[nagdu] Ear cleaning techniques.

[Applebutter Hill]

Hi Deanna,
Nobody's going to like this, but here goes. I've had four guide dogs over 43
years, and other than within the first year after coming home, none of them
has had an ear infection that needed antibiotic treatment.

Over the decades, the training program at GDF has changed their minds
several times about what to use - vinegar & water, O'deClean, alcohol and so
on. An old vet decades ago told me not to put any liquid in my dogs' ears,
unless they were infected. Vinegar helps with yeast infections, but alcohol
is harsh and damaging to the ear. I use peroxide flushing to get an
infection under control (as was used on me when I had an ear infection), and
then clean regularly with a dry, double-folded-over, unscented tissue on my
little finger.

"Wet" is the enemy in dogs' ears, especially for flop-eared dogs, and if you
keep the ears dry, you can avoid infections. You don't need to get every bit
of wax out of the ears; wax is important for ear health. It's important to
check the ears regularly, sniff them, and wipe them out with a dry tissue.
Mostly, this is a way to ensure that there isn't any moisture in the canal,
and it does remove some extra wax. For ear health, a little benign neglect
goes a long way.

Always plug your dogs' ears with cotton balls when bathing, and then dry the
ears out after the bath several times within the first day.

Other than after a bath or swim, if your dog's ears are wet when you wipe
them out, if he or she regularly scratches his or her ears or has a terrible
odor coming from the ears, you should suspect an infection. Keep in mind
that the normal wax smell isn't a "terrible" odor.
Donna & Hunter

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Deanna Lewis via
nagdu
Sent: Thursday, June 04, 2015 8:27 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog
Users(nagdu at nfbnet.org)
Cc: Deanna Lewis
Subject: [nagdu] Ear cleaning techniques.

Hi all,
With my previous guide dog, I cleaned his ears by putting the solution on
the gauze/cotton and then using my finger to wipe out his ear. Or sometimes,
I would just use an alcohol-free baby wipe. I've been cleaning Mambo's ears
in the same manner, but his ears are bigger and floppier than Pascal's (I
call them Dumbo ears, LOL). So, when he was a the Vet a few weeks ago, his
doctor gave me a new ear cleaner and this one you apply differently. You
tilt the dog's head and fill the ear with the solution. Then you rub the
ears for a minute, and then the dog will shake out the excess fluid. You are
supposed to fill up the ear until you see the liquid overflowing back out of
the ear, but it's hard for me to feel when it's full. I think I ended up
using a lot more than I needed, so I will have to replace the solution more
often than the other one.
I've heard of people using either method, but is there a preferred one?
Also, Mambo gets very timid when you approach him with anything. He freaked
out in class when I went to put on his frontline. I've been using kibble to
get him more comfortable with being approached with things, but I don't
think I will be able to clean his ears in this new way without someone's
help. So, I was wondering if you all had any ideas.
Deanna and Mambo with retired Pascal

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