# Ears



## Mia (Oct 4, 2010)

My boys have been shaking their heads contantly due to their ears. Is there any suggestions for this? I do clean their ears out with little bit of olive oil and rub it for aboug 5 mins then I swap it out gently with a Q-tip (not going inside) but around.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

I would stop with the olive oil for a while and see if that helps.


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

Is there any residue? labs tend to have ear issues due to their love for water. You can try diluting apple cider vinegar and water 50/50 and flushing the ears with that solution once a week(or depending how often they swim). It helps to kill the bacteria and keeps the ears dry.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

we ended up taking bubba to the vet because he was uncomfortable and he had been shaking his head.
turned out he needed surgery due to a wax plug resting on his ear drum....and flushing had to be done under anaesthesia.

i didn't want to put him through yet another surgery, so we decided to try to shake it loose ourselves using a prescription oily flush the vet gave us..i can't remember the name.

it didn't work....so bubba went in...fortunately, they only had to sedate him to do the flush and pulled out a huge wax plug with hair stuck to it. the other ear canal is too narrow for them to see the ear drum, though they 'blind' flushed it anyway.

i would take your dog to the vet and let them look, possibly take a scraping or whatever they do.

dogs shake their heads, but when it becomes a habit or an obsession, then something else is going on.

and olive oil is way too heavy....to use in an ear.


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## Eurobox (May 17, 2010)

Unosmom said:


> Is there any residue? labs tend to have ear issues due to their love for water. You can try diluting apple cider vinegar and water 50/50 and flushing the ears with that solution once a week(or depending how often they swim). It helps to kill the bacteria and keeps the ears dry.


This is exactly what I was going to say. :biggrin:


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## Mia (Oct 4, 2010)

Eurobox said:


> This is exactly what I was going to say. :biggrin:


How do I flush them? Yeah, that is probably what it is. Yes there is some residue.


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

I got one of those small travel bottles at target, like for makeup with a pop top and just squirt into the ear, massage for 40 secs or so and wipe off with a cotton ball.


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## Mia (Oct 4, 2010)

Thanks!:smile:


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## Eurobox (May 17, 2010)

You may want to do this outside, as they will shake their heads vigorously and the stuff gets all over! :biggrin:


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## Mia (Oct 4, 2010)

Tell me now! LMAO, I got the stuff. I did it in the house!

How often do I do it? I know someone said do it for a week but 2 times a day or what?


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## 1605 (May 27, 2009)

Rye&Ted said:


> Tell me now! LMAO, I got the stuff. I did it in the house!
> 
> How often do I do it? I know someone said do it for a week but 2 times a day or what?


The 50/50 solution only works as a prophylactic: if you do it after they have been swimming it dries up the water in the ear canal & prevents fresh water organisms from becoming infections by altering the ph of whatever liquid remains. 

However, if your dogs have been constantly shaking their heads for a while, then I'd venture to say that it has gone beyond the stage of them possibly getting ear infections to them actually having them.

This is the same thing that happens to us as scuba divers: you dive in fresh water & wind up with ear infections unless you do the 50/50 thing or use commercial preparations like aqua-ear or swimmer's ear. But once you actually HAVE an ear infection, the preparation is of no use.

FWIW,


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## Mia (Oct 4, 2010)

It seems to be working. They have been getting their ears flushes and now they hardly shake.

Thanks guys! It worked. I am still going to do it for 2 more days then I am done.


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## Eurobox (May 17, 2010)

Rye&Ted said:


> It seems to be working. They have been getting their ears flushes and now they hardly shake.
> 
> Thanks guys! It worked. I am still going to do it for 2 more days then I am done.


Sorry I didn't get back to you, I was deer/squirrel hunting! I use it on my boys every time I clean their ears. So once every two weeks, but my boys have not ever had any issues. I would keep it up for at least a week or two. And then do it every so often just as maintenance.


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