A dog with clean ears is a dog with fewer health problems, which is why cleaning dog ears is emphasized as an important grooming ritual. But we’re often told not to fiddle with a dog’s ears for fear of damaging the delicate things. The truth is that although canine ears are sensitive, dogs have to get used to such handling, else your grooming efforts will be for naught. If you neglect to regularly maintain your dog’s ear health, you put the dog at risk for developing yeast or bacteria infections -- especially in dogs with long, floppy ears. Here’s how to get the job done in the fewest steps as possible.

Prepare Your Equipment

You’ll need some cotton balls and ear cleaner that’s specifically made for dogs. If you want a less commercial product, simply substitute the ear cleaner with a little mineral oil. You’ll also need a pair of scissors.  Don't use a cotton tipped swab because you may inadvetantly get too deep inside the ear and cause damage.

The Procedure

Begin cleaning dog ears by wetting a cotton ball with the cleaner and then wiping away any dirt or wax found in each ear. If you notice a dark yellow or green discharge, redness, swelling, or an unusual odor you might be looking at an infection or the nasty work of ear mites – a problem that requires an appointment with the vet.

Grooming

Although you may have cleaned the ears to a shiny, healthy appearance, you’re not quite finished. You also need to remove the hair inside of them.

You can approach this step in one of two ways: (1) you can pluck them out, or (2) you can trim them. We don’t recommend that you pluck your dog’s ear hairs because that’s painful. But you must be careful with scissors. One slip and you could damage a dog’s ear canal or cut the ear cartilage

Flip back the tip of each ear to expose as much of the inner ear as possible. Cut away extraneous hairs that grow from inside the inner ear, taking care not to let any hairs fall back into the ear.