By Joe Spoo DVM

One of the more frustrating parts of canine anatomy is the ear. While most dogs go a lifetime without issues, for those who have owned a dog with ear problems, you understand too well the frustrating problem they present. With the curved shape of the ear canal and with gravity working against it, too often the ears can be a constant source of discomfort for the dog and constant source of frustration for the dog owner. Too often we want a quick fix, but unfortunately with ear problem dogs, it becomes an issue of management rather than a cure.

Basically I think there are three classes of dog ears. The first class is the one we all hope for: the dog that never has ear issues over the course of its life. The second class are the dogs that get the occasional ear infection, maybe just a handful over the course of their life. The final class would be the dogs with ongoing problems, those infections that never go away or seem to come up multiple times a year. By far these are the most frustrating to deal with from both sides of the exam table.

In order to correctly manage ear infections in the short and long term it is important to get an accurate diagnosis of what is actually causing the problem. After doing a thorough exam of the canal, your veterinarian will take samples to check for mites, as well as bacteria, yeast or other foreign material. Once a diagnosis is made, a treatment plan will be initiated. My typical course of action is to dispense medications to treat the problem, along with an ear cleaner. Of the two, the most important component by far, especially for problem ears, is the ear cleaner. Many times our treatments fail, not because of poor medication selection, but rather because there is so much debris in the canal that the medication is unable to reach the ear surface and do its job.

Prior to medicating or cleaning you will want to discuss a course of action with your veterinarian, but my preferred method for ear cleaning is as follows:

Cleaning Your Dog's Ears: Make sure you clean your dog's ears either outdoors or in an area where nothing can be stained by debris from the ear canal, such as a tiled bathroom. Use a two-stage cleaning technique: first flood the ear canal with cleaning solution prescribed by your veterinarian. Make sure you fill the canal--don't just use a few drops. You can also soak a cotton ball with the solution and place it in the ear. Allow the solution to remain in contact with the canal for at least 60 seconds, and gently massage the entire canal (from the outside of the ear) during this time. Dry the canal with a cotton ball. Use only real cotton balls, which are less irritating than synthetic ones are. Never clean your dog's ears with a cotton swab. The swab pushes debris further into the ear canal, which puts the eardrum under pressure, possibly causing it to rupture, or at a minimum further impacts the debris. The second stage is a repeat of the first. Again, allow the solution to contact the canal for a full 60 seconds or more and massage the ear. Then step back and let your dog shake its head. The frequency of cleaning varies based on how severely your dog's ears are affected, but, in general, perform this cleaning a couple of times a month depending on how much debris is present. With an active infection, I typically recommend cleaning the ear 2-3 times a week while the ears are being medicated and to taper the frequency once the medications are stopped.

Anatomy of the Ear:

The important point is to determine the frequency of cleaning after the infection is under control. Dogs that rarely get infections may not need maintenance cleaning; however, for problem dogs it is vitally important to come up with a long-term cleaning plan. I would say for the majority of dogs with minor ear problems, cleaning the ears a couple of times a month may be enough to keep infections at bay. For dogs with severe issues the frequency may need to be as regular as once a week.

One overlooked problem in dogs with chronic ear issues is that there likely is an underlying problem that is contributing to the ear infections. Allergies are notorious for causing ear issue flare-ups in dogs, and unless the allergies are controlled the ears will be a constant battle. For more information visit the library article on allergies.

The key to ear problem management is staying ahead of the game with a maintenance cleaning schedule and communicating with your veterinarian on what products work and what products don't. Unfortunately ear issues are not ones that go away forever, and without an active plan in place they will be constant source of problems for the dog and headaches for you.