| If you notice your dog has been shaking his head a | | | | After having confirmed that there is an unusual |
| bit too often and scratching its ears with its paws or | | | | presence of ear wax or if the dog continues to |
| even trying to rub its ears on the ground, your dog | | | | show irritation by shaking its head or scratching its |
| may have some form of ear infections. In some | | | | ears, despite your having done some minimal exterior |
| severe cases, they may even not walk properly if | | | | cleansing of the ear, please take your dog to the vet |
| the ear infection has gone into its ear canals and | | | | for consultation. |
| affected its sense of balance. | | | | My beagle has quite a bad ear infection and the ear |
| This is likely to happen for dogs with long drooping | | | | wax can be easily seen on the exterior of its ear. I |
| ears as the inside of the ears is not well ventilated or | | | | suppose it was due to the shaking of its head and |
| aired. Another possibility is that water could have | | | | flapping of its long and drooping ears. I took it to the |
| gone inside the ears when you were bathing your | | | | vet and he cleaned its ears by using a pair of long |
| dog and the dampness provided an ideal environment | | | | forceps wrapped round with cotton wool after |
| for ear infection to happen. | | | | applying some ear cleansing solution. The vet also |
| Firstly, try to have a look at the ears of the dog and | | | | took a sample of the ear wax for analysis and gave |
| use a cotton bud to clean the ears but do not push | | | | my beagle an injection. I was also taught to clean the |
| the cotton bud too far in the ear. You may see | | | | ears of the beagle daily for a week and |
| some ear wax and they may be dark brown or black | | | | subsequently, on a weekly basis. |
| in color. In worse case, this wax may have already | | | | To prevent future occurrence of the ear infection, I |
| appeared on the outside of the ears and you can | | | | was also advised to be careful not to let any water |
| see it immediately. | | | | dripping into the ears when I bathe him. I also took |
| However, you should not attempt to use water to | | | | the effort to clean and dry his ears after his bathe |
| clean it unless it is on the exterior or easily accessible | | | | since then. Importantly, you must be observant and |
| part of the ear. You should also not pour or drip | | | | watch out for any unusual behavior displayed by your |
| water into the ear as it may make it worse. Just use | | | | dog. Catch the problem as early as possible and get it |
| wet cotton wool to wipe it. | | | | treated immediately. |