The weather is getting warmer, and the dog's body odor is slowly coming up. If you want to be a clean-loving child, just taking a bath is not enough. In addition to regular brushing of teeth and nail clipping, ear canal cleaning is also essential!

Whether you go to a beauty shop for cleaning or do it yourself at home, if you don't master the correct operation techniques, it will often be counterproductive. Many parents and pet stores like to use cotton swabs to clean their pets' ear canals, but this is actually wrong.

Why can’t I use cotton swabs to clean it?

First of all, look at the picture below. The external auditory canal of the hair ball has a special structure. The vertical ear canal and horizontal ear canal have an "L-shaped" structure (humans mainly have horizontal ear canals). The special structure causes its "ventilation and drainage" ability not to be very good. So it needs to be cleaned regularly.

Secondly, cleaning ears is a mysterious thing for pets. When using cotton swabs, if the hair ball is not restless, it may bring serious consequences. Since the hair ball has an L-shaped ear canal, using cotton swabs may also remove earwax. Pushed deeper into the ear canal, so owners should be careful! We need to help our furry children eliminate risks in advance. Dogs such as Shih Tzu, Cocker Spaniel, Golden Retriever and other lop-eared long-haired dogs need to pay more attention to the cleaning of their ears compared to prick-eared dogs such as Corgi and Husky!

Cleaning fluid to clean the ear canal

To ensure that the eardrum is not damaged, you can consult a doctor during a physical examination

① Open your ears, pour the ear cleaning solution into the ear hole, and fill the ear canal with enough ear cleaning water.

②Gently massage the base of the ear for about 1-2 minutes. The feel is like rubbing a wrapped Q-elastic small hose.

③The cat/dog will shake its head crazily!! If you are afraid of getting it everywhere, you can first use a cotton ball to absorb the excess ear water or take the dog outside.

④When the shake is almost done, you can use cotton or gauze to wipe away the dirt and liquid washed out from around the ear canal!

Precautions for ear canal cleaning

① Do not use cotton swabs or other long hard objects to clean the ear canal. No owner can 100% guarantee that the hair ball will be absolutely quiet at any moment. Some cats and dogs have thin cuticles, and the oil they secrete can protect the skin of cats and dogs. Moreover, the mucous membrane in the ear canal is very delicate. Frequent wiping will cause damage to the mucous membrane and damage the epithelial cells, causing future problems. Bacterial infection, which turns into otitis. Or it may poke the eardrum, causing injury to the inner ear, and tissue or cotton balls can easily become lodged in the ear canal.

② Cleaning the ears is only an auxiliary function and cannot kill bacteria, fungi or ear mites. If there is redness and swelling in the ear canal, the color of the earwax is abnormal, and the odor is strong (normal earwax is light yellow,(light greasy smell), itching, etc., you need to go to the hospital for further treatment!

③You must use ear cleaning solution specially designed for pets. Strange liquids such as water and alcohol are not acceptable!

④ Always pay attention to the expression of your furry child. If the expression is painful, it indicates that there may be damage in the ear canal.

⑤Clean your dog’s ears about once every one to two weeks, preferably before taking a bath. And check it regularly every month. In addition, long hair near the ear canal should be trimmed regularly. Prevent shampoo and water from splashing into the ear canal when bathing. After your dog swims, you can use a hair dryer to help dry its ear canal, especially the long-haired lop-eared dogs mentioned at the beginning of the article.