Step1
You want to do WHAT to my ears?!
Restrain your pet- If you are doing this on your own, first get your dog to lay down. Position yourself on the opposite side of the ear you are going to clean. Hold the ear cleanser in your right hand and use your left arm to keep your dogs head restrained.
If you have help then your assistant can restrain your dog. If you think that your dog would bite during this procedure than a muzzle may be needed. However I have never met a Basset that would bite their owner under any circumstances!
This is probably a good time to start with those treats!
Step2
Applying the ear cleanser- Once your dog is relatively still, lift the ear flap and gently put a few squirts of cleanser into the ear making sure to get some down into the ear canal.
DO NOT squirt forcefully down the ear canal as you could damage the eardrum!
At this point your dog may try and shake it's head. That's okay, it will help loosen the ear debris. But be warned, it could be messy!
Step3
Massage- Put the ear flap back down and start massaging the cleanser into the ear especially at the base. Our Bassets seemed to like this part and would start making grunting sounds!
Step4
Cotton balls- Lift the ear flap again and use the cotton balls to gently wipe out the debris that has been loosened by the cleanser. You can put some cleanser on the cotton ball to make it easier. Use as many as you need to get things looking pink again, but be gentle!
Step5
Use Q-tips -When you think you've done all you can with the cotton balls you can now use the Q-tips.
-*CAUTION!*- DO NOT stick a Q-tip down into the ear canal as you can push wax into the canal or worse yet, damage the eardrum!
Use the Q-tip to clean the areas that you can see and reach easily inside the ear.
Step6
THAT'S IT! YOUR DONE!
Your Basset will probably shake their head for a little while afterwards which will help loosen any wax that was left behind. You may want to let them outside for that!
If your dog's ears seem pink and healthy in the days following the cleaning then it is just a matter of keeping up with a regular ear cleaning routine.
On the other hand if your Basset Hound is still having problems with shaking the head, scratching, inflammation, etc. Take your pet to the Veterinarian so they can determine if there is an infection or ear mites that require medication.
Comments
brandy1123 said
on 8/8/2008 great idea
taskeinc said
on 8/6/2008 Guess it would be a good idea to keep those ears cleaned ... thanks
welch said
on 8/3/2008 Great Tip! 5~stars
PCOliver said
on 7/6/2008 Great information, thanks.
Meri said
on 7/5/2008 Well written article. 5 Stars!