# Itchy ears



## Ollywebb1 (Feb 6, 2013)

Hi,

I don't want to seem neurotic but I've noticed this week that Radley (12 weeks) has been scratching his right ear quite a lot! I had a look inside his ears and it looks like there are small black little spots. I think it could just be ear wax but not sure. He's going to the vets next week so ill ask there but just wondering if anyone else has seen these in their V? And if so could this be causing the itching? 

I've attached a photo.

Thanks


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## jld640 (Sep 29, 2010)

Not at all neurotic. 

His ears look like they need a bit of cleaning. Savannah would get ear infections until she was 7 or 8 months old and her ears would look like that and itch, too. If his ear is infected, you should be able to smell it.


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## Ollywebb1 (Feb 6, 2013)

Thanks jld640, his ears don't smell bad at the moment but ill ask the vet to be sure and see if they can give me some cleaning tips.


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## lyra (Nov 2, 2012)

Lyra had black in her ears that looked just like that - it was mud from playing in soil (mixed with ear wax) 

I very briefly tried cleaning it out with a cotton bud but the way she flicked her head there was no way I was going to keep trying after the first attempt.


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## Vida (Dec 26, 2011)

Wrap a piece of tissue round your finger and wipe it out,just like you would a child ( no cotton buds). When it's done regularly they get used to it and love it 
I have to do my dogs several times a week,they get filthy,and quite smelly if I don't


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## redrover (Mar 17, 2011)

Does anyone else notice a faint odor from their dog's ears, even when clean and non-infected? Jasper just smells waxy, I guess. It's not bad, just intriguing. More noticeable if I let his ears get too dirty.

Ollywebb1, my vet says to wipe the ears out if you can. Dirt easily gets caught in there. A lint-free cotton pad would work. You can use some ear cleaner if you like--Jasper hates it, but I do it once in while, especially after swimming. There's kinds just to clean them out, and kinds that have some antibiotic-type stuff in them to help prevent infections and help dry the ears out if water gets in them. The directions usually say to put the drops in the dog's ear--I can't keep Jasper from shaking his head if I do that. Instead I get a big cotton ball really wet with the stuff and place it just inside the ears. Then massage away! Quickly remove the cotton balls--this is why you don't want to stuff them down there or anything--and then let your dog shake his head! I only use this if he's been swimming or digging really hard at his ears. Don't go digging around--ear wax is beneficial, and it's pretty easy to damage ear structures. You just want to get the dirt out of the part of the ear you can see.


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## MilesMom (Jun 21, 2012)

Start cleaning regularly while he's a pup! We clean Miles' ears weekly unless he has been somewhere especially muddy or has been swimming then we go do it more often. If they start stinking, we googled "holistic ear infection treatment" and made a solution and that cleared it up. We use Q tips for exterior and wipe with tissue in exterior canal.


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

That is a pretty clean ear. Ear infections are nasty smelling. Our boy has lots more ear wax production than that picture, Ow1. Thanks for posting the picture, never crossed my mind to shoot Sam's ears :-[
I am forced to clean his ears at a very minimum once a month.

I use a teatree oil solution (must be diluted otherwise it's too strong) to wipe Sammy's ears every two weeks, in fact. I also buy ear wash from Petsmart and rinse the whole ear canal... but it's not as effective as the teatree oil wipe.. boy hates it but must be done. 

http://www.ehow.com/info_8613627_tea-usage-cleaning-dogs-ears.html

http://www.ehow.com/way_5854813_homemade-tea-tree-oil-dogs.html

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## threefsh (Apr 25, 2011)

His ear looks pretty clean, but that is a little bit of wax/dirt you can easily wipe out.

Riley and Cooper love having their ears cleaned. We use Earthbath brand puppy wipes and it makes them smell amazing afterward.  You just wrap the wipe over your pointer finger and gently massage the inside of the ears. My pups leeeeeaaaaan into me while I'm cleaning their ears. It must feel good!


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## Ollywebb1 (Feb 6, 2013)

Thanks everyone, some top advice. He's really good at letting me inspect him so hopefully the cleaning should become comfortable for him after a while. 8)


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