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Cleaning your dog's ears may look easy but it is more difficult than you think. Dogs have long ear canals and improper cleaning can result in a ruptured eardrum, pain or lacerations of the canal. If the ears are severely infected, they may be too painful for you to clean at home, and you should consider having a veterinarian clean the ears, possibly even under sedation. However, you can perform routine cleaning safely and easily if you follow these steps:
It is safest to clean only the parts of the ear you can see. If there is significant wax just inside the ear canal, you can briefly place the tip of the Q-tip into the ear canal to remove the debris. However, this is important: You should ALWAYS be able to see the cotton tip of the Q-tip.
After cleaning ears, it is a good idea to offer a treat. This will help make the next ear cleaning session a little smoother.