Ear concerns

Question
Hi Patti,
Thanks for taking a moment to help us with our question.
We took our 8 year old female dalmation / hound dog mix breed to the vet
with ear problems. He reccomended we put her under anethesia for a ear
flush of both ears. He wanted to charge over $200.00 for this procedure.
We are reluctant to have her be put under anethesia unless it is life
threatening due to her age and being overweight by 25 pounds.

Our question:
Is there a safe way or method of flushing out her ears that we can do
ourselves ? Or perhaps you know of any home remedies we can use to
cleanse her ears ?

Your help / advice is appreciated !!!!
Ron & Karen

Answer

Hi Ron,

You didn't say what condition your dog was diagnosed with, you also didn't say if you discussed your dog's weight and possible reactions to the anesthesia with your vet. There are different kinds of anesthesia, some may be better tolerated than others.

Most dogs do not like having their ears cleaned. Some dogs will happily sit in your lap or on a table while you clean or medicate their ears but many require some form of restraint. On top of dealing with a struggling dog, it's possible to rupture the ear drum or pack wax and other debris further into the ear canal, which can prevent medications from getting to the deeper parts of the ear canal, or worsen your dog's current condition. This is why your vet is talking about using anesthesia.

I'd talk to the vet about the kind of anesthesia he or she would be using, to see if there are safe options. It may be possible to do the ear cleaning under sedation, rather than knocking her out completely.

If you decide to try to clean your dog's ears yourself, there are commercial ear cleaners that have good ability to clear out wax and/or ingredients to keep the ear dry that are very helpful. Hydrogen peroxide (3%) diluted 1:1 with water is a reasonably good cleaning solution. You can read how to clean your dog's ears here:

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art29091.asp

The health risks to overweight dogs are serious, and can shorten a dog's lifespan. Once your dog has recovered from her current ear problem would be a good time to get serious about her weight issue. If she isn't already on a "lite" dog food, switching foods would be helpful. Cut out between mean snacks. If snacks are given, they should be healthy and nonfat, such as an apple wedge or two (no seeds) a couple of baby carrot, or a couple of banana slices. Dogs usually really love these as treats. Don't give your dog human foods.
If your dog is healthy otherwise, start increasing her daily exercise. Letting your dog outside in a fenced yard doesn't count as exercise. Leashed walks are what's called for, increase the distance you go every week. Start off with just a short walk, and in a few weeks time your dog will show improvement in her endurance and weight.

Best of luck,

Patti