caroline429

The last two baths I've given Cali, I strongly suspect I've gotten water in her ears because about a week later, she has had a smelly mucky ear/ears that I had to medicate. She never has this problem when she goes to the groomer, so it's definitely me who's causing it.

When she was smaller and I could bathe her in the basement sink, I never had this problem. Now I bathe her in my walk-in shower and use a hand held showerhead. It is much larger than the sink sprayer I used to use on her when she was little. After first problem with her ears, I tried to keep the showerhead away from her head and ears and carefully wet them and rinsed them with a washcloth. It was a slight improvement in that I only managed to infect one ear.

Any tips on how I can keep the water out of her ears? She's been at the petsitter's for two weeks and she will definitely need a bath when I get home this weekend! She plays nonstop with the other dogs and comes home covered in dog slobber and stinky.

alphabeta1897

I put cotton balls down my poodle's ears during baths and use a face cloth to wash his face to prevent water from the shower head getting down his ears.

Good luck!

AngelsMommy

I second the cotton balls! They work well for me.

RmR

My guy will shake and shake his head until the cotton balls come flying out. I'm not sure how deep in I'm supposed to put them.

__________________

AngelsMommy

For me, I have found that if they fly with a head shake they are not firm enough in. I use big wads and more or less pack it. That way I can take it out but she doesn't shake it out. Of course I am also careful to keep the area as dry as possible. But if the cotton is wet when I pull it out I also dry it out with more cotton.

Hope that helps and good luck.

Apres Argent

Water will not cause a problem but you must use a drying product afterwards.
I flush ears with soap and water then dry ears out with blue power and have not had a problem for years. It gets them sparkling clean!

mom24doggies

^^ This....it's the constant dampness that allows infection to set in.

__________________

"Love is the emotion that a woman feels always for a poodle dog and sometimes for a man." ~George Jean Nathan

brownlikewoah

Don't be scared of getting water in the ears (don't spray it directly down into the ear canal either!) as a groomer, here is what I do when washing ears. I flip up the ear leather, push my hand up from behind, kinda underneath the ear canal, and pushed it closed from that direction. Yes, I spray water in the ears, it is important if the dog has an ear infection to wash away the bacteria. Not everyone will agree with this, but it is the method I prefer. After you're done washing, and the dog is dry, take some cotton pads and wipe out the ear canal with whatever ear cleaner you desire. They help remove whatever moisture is left over from the bath.

__________________

caroline429

Thanks to everyone. After reading the replies, I think you've pinpointed what I'm doing wrong. I bet I'm not drying the ears properly afterwards. I will definitely pay more attention to that after the next bath and see if that helps.

Harrymummy

Caroline429, next time you visit the vet ask the technician to clean ears in front of you. I found this really helped me as realised am not through enough in cleaning and drying so infection never fully cleared. Watching a pro will give you a guide and you can pick up the technique used

My personal favourite is a treat after a few cleans😁. This kept Harry relatively cooperative plus I rub his ears when we come back from every walk as part of our coming home routine. this made all ear touching normal behaviour.




Sent from my iPhone using Petguide.com Free App