9 Safety Tips to Clean Your Pet Dog’s Ears

Puppy’s ears are delicate and must be handled with much care and caution. Like you give your puppy refreshing baths when needed, you must also make it a point to clean their ears regularly. The benefits of ear cleaning are many, like your pet pooch will be able to hear better, the puppy will be less susceptible to ear infections, it helps get rid of trapped water and flushing out ticks, mites, and a few other critters that can flock to the ears.

Plus, good ear hygiene helps prevent itching and other ear discomforts. If you are scared about handling your pupper’s ears, take it to professional pet groomers or your vet to get the job done. Always remember that cleaning your doggo’s ears correctly is more critical than mechanically completing the chore without being responsive to your furry pet’s sensitivities.

Dog insurance helps support your puppy with medical care during accidents, allergies, injuries, specific illnesses, dental issues, pet health emergencies, and more, depending on the level of cover chosen. However, you should know that even a cheap pet insurance policy does not cover grooming costs. Consider purchasing pet insurance if you haven’t bought a policy already.

Meanwhile, learn a few safety tips to follow while cleaning a dog’s ears.

1. A puppy’s ear canal is very long and “L” shaped and has a sharp bend making it difficult to access the eardrum or damage it while cleaning. However, you must bear in mind that thin objects like cotton swabs can be hazardous because they can easily penetrate through to the inside. Any negligence while introducing the swab will most likely hurt your fur companion.
2. Cotton swabs are potentially harmful as they can pack the wax deep inside the ear drum, so don’t risk using them on your pet.
3. Human fingers are best for cleaning dog ears. You can use your fingers instead of cotton swabs because the finger size is comfortable enough to clean the outer ear but too large to penetrate the inner ear or hurt the eardrum. So, know that human fingers are pet-safe.
4. It is best you use ear wash solutions recommended by your vet rather than the ones available over-the-counter. You can confidently clean your dog’s ears while using vet-approved drops on your pet.
5. Before cleaning, examine your pupper’s ears for sores, redness, discharge, or foul odor. If you find any of them, take your fur baby to the vet asap.
6. If your puppy doesn’t cooperate while ear cleaning or finds it uncomfortable, then postpone the cleaning task to a later time. Never force your doggo to give in to your obligations; such demands can only make them stubborn and resist the job even more.
7. Be gentle while putting on the ear drops. Hold the bottle only a few millimeters away and don’t force the bottle tip inside or squeeze it in an unpleasant manner that can frighten your doggy or damage the eardrum.
8. After putting drops in, softly shake your puppy pal’s head to remove excess drops. You can also slightly massage the ear base to allow the drops to flow down the ear canal.
9. In the end, use a cotton ball to clean up the outer ear and the ear flaps.

When cleaning your puppy’s ears, give the task your undivided attention to avoid injuring your pet. One moment of distraction can cost your pet’s health. Dog insurance can cover your pet’s unanticipated health scenarios, but does it mean it should needlessly suffer pain? No, right? Consider purchasing cheap pet insurance as a medical financial backup to manage unexpected pet health situations, not to resolve the consequences of negligent actions.  

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