I've read a lot of different places that huskies need their ears cleaned on a regular basis since they are more open than on other dogs. I'm just wondering though how often we should clean her ears and how it's done. Any suggestions?

weird i have heard they need them cleaned less.... i have maybe cleaned their ears like once a yr. and they are never that dirty, Jacks have been more dirty but nothing gross that makes me say i need to do it all the time.

Actually dogs with flappy ears like Labs are more prone to ear infections due to poor air circulation and retained moisture. I clean Kale's ears out when I give him a bath or when he goes swimming. I use a product called OtiClens, which is slightly acidic; it provides an environment that yeast organisms cannot thrive in and it loosens the wax build up (if your dog has any).

Just use cotton balls. You could probably check once a month if you really wanted to. They shouldn't get THAT dirty unless there is something wrong health wise.

I check her ears just by looking in them once every few months - I've only used cotton balls on her a few times to get her used to it. And when she gets a serious bath I put cotton balls in her ears because if water goes in them they can get really nasty ear infections from the water being in their ear that can turn really nasty/ugly.

Thanks for the speedy answers! I'll look into the OtiClens for her. I haven't noticed that her ears are dirty other than after she sticks her head in the dirt Just making sure I'm on top of it. I'll try just getting her use to the cotton balls then as well.

My Vet suggested equal parts vinegar and water, dab on a cotton ball and wipe out. Ive only cleaned Sura's ears once this way. I haven't needed to do it again yet.

I had my first girl for 17 years and never once cleaned her ears or had them cleaned by a vet or groomer. They just never got gross. As a child, my family had floppy eared dogs that would get gross ears... even to the point of needing professional care. I just don't think it should be an issue.

I try to clean Chloes every so often. I never use a q-tip because you don't want to hurt their ears, so I use a cotton ball. Of course I also clean up her teeth, eyes, and feet so I try to do them all at one time.

I've heard of the vinegar and water! Supposed to work great! But like everyone is saying, it's probably not something you will be doing often, I bath Kale every 4-5 months and he rarely swims, and when I use the ear wash the cotton comes out clean, so he has zero wax in his ears. Personally I wouldn't spend too much money on an ear wash and use the suggested vinegar and water, cheaper and works just as well.

Thor's I do about once a month needed or not. They usually do not need it. My GSD gets his ears done once a week. His get very dirty for some reason.

Bringing this old thread back. Mishka has an issue with one of his ears. He wouldn't let the vet get a good look at it so I got some medicine but I absolutely cannot treat it! It is impossible to clean his ear or put the medicine in it. I literally have to fight with him for 10 minutes and wrestle him to the ground to finally get it in his ear. And I'm supposed to do this like twice a day. Yeah right!

Any idea to help get him used to it. He knows when I have the medicine because otherwise he lets me rub his ears and stuff. I've tried using high value treats but that doesn't work either. I am at a loss. I know his ears are bothering him because he's been shaking his head and scratching at his ear more than usual recently. I can bring him to the vet and they can sedate him to clean it/treat it but I'd really rather that be a last resort.

i have had to do ear washes and meds on Jack ears the other week. he loves me rubbing his ears and for the most part has put up with me cleaning his ears, can you sit on him and do it? or get someone to hold him down while you clean?

I might have to get the hubby to help hold him down. He hates it because Mishka will get bitey and he doesn't deal well with that but we're all going to have to suck it up and do it.

It's just so weird because he LOVES getting his ears rubbed / scratched but lord don't go near him with medicine or ear cleaner.

Maybe you can try a muzzle if he gets too mouthy? And them someone can hold him while you go for the ears lol.

We just went ride on the bike, I'm going to see if that wore him out enough to try now.   

It takes a muzzle and two adults to get any medication near Luci's ears. Luckily she's only had an issue once, and that was due to an allergy.

Kye had a double Ear infection a few weeks ago. We found with 2 people it was ok, tough restraints for a quick a job as possible and try to keep calm and focused. Don't try to sooth your dog and say "its ok". It will give them reason to believe there is something to worry about. We just pretent to play with him. I pin him down all the time playing. So even though you may have to be tougher than you want to be with him/her, get them in the right position to do it right quickly so they don't have time to panic.

simplify wrote:

We just went ride on the bike, I'm going to see if that wore him out enough to try now.   

