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This guide is a home-care support tool. It does not replace personalized advice from your veterinarian. For any questions, contact us at 514 223-1197.
What you need
Three things are enough. Your veterinarian may have prescribed a specific solution: use that one.
Gloves
Medical gloves (latex or equivalent) to avoid contact with bacteria or fungi. Wash your hands right after.
Cotton balls or gauze
To wipe the ear flap (the visible, floppy part of the ear) and the top of the ear canal. Never cotton swabs.
Ear cleaning solution
The one your vet recommends, brought to body temperature.
Two tricks before you start
Warm the bottle under your armpit for 10 to 15 minutes: a lukewarm solution is far more comfortable, and your pet cooperates better.
Pick a spot that is easy to clean: at the end, your pet will shake its head and fling the contents of the canal out. Keep valuables out of range.
The right amount: not too much, not too little
Cleaning is done according to your pet's needs, which vary a lot from one animal to the next. Some are more prone to ear trouble:
Anatomy
Floppy ears or a narrow canal: moisture and debris build up more easily.
Swimming
Water getting into the ear encourages infections.
Genetics
A family predisposition is common.
An ear that keeps getting infected
When infections keep coming back, the real problem is rarely too little cleaning. It is usually an underlying cause: most often allergic skin disease in dogs (atopy or a food allergy), and sometimes ear mites in cats and young animals, which are contagious to other pets. Cleaning more often will not fix it: the underlying cause needs to be diagnosed and treated.
See the itching guideHow often?
Ask your vet for the right interval: some animals need frequent cleaning, others very little. A clean, odor-free, non-itchy ear often needs no routine cleaning at all: clean as needed rather than on a fixed schedule. Over-cleaning irritates and inflames the canal, which is counterproductive.
Never cotton swabs
Never use cotton swabs. They push debris deeper into the canal, the exact opposite of what you want, and can injure the canal lining or even rupture the eardrum. Stick to the ear flap and the upper part of the canal, with a cotton ball or gauze.
No household products
Never use hydrogen peroxide or rubbing alcohol: they sting, irritate the canal, and can worsen inflammation. Do not improvise with vinegar-water or oil mixtures either. A product your vet has not recommended can also be dangerous if the eardrum is perforated. Use only the solution your veterinarian recommends.
When to call the vet
Cleaning solutions are for upkeep and prevention, not for treating an infection. Contact the clinic promptly if you notice:
- Increasing fluid or pasty discharge, on one side or both.
- A bad smell coming from the ear.
- Blood in the canal or on the cotton.
- Redness or warmth that persists or worsens, or a more swollen ear.
- Pain that is getting worse.
- More frequent head-shaking or scratching.
- A suddenly swollen, warm, pillow-like ear flap (an aural haematoma, caused by head-shaking).
- A head tilt, loss of balance, circling, darting eyes, or a drooping eyelid or lip on one side: call promptly.
Is your pet resisting? Stop.
Watch for the first signs of discomfort before any struggle: ears pinned back, the whites of the eye showing, lip-licking, yawning, a frozen body, the head turning away (a growl or hiss in cats). At these signs, pause and do not push on.
If your pet struggles enough to make the cleaning difficult, stop and call us: the ear may be too painful to clean without medication. A painful ear plus restraint is when the bite risk is highest (a cat can scratch or bite very fast): do not put yourself at risk, and do not force it.
Stay calm and speak softly: never scold a pet that resists, it only deepens the fear. If you must stop, still end on a positive note (a treat, a gentle stroke) so the ear is not linked to a fight.
The eardrum first
Before a first cleaning, or if there is an infection, have the ear examined: if the eardrum is damaged, some solutions are not safe for the inner ear. If you are unsure whether the eardrum is intact, or if the ear is painful, smelly, or discharging, do not clean it: have it examined first and let your vet choose a safe product.
The procedure, step by step
Allow about 5 minutes. With a calm pet, one person is enough; otherwise get help: one holds and distracts, the other pours it in. To distract, a lick-mat or a spreadable treat (cream cheese, soft food) keeps the pet busy during the care and links it to something positive.
Get set up
With a calm pet you can manage alone. With a young, excitable, or unaccustomed animal, have someone hold and distract it with a lickable treat. If it is genuinely too hard, talk to your vet about options.
Expose the canal
With one hand, lift the ear flap straight up. Fold it into your palm, furry side against your hand, thumb on the smooth inner side: you should see the opening of the canal. For a dog with naturally upright ears, just cup your hand behind the ear.
Pour in the warm solution
Holding the flap like a funnel, pour a stream of solution to fill the canal to the brim (a few seconds, not just a few drops). Do not let the nozzle touch the ear, to avoid contaminating the bottle.
Massage for a minute
Lower the flap and gently massage the base of the ear between thumb and finger. You can feel the canal as a small soft tube running downward at the base of the ear.
Let it shake, then wipe
Let your pet shake its head: that is how it loosens and expels the debris. (Shaking during and right after cleaning is normal. It is shaking that continues over the following days that should prompt a call.) Then wipe the ear flap and the top of the canal with a cotton ball. Finish with a treat, and you are done.
For cats: shorter and gentler
Cats tolerate restraint far less well. Keep the session very short, do one ear at a time (the other later), and wrap the cat in a towel (a 'burrito') if needed, with the head out. Never scruff.
In pictures
After the cleaning
A few simple steps to finish cleanly and safely.
- Throw away the used gauze, cotton, and gloves.
- Wash your hands.
- Close the bottle and store it out of reach of children and pets.
A little redness or dampness right after cleaning is normal and fades quickly (often within a day). Increasing redness, discharge, odor, or pain means you should call us.
Your questions, our answers
The most common situations around ear cleaning.
My dog or cat hates ear cleaning. What can I do?
How often should I clean?
Can head-shaking and scratching make the ear worse?
Should I pluck the hair inside the ear?
The ear looks redder right after cleaning. Is that normal?
Related guides
A small ritual that protects the ears
Done in the right amount and the right way, ear cleaning prevents a good share of infections and quickly becomes a simple routine, especially with a warm solution and a treat at the end. At the first sign of pain, marked redness, or unusual resistance, set the cleaning aside and call us.
Worried about an ear?
Discharge, bad smell, pain, or persistent redness? Our team can examine your pet's ear and show you the right technique.