How Often Does Water Get In My Dog’s Ears?
It is common that water in your dogs ears during a bath, and because their ear canal is quite long, it can be difficult for them to get the water out on their own. Naturally, your dog will try to shake their heads to try and dry or get rid of the water in their ears. Typically, this will help get most of the water or fluids out of your dogs ear, but depending on the dog breed and how much water got in, it may be hard to totally dry dog ears with just shaking.
If you notice that your dog appears to have water stuck in their ears, it’s important for you to help them as much as you can. Some dogs, like Golden retrievers, for example, have a more difficult time removing water themselves. This is due to the fact that their ears fold down over the ear canal, causing the water to become trapped in their ear. Left to sit in their ear, the fluids in your dogs ears can grow bacteria and yeast, leading to ear infections.
Why it’s Important to Remove Water from your Dog’s Ears
Making sure you keep your dog’s ears dry and clean should be part of a regular grooming routine.
Exposure to water is a natural part of life, from bath time to swimming and other recreational activities. Most pups love to play in the water. And just like you, your fur baby can end up with water clogging their ears.
There’s normally a balanced ecosystem of yeast and bacteria (both good and bad) living all over your dog’s skin and inside his ears. The presence of water in your dog’s ears creates a perfectly moist and warm environment that disrupts this balance by providing the right conditions for yeast and bacteria overgrowth. This in turn often results in bacterial infections.
Getting Your Dog Ready for Ear Cleaning
You will need a good supply of towels. If your dog is wet from swimming or bathing, his coat will need a good towel dry – heres how to do it quickly.
So before you get to your dogs ears, give your pooch a good drying using a very absorbent pet towel all over, then brush out his coat.
With most breeds, you should already be cleaning your dog’s ears at least once a month, so your dog will be comfortable with you handling his ears and getting them clean.
After towel drying your dog, you can spend some extra time checking for water in the dogs ear and drying them out.
Your pooch will probably dislike the process, so learn how to keep your dog calm while grooming and getting him ready for ear cleaning.
Start by towel drying the ears, and soak up as much moisture as possible on the surface and around the dogs ears.
Do not insert the towel inside your dogs ear; only use it for external drying. If there is still excess water in the dogs ear (and its likely there is), this is when you dab along the opening of the ear canal with a cotton pad.
The above procedure should get your dog prepared for ear cleaning. Follow the below step-by-step guide on how to clean your dogs ears and dry them off.
DOG EAR HEMATOMA BLOOD DRAINING . DO IT YOURSELF AT HOME
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Dr. Nicholas graduated with honors from The Royal Veterinary College in London, England and completed his Internship at the Animal Medical Center in New York City. He currently lives in the Pacific Northwest.
Dr. Nicholas spent many years as an emergency and general practice veterinarian obsessed with keeping pets safe and healthy. He is the author of Preventive Vet’s 101 Essential Tips book series.