Cleaning the ears

Question
My Shih Tzu is about 12 years old.  I take him to get groomed one a month (puppy cut), but also bath him at least once a week (he has really bad allergies).  Lately, he's been shaking his head alot, like something is stuck in his ear.  My question: Can I clean his ears with a q-tip? Thanks, Mary

Answer
You should not, you can do serious damage.  Either take him to the groomers and have them clean his ears properly (they may have not be drying them out well after his bath and this will cause infections) so he will need to be seen by your vet to get antibiotics.  Or he may have ear mites this to will be a need for treatment by your vet.  You can treat ear mites with over the counter products, but I would not recommend doing so if your not sure what to look for and since you say that your Tzu has allergies and health issues it is best he is seen by the vet.  But please advise your groomer to be sure and put cotton balls or protection in his ears during bathing and dry them well afterwards, to prevent any future problems once this one is taken care of.  Hope this helps and let me know how things work out.