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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on January 17, 2010 at 11:52am

Congrats on your new family member. I very seldom bathe my dogs...unless they roll or get really dirty!I would not do this too often. I believe there may be a discussion on this also. I would wait at least a couple more weeks if you feel you "need" to bathe her so she is more adjusted to you. Home Ear washes: I use equal amounts of water and white vinegar and on a young pup I would just wipe out with this solution and a cotton ball! You can also use equal amount of alcohol, vinegar and water, the alcohol helps dry the ears. I find this works better than an ear wash you can buy!

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Permalink Reply by Sky and Lyla on January 17, 2010 at 7:15pm

I buy an ear cleaner from a vet, or at my local pet store (not the large chain stores), I can buy a "vet brand" from the store. I like the vet brands because they are more gentle on the ears. I don't like alcohol in the solution because it is very drying to the skin. You just squirt some down in each ear, massage the ear base, and then stand back and take cover while they shake their head to get it out.

I do bathe my dog's every week or two, but I use a very gentle and extremely diluted shampoo mixture (a small squirt in a cup and then fill the cup with water) and I do not lather it too heavily. I then rinse like crazy and then rinse some more. Finally, I use Chris Christensen's After Bath rinsing aid. This helps to neutralize whatever little particles of shampoo might have survived my crazy rinsing party. The last thing I do is clean the ears and then let them shake. When I get them out I spray on Chris Christensen's Ice on Ice which helps to moisturize and strengthen the hair and also helps to keep dirt from getting stuck in the undercoat. (I have to be fair here, I got all these bathing ideas from Joanna Kimbell's blog :) Like I said, I do this about once a week and have gotten compliments from my vet about how clean my dogs' ears are. I have never used Jane's homemade solution, but I'm sure it would work just as well too!

I now many people will say not to wash too often, and I used to rarely wash for the same reasons, but I got sick of the dog smell and the often dirty feeling hair. I have noticed that since diluting the shampoo so much, my dogs are actually less itchy than when I didn't dilute but only bathed once every couple months. The rinsing aid has also really helped. The Chris Christensen products are expensive, but they are so worth it. If I ever notice that it seems to be damaging their skin, I will stop, but their coats are the best I've ever seen them!

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Permalink Reply by Reese on January 17, 2010 at 8:26pm

We use Natural Care Vetinarian's Best ear cleaner... comes with a Wash and Ear Relief Dry. =)

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Permalink Reply by Katie on January 17, 2010 at 9:00pm

I use "ear drying solution" for dogs from the vet...just a squirt, massage the ear and then clean it with a cotton ball or a qtip. I use it if I see earwax build up and right after a bath to help dry up any water that may have gotten in the ear.

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Permalink Reply by Beauty and the Beast on January 18, 2010 at 12:59pm

Puppies have much dirtier ears than adult corgis.
Shiro had dark stuff in his ears all the time and somewhere between 4 and 6 months it was all gone.
Wet a cotton ball and gently rub it on the inside of the ear. I found that it makes it a lot easier if you put the puppy on the floor so the ear is flat against it.
I also wash his ears while giving him a bath, just soap and hands. He loooooves it when I massage the ears with my thumbs. I guess all the hair makes it itchy.
When Shiro was a puppy he got bathed a lot more often than now. It was summer and he was getting dirty wherevere we went. Puppy fur is also a lot thinner than the adult one and all the dirt retains unless washed. He was bathed every 1-2 weeks up to 4 months.
Now, at almost a year we bathe him only when he stincks (about 2 months or so). Adult coat is rougher and the dirt just falls off when it dries out! It's really amazing.
Make sure that you rinse off all the soap/shampoo, otherwise the skin will be itchy and flaky.

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Permalink Reply by A & P on January 18, 2010 at 4:26pm

I just use Qtip with very little warm water and rub gently. Just stay in areas that you can see. The pup may not like but if you can get some dirt out in one ear...that is great then give your pup a treat. Give it a break for an hour and start again. I worked with a dog trainer when I got my dogs at 8 weeks and her suggestion was to get the dog use to being handled. Introduce them to brushing (which will help with the smell and baby wipes - no need for expensive dogs wipes), touch their nails, brushing their teeth...my dogs are now 3 and they are great about getting their ears clean, brushing etc...remember to always end things with a treat. Good luck!

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