Did it work?   

If it didn't, see what he does for an almost empty jar of peanut butter. Juneau will have tunnel vision for the jar of PB while I trim her nails or clean her ears. It's worth a shot.

I really sympathize with you. One of my fosters would keep spitting up pills and it was a mess until I figured out what worked lol.

VintageJeans wrote:

simplify wrote:

We just went ride on the bike, I'm going to see if that wore him out enough to try now.   

Did it work?   

If it didn't, see what he does for an almost empty jar of peanut butter. Juneau will have tunnel vision for the jar of PB while I trim her nails or clean her ears.  It's worth a shot.  

I really sympathize with you.  One of my fosters would keep spitting up pills and it was a mess until I figured out what worked lol.

No. I didn't even get a chance. I was about to go and try and the hubby came home with pizza and Mishka got his second wind.   

He'd probably go nuts for a jar of peanut butter. The thing is he is SO food motivated, but he knows when the ears are being messed with for cleaning and even that isn't enough to get him to cooperate.

I'm going to try though. He takes pills fine because I usually just put it with his food and he gobbles it down without even realizing. So I'm definitely glad for that.

simplify wrote:

VintageJeans wrote:

simplify wrote:

We just went ride on the bike, I'm going to see if that wore him out enough to try now.   

Did it work?   

If it didn't, see what he does for an almost empty jar of peanut butter. Juneau will have tunnel vision for the jar of PB while I trim her nails or clean her ears.  It's worth a shot.  

I really sympathize with you.  One of my fosters would keep spitting up pills and it was a mess until I figured out what worked lol.

No. I didn't even get a chance. I was about to go and try and the hubby came home with pizza and Mishka got his second wind.   

He'd probably go nuts for a jar of peanut butter. The thing is he is SO food motivated, but he knows when the ears are being messed with for cleaning and even that isn't enough to get him to cooperate.

I'm going to try though. He takes pills fine because I usually just put it with his food and he gobbles it down without even realizing. So I'm definitely glad for that.

Awwww. Well, wear a hoodie or something and hide the medicine in your pocket or something lol. Juneau definitely knows when I am about to clean her ears and she'll act calm and normal for a second then sprint off when she thinks it's funny. lol

Oh! You can also try benadryl... lol. It will make him a little sleepy. 1mg per lb is the dose I believe. They also sell these anxiety treats at Petsmart called Pet Ease. I used them for car rides when Juneau was a puppy. Definitely calmed her down and she slept a lot. Maybe he won't put up much of a fight if you do that. lol

Man I wish your vet had what my vet does...they use an ear goo called KET (there's a really long medical name that I can never spell right) that they put in the ear and it stays for 14 days. Did they even get his ears cleaned out at all? Putting the meds in wont help if the ears weren't cleaned out. Karli tries to hide in her kennel when I want to clean her ears.

I was able to clean his ears out the first time but ever since then he won't let me do it. I managed to clean it out tonight. The hubby distracted him with a half a bag of treats and I managed to get two cotton balls worth of gunk out of his ear. I definitely think a vet visit for a cleaning and some medication is in order.

That stuff sounds awesome though. I'll definitely ask my vet about it.

Lycus had an ear infection last year on his left year and it was bad! I can't remember what ointment the vet gave me but it worked wonders! I would put it on twice a day for two weeks and the infection was gone after the first week. Although, Lycus loves getting his ears touched, scratched, and even cleaned lol, unlike Mishka.

If you're getting gunk out, I definitely suggest a vet visit as well before it gets worse.

We had a vet visit this morning. No mites, which is good. It was just really dirty. A combination of irritation from it being so dirty and a little yeast. They are giving him a cortisone shot and the ointment that stays in his ear for 10 days. Hoping that clears it up. They had to sedate him to do all this so I hope that it's not something that keeps popping up.

@ Rocio - He loves to get his ears scratched and stuff, but the second you go to look in/clean it he's running. Lol.

I never thought about cleaning ears or cleaning her teeth, everything's natural. if i see a problem, sure, but right now, i don't see the point