Dog Ear Cleaners Buyer's Guide
Ear infections in dogs can be a result of a variety of factors but are mainly related to either bacteria, fungi or mites.
What Causes Ear Infections?
Bacterial infections are the most common though, with the most common ones affecting dogs being Pseudomonas Aeruginosa, Proteus Mirabilis and Escherichia Coli. Based on feedbacks from dog owners, our top pick dog ear cleaner is effective against all of them, and many more.
Then comes the fungi, which are primarily the culprit as far as the yeast and other similar infections are concerned.
One of the most troubling of fungi is Malassezia Pachydermatis, which can multiply to worrying levels if not dealt with in time. Infections caused by Malassezia Pachydermatis are usually marked by serious irritation and inflammation of ears.
Ear mites, on the other hand, are basically eight-legged tiny insects that are notorious for entering dogs' ears and causing great discomfort to them. When infected with ear mites, a dog would usually be found pawning at ears every now and then, and in many cases, end up pawning it to the extent of bleeding.
Ear mites are much more common in puppies than large dogs due to the former's immune system not being as strong as the latter. However, large dogs, too, can fall prey to ear mites, especially if they tend to roam around outside.
It's important to note that these infections, if not taken care of in time, can lead to a bruised or broken skin, or even ruptured ear canals. This would not only make it more painful for the dog, but also harder to treat the infections.
Many dog ear cleaners cannot be applied directly on bruised or broken skin (or when treating ruptured ear canals for that matter), so you may have to follow a more complicated treatment option.
Finally, it's also not uncommon for dogs to end up catching a dog infection due to a foreign element making their way to your dog's ear. In such cases, it would be even more important to make sure that the cleaning solution reaches the ear canal of your dogs for a fast treatment.
Common Symptoms Of Ear Infections
Here's a quick list of symptoms that may mean that your dog is dealing with some kind of ear infection.
- Shaking head much more often than they usually do
- Constant pawning at the ears, sometimes to the extent that it makes their ear red and swollen, or makes them bleed
- Flapping of ears
- A bad odor coming off from their ears
- A discharge from the dog's ears
- Whining when pawning the ears, or doing it with frustration
- Irritated or inflamed ears
- Unusual itchiness at the ear area, making them do things like scratching their ears or rubbing them against the ground
- In many cases of ear mite infection, the mites are clearly visible
- Others that may suggest something is wrong with their ears
Should You See a Vet?
When doing research for the canine ear cleaners which we reviewed in this post, we found many dog owners saying that they first went to their vet before buying a particular dog ear cleaner. Some of them mentioned that they used to always visit a vet before until it got too expensive for them to do so and they decided to try out a dog ear cleaner instead.
Furthermore, some even said that their vet's treatment didn't turn out to be effective enough for them, but using one of the dog ear cleaners above did.
So, to answer your question, no, it's usually not necessary to visit a vet for treating an ear infection. In fact, our best dog cleaner reviewed at the top is effective enough for treating most types of ear infections.
That said, if you find that your dog is showing no signs of improvement even after 5 to 7 days of using one or two of the dog ear cleaners above (not all products work for all dogs or all cases), then you must visit a vet immediately.
In very rare cases, an ear infection may not just be an ear infection, but also something much more serious such as a tumor.
Similarly, if your dog also has a bruised skin with an ear infection, then you may want to seek the help of a vet instead of trying to treat it yourself. It's not easy to treat ear infections with bruised skin due to reasons discussed above.
Finally, if your dog has never had an ear infection before, then it makes sense to visit your vet just to confirm that it's actually an ear infection that your dog is suffering from. For recurring infections or routine ear cleaning, however, treating it using one of the ear cleaners reviewed above may very well turn out to be both ] effective and much more economical.
Things to Keep in Mind When Using a Dog Ear Cleaner
Apart from the fact that most dog cleaners shouldn't be used for dogs with bruised skin, there are other things to keep in mind as well. Let's take a quick look at them.
- Many dog ear cleaners like the ZYMOX ear cleaner require that you do not clean your dog's ears before applying the ear cleaner for best results
- Similarly, some of them require you to flush your dog's ears after use, or letting your dog shake their head
- You also need to remove the excess, especially what doesn't manage to get to your dog's ear canal
- The frequency of use must be higher than when only using the ear cleaner for routine ear cleaning
- Almost all ear cleaners require to be used in generous quantities
- You need to shake them well before applying into your dog's ears
- Never let the cleaning solution go into your dog's eyes; if it does, you may have to visit your vet immediately
- If the irritation increases after using the canine ear cleaner, you need to stop using it and visit your vet
- The ear cleaners containing alcohol are typically not recommended for dogs with a sensitive skin
