Ear infection in dogs, no matter how common, can easily be prevented with the right hygienic practice. Dogs that are well-kept and well-groomed rarely acquire any type of diseases. The health of your dog is in your hands. You can keep your pets active, cheerful, and strong for long years. That is, if you know how to take care of them.
To prevent ear infection in your dogs, it is important that you take it to the grooming center regularly. This is most applicable to dogs with floppy ears, like the Cocker Spaniel. The ears of these dogs are virtually closed, leaving minimal air circulation inside.
Therefore, the instance of wax accumulation in the ear is high. Also, these breeds of dog tend to grow hair follicles inside their ears. And those small stubs of fine hair block the air from entering even more. Regular ear checks are necessary so that your dog is not only groomed but healthy as well.
However, a lot of pet owners think that they have to clean the ears of their dogs. This isn’t really necessary, unless ear wax is evident on the outer ear. The ears of the dogs have its natural way of cleaning itself. So it shouldn’t be touched every single day, really. And if you must, use cotton balls rolled to a length. Q-tips can harm the ears of your dogs so never use it if you have to clean its ears.
Another way to prevent ear infection is to make sure that your dog’s ear is dry after every bath. Keep the inner ear from getting wet as well. Water trapped in the ear of the dog can trigger infection. And if bacteria combine with it, all the more the infection is going to be worse.
Since mites can cause ear infection too, you have to make sure that your pet is mite-free and flea-free all the time. You can purchase over-the-counter anti-mite and anti-flea powders and sprinkle them on your pet after bathing. This powder would serve as a protection to your pets because its special formulation keeps all parasites away.
Ear infections may be caused by foreign objects finding its way in your dog’s ear. While this is quite unlikely to happen, it may still occur. Always know where your dog goes. Foreign objects can be anything from ticks, small leaves, stems, or stones. This could occur to pets that are always active and are mostly outdoors all the time.
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