There are plenty of different types of dog ears. Blunt tipped ears, and front facing, drooped down, folded ears, filbert ears, cocked ears, button ears, and as dogs breed with different breeds, the distinction between the types of ears that come on different dogs is becoming slightly blurry.
The thing that is still very clear, however, is the importance of caring for your dog’s ears. Infected ears are one of the top reasons for veterinarian visits. If you have your dog from a young age, you should get him used to your playing with and cleaning his ears regularly. If he gets used to it young, you will have less of a problem later.
Ear solutions are sold in most pet stores, but if your dog’s ears appear dirty, you can clean them with a cotton ball soaked in this solution. Your vet can show you the best technique. Just like our own ears, your dog’s ears are sensitive, so never stick anything into the actual ear canal and don’t push too deeply when you are doing any cleaning.
That said, most dogs’ ears do not require day to day cleaning but merely monitoring to catch any problem before it becomes too serious.
If you are a big fan of taking your dog to the pool or the beach, this can lead to infection if you don’t clean him up properly afterwards. Especially for dogs with floppier ears, the air circulation is minimal so they are more prone to infection.
Any kind of ear gunk, redness, lesions or crusty skin in the ear area should be attended to by a veterinarian immediately. Brown or black wax can be an indication of ear mites as well, so do not delay in taking your dog to the vet if any concerns arise. Our blog is by no means meant to be a substitution for veterinary advice/care.
