Simba's Ear

Im not sure if you have noticed but in many of Simba's pictures his right ear sticks up. Well we have had problems with that ear ever since we got him. Its very dirty and he has had about 3 ear infections in the one ear. Hes gotton a cut in it befor also. Does anyone know how i can clean his ear.. i try Q-Tips just on the very outer part of his eat but im not getting it fully clean inside. Its kind of a dark brown junk in his ear. It smells and looks really nasty. Just anyone who has this problme with ears tell me about it and if you have anything that can help me out please post it. Thanks in advance.

Ah, ear-cleaning! What a fun job... not :) Daisy hates me after I do it, but Bassets need their ears cleaned a LOT.

Okay, you need ear cleaning solution, first. I get mine special at the vet but you can pick some up at a pet store. We had my Dad's best friend, who used to be a vet assistant, show us what to do, and it isnt that hard. Squirt a LOT of the solution into the ear, and massage the base of it. Try to keep him from shaking his head or you'll get sprayed! Then take tissues and wipe the ears out, cleaing out all the brown gunk. Don't be scared to clean gently down into the ear. You have to get all the solution out anyway, so dig deep, but be very careful and gentle! Do this to both ears. Dogs don't like it but it has to be done very regularly. Our vet said that a foul odor coming from the ears is a sign of infection. You might want to get him checked out. Have you ever cleaned Simba's ears before? It's strange if your vet didn't tell you to; all dogs need it done.

Your description sounds like a classic infection of otedectic mites (ear mites). This needs veterinary treatment and is easily cleared but can cause major problems if left. Hope this helps.

Ahhhh Hannah can relate to this problem :)

She is now under the bed because I just went and got her solution so I could tell you the name and she saw it and went running.

Hannah had infected ears all the time so the vet gave us a solution called OtiCalm
its in a clear and purple bottle. You can only get it at the vets and they might want to check his ear before they give it to you. It works great and has a nice mint smell. You squirt it in the ear massage it and clean it out with a tissue and qtip and your done.

I had to do it once a week for about a month now I only do it when she starts to sratch them or they smell. other then that I will just use a qtip once a week. Being a beagle the wax gets trapped in those hound dog ears :)

Hey KayAnn.. generally yeast infections will have that funky smell. I'd take Simba to the vet to get the medication. The vet can also show you how to clean his ears and give you an ear cleaning solution.

Oh boy can Merlin tell you stories on what a horrible monster I am about his lovely, long, curly,haired ears. He has one that since he was a puppy that gives us problems about every 2 months. I now just do an alternating weekly ear cleaning. one week mineral oil and massage it deep both ears, the next an alcahol outer ear cleaning getting the brown yuck out . He has one ear that just forms wax more than the other and moisture forms behind it and causes the infection and smell.
He also is the master of disappering if I even THINK about ear cleaning time. Hides less for a bath. Good luck.