Cleaning puppy ears

by Leigh
(SA)

I have an 11 week old old Dachshund puppy, and would like to know what the safest way is to clean her ears.

Are cotton-tipped buds OK? And how far into the ear can it go? There is brown stuff visible inside her ears, but it doesn't smell or itch.



Hi Leigh
No, don't use cotton buds on your puppy's ears, it increases the chances that you'll poke a bit too far, or too hard.

Cotton wool balls and an ear-cleaning solution, or special ear-cleaning pads will work best (check out the Healthy Ear Cleaner on my Bathing A Puppy page)

You want to gently wipe around the outer part of your pup's ears, if they're very waxy you may need to do this more than once. That's really all that you need to do.

If his ears seem to be really dirty though, or you ever notice that they seem red, inflamed, smell or look 'funny' etc., have your vet take a look.

Good luck!