaner in there and massaging the base of his ear. She then took a towel and put it over his head and he began shaking his head like crazy. She was hoping it would come out and evidence could be seen on the towel. Unfortunately, that didn't happen and they had to anaesthesize him in order to go way down and pick it off near the eardrum. I was shown this debris later and it was nearly the size of a pea, black looking and this was what was bugging him so much and why he shook his head so often. I hope we don't have to do that again.

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Permalink Reply by Kelly on December 3, 2008 at 11:08am

Gibson's get mildly dirty (mainly when it was dry and he'd dig in some dirt). They were worse when we first got him, but now I clean them every week with a swipe of a cotton ball and I rarely see dirt.

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Permalink Reply by Renee on December 3, 2008 at 11:09am

I haven't done anything yet. I was going to get some ear cleaner. We live where there is very little grass planrts etc. and lots of dirt.

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Permalink Reply by Lou Ann Lemaster on December 3, 2008 at 11:49am

I take a tissue and wipe out the inside part of the ear about once a week on both of my dogs. I try to get a little deeper, but Duncan and Chloe won't stand for that. So, twice a year, on their checkups, I have the vet or vet techs give both a good cleaning. So far, no infections or mites. But, if you can get them use to it while they are young, I strongly suggest it.

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Permalink Reply by Boots and Superstar! on December 3, 2008 at 1:03pm

hey, you can get swimmers ear astringent at a pet store and make sure you get a green tea one. then squeeze some astringent on the ear and let him shake his head. leave it alone for about 30 seconds, and then use cotton balls to remove the dirt. you can use q-tips but be very careful cause they hate it and it can get inside the ear canal.

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Permalink Reply by Lisa on December 5, 2008 at 3:02pm

Could be ear mites or yeast. Is it stinky and really dark like coffee grounds? You might want to have it checked.

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Permalink Reply by Ju Lo on December 5, 2008 at 3:32pm

When Theo was a small puppy his ears always had lots of buildup too. We had to give him drops at one point to break it up. But he seemed to grow out of it because now there's hardly ever any buildup and it cleans up very easily. Just do your best to keep them clean. :) If you see Max scratching in his ear a lot, or if it starts to smell funky, call your vet to get it checked out.

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