How do you clean yorkie ears?

[BabieChloe]

I'm scared to clean Chloe's ears because I don't want to poke her or anything.. But it has to be done! How do you safely clean their ears? I've seen people use qtips but my fur baby is very fidgety and that just scares me because I can easily poke her if she moves. Also, what is the best ear cleaner?

[rubymoon2072]

I use a cleaner. I don't actually stick anything in their ears. its organic with a drying agent and I use it once or twice a month for maintenance on their ears. I do however pluck out the baby hairs that grow in. I use a lil ear powder and pluck. they come right out and it is not painful I assume cause they let me. cutting their nails now that is a different story. lol

I'm sure others will chime in with suggestions also.

[ilovejoel]

I use ear cleaner, no qtips. Joel hates it though so I don't do it often.

[tokipoki]

I use Virbac's Epi-Otic

Virbac Animal Health — EPI-OTIC® Ear Cleanser | United States

I just squirt some of the solution into each ear and massage it a little and let the pups shake it out...after another minute I take a cotton pad and wipe out the outer part of their ears to remove any loosened gunk that has liquefied and gotten shaken out. I'd definitely stay away from the q-tips or just use them on the very outer part of the ear (it would be better to just use a pad over the q-tips anyway so you won't have to worry about mishaps). Q-tips aren't really even supposed to be put in our ear canals either (even though I still do it...)...an ear drum could easily be ruptured especially if you have an uncooperative, squirmy, or spooked pup.

I try to coordinate ear cleanings with baths (since the cleaning solution we use contains a drying agent) so ears get cleaned maybe every other week or so.

[pstinard]

I use Zymox ear cleaner. I squirt it in Bella's ears after her bath, gently rub her ear flaps, and then wipe off the excess with a towel as I'm drying her off. No need for Q-tips or cotton balls.

Zymox® Ear Cleanser

[KazzyK810]

I used to use Virbac epi-otic but I couldn't stand the smell of it, so it was never a regular thing.

I now use anmopharm cucumber melon otic, from the vet, and it smells so much better, that I use it regularly after baths. Just a few drops, massage the ear, ZoE shakes head head a few times, and then I wipe her ear with a cotton ball, and we're good to go!

[Britster]

I... don't. lol.

He gets groomed once every 6-8 weeks professionally. Bathed every 2 weeks or so. Never had a problem.

[Maximo]

I use a flea comb with tightly spaced teeth to comb ear hair daily. Cleans debris/wax from the hair and removes loose strands to keep the ear canal from becoming too hairy.

Sometimes I use Vet Solutions ear cleaner with a drying agent after baths. I use q-tips, but my boys sit still for me. For fidgety dogs, I would use small cotton balls. A YT member had a q-tip end break off and fall in her dog's ear canal. It had to be removed by the vet.

You don't want to stick anything far into the ear canal, other than squirting a little of the cleaning solution from a nozzle on a bottle.

[Magnus]

Don't use qtips! I did this and ended up making it worse. It cleans some but I think you end up packing the gunk in down further.

I use the Zymox also. After my vet explained what I was doing wrong, she said just put few drop in, massage well, and let her shake. I try to do this at least once a week.

[SophieKatesMom]

I use an ear cleaning solution I get for my Vet, I apply it to a cotton ball and place the ball inside the ear and massage the outside. Sophie Kate has a combo of ears that are up but flop at the tips so this works well for me.

[pstinard]

Originally Posted by Britster

I... don't. lol.

He gets groomed once every 6-8 weeks professionally. Bathed every 2 weeks or so. Never had a problem.

I didn't use to clean Bella's ears either. The reason I started is because she got a yeast infection in one ear, and after it cleared up, the vet recommended an ear cleaner to help prevent future flare-ups.

[Maximo]

Originally Posted by Magnus

Don't use qtips! I did this and ended up making it worse. It cleans some but I think you end up packing the gunk in down further.

I use the Zymox also. After my vet explained what I was doing wrong, she said just put few drop in, massage well, and let her shake. I try to do this at least once a week.

I agree. I should have emphasized that I do not put the q-tip near the ear canal, which would just pack down hair and debris into the canal. For the canal, I do as you wrote above.

I use q-tips only to clean the visible parts of the ear.

[BabieChloe]

Thank you everyone for the responses and suggestions! It's hard for me to even get her to stay still for nail cutting, so I definitely will stay away from qtips and use a cotton ball. Hopefully she lets me do it, but probably not.. She thinks she's the boss around here lol so I'm going to need to practice how to do this safely

[pstinard]

Originally Posted by BabieChloe

Thank you everyone for the responses and suggestions! It's hard for me to even get her to stay still for nail cutting, so I definitely will stay away from qtips and use a cotton ball. Hopefully she lets me do it, but probably not.. She thinks she's the boss around here lol so I'm going to need to practice how to do this safely

If you use one of the good quality liquid ear cleaners, it's very easy to do as a part of bath time. Bella flinches right after the cleaner is squirted in, but then she's okay. It helps to have a second person to hold the dog steady. Bella won't even let us cut her nails--we have to have groomer do that--so if you're actually able to clip your own dog's nails, you should have no trouble at all cleaning your dog's ears.

[BabieChloe]

Originally Posted by pstinard

If you use one of the good quality liquid ear cleaners, it's very easy to do as a part of bath time. Bella flinches right after the cleaner is squirted in, but then she's okay. It helps to have a second person to hold the dog steady. Bella won't even let us cut her nails--we have to have groomer do that--so if you're actually able to clip your own dog's nails, you should have no trouble at all cleaning your dog's ears.

The only way she lets me do anything is if she gets apple pieces I'm still having trouble with her staying still for a top knot too, but the apple pieces help lol