Page 35 - Chow Life - Spring 2018
P. 35
Ear Infection Cleanliness infection. I prefer to have owners
trim hair away from the opening
Counts
Risk Factors Most dogs’ ears and routinely use an ear cleaner,
require only an which will help remove wax and
• Food allergy occasional wipe with avoid the ‘chewing-gum-inhair’
effect.”
a cotton ball (not a
• Atopic dermatitis cotton swab) soaked in By routinely cleaning your dog’s
canine ear cleaner. ears, and consulting a veterinarian
• Pollen and mold allergy Easy does it: at the first signs of infection, you’ll
Vigorous cleaning can help ensure that his ears stay clean
• Adverse reactions to topical increase inflammation and healthy—all the better to hear
or even rupture the his master’s voice.
preparations eardrum. Always
dry your dog’s ears
• Middle-ear infections thoroughly when he’s Sue Owens Wright is the author
• Chronic pathology been in the water, and of awardwinning magazine articles
place cotton balls in
and books about dogs. She lives in
• Frequent swimming his ear canals before Northern California with her Basset
bathing him. For
Hounds.
• Foxtails cleaning, Outerbridge
advises against using
• Hypothyroidism rubbing alcohol, This article first appeared in the January
hydrogen peroxide, or 2009 issue of the AKC GAZETTE and is
• Specific-breed risk factors Gentian violet, which reprinted with permission.
can be potentially
harmful to living
tissue. Avoid using
powder, which can
cake and harden. A
flush the ear canals. Eardrops solution of vinegar and water is a
or oral antibiotics may also be reasonable home preparation, but it
prescribed. Surgery may even be doesn’t break up earwax as well as
necessary in extreme cases. some of the commercial veterinary
Treatment with prescription products available.
drugs must be tailored to each Long-eared dogs require more
specific case. Dozens of different frequent ear cleaning. Pendulous
medications are used in treating ears create a stopper effect on
canine ear infections, depending on the canal, preventing air from
the individual dog, how severe the circulating. Basset Hounds often
ear disease, what sort of bacteria are wear special bandanas at dog
found, whether there is also a yeast shows to keep them from soiling
infection, and what the identified their ears before a competition. A
risk factors are. “snood” might look silly, but it holds
When there are recurring long ears aloft and keeps them
infections, the lining of the ear from dragging on the ground and
canal may thicken, the earwax collecting bacteria that could cause
glands can increase in size, and infection.
there is the potential for scarring—
all of which contribute to the Stripping hair from your dog’s ear
incubation of infectious organisms, canal when grooming can increase
causing further problems. “The best the risk of infection. “Hairs are
line of defense is to figure out, with normal,” Outerbridge explains.
your veterinarian’s help, why the “When you pull hair from the ear
dog is getting ear infections in the canal, you will cause inflammation,
first place. This is particularly true the body’s response to trauma.
if there has been more than one Inflammation causes swelling and
infection,” Outerbridge says. heat, and you have risk factors for
an increase in organisms and ear
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