How to Clean Dog Ears at Home: My Easy Routine for 3 Dogs With 3 Different Ears
If you’re wondering how to clean dog ears at home without stressing your dog out, I’ll show you exactly what I do for our three. It takes me a couple of minutes per dog, it uses one bottle of cleaner for all of them, and I don’t stick anything into their ear canals.
Our three dogs have three completely different ears. Our oldest girl is a 14-year-old Pomeranian with ears that stand up. Our middle boy is a mini goldendoodle with floppy ears and thin, almost straight hair. Our youngest is a curly maltipoo with floppy ears too. So I’ve had to figure out a routine that works for all three, and in this post I’ll share it, plus the musky smell that tells me it’s time, how I handle the two who hate it, why I quit ear pads, and when I’d skip the cleaning and call the vet instead.
| What I use | TropiClean OxyMed Enzymatic Ear Cleaner, 4 fl oz, for all 3 dogs |
| Price | $12.99 on the TropiClean site |
| Plus | Dry textured wipes, a fresh one for every ear |
| How often | Whenever I notice a musky smell, plus every bath (every 2 weeks) |
| Label suggests | 2 to 3 times a week |
| Time | About 2 minutes per dog |
| Never | Cotton swabs, or pushing anything deep into the canal |
| Used to use | Pre-moistened ear pads. I switched for hygiene reasons |
| Treats? | No. Kisses and praise instead |
| Ear hair | I leave it alone. The groomer handles it |
| Drying after a bath | Air-dry. Ears dry fast in our hot, dry climate |
Why I Clean by Smell, Not by Schedule
I don’t have a fixed day for ears. I clean them often, and the trigger is simple: when I notice that slightly musky, funky smell when they snuggle up, the ears get cleaned that day. I also always do eyes and ears when they get their bath, which is every two weeks at our house.
The bottle I use suggests two to three times a week. Honestly, with three dogs I go by smell and by how the ears look, and that has worked for us. If your dog’s ears get smelly fast, the label’s schedule is a good starting point.
What I Use (and Why I Quit Ear Pads)
For a long time I used pre-moistened ear pads, the kind that come in a tub. I recently switched to a liquid cleaner for hygiene reasons, and I like it a lot better. Now every ear gets a fresh dry wipe and fresh drops of cleaner, and nothing sits around in an open container between uses.
The cleaner is TropiClean OxyMed Enzymatic Ear Cleaner. It’s a 4 oz bottle, paraben free and dye free, and the ingredient list on TropiClean’s site is water, glycerin, boric acid, an emulsifier, an enzymatic blend, fragrance, and zinc chloride. I use the same bottle for all three dogs. The pointy tip makes it easy to put just a few drops where I want them.
How to Clean Dog Ears at Home, Step by Step
This is exactly how I do it. Our middle boy is the model in these photos.
- Pick a calm moment. When they’re relaxed on my lap works best. I don’t chase anyone around.
- Put a few drops on a fresh dry wipe. Not in the ear. On the wipe.
- Lift the ear flap gently. For the floppy-eared boys I hold the flap up so I can see inside.
- Wrap the wipe around one finger and wipe what you can see. The inside of the flap and the outer folds. I go only as far as my finger comfortably reaches, never deeper.
- Look at the wipe. A little light brown wax is normal. Lots of dark gunk, a bad smell, or anything red is a different story (more on that below).
- Use a new wipe for the other ear. Every ear gets its own wipe.
- Praise the whole time. Not just at the end. I talk to them and give kisses while I wipe (more on that below).
How to Clean Ears on a Dog Who Hates It
Two of my three are not fans, so this part matters a lot at our house.
Our youngest, the maltipoo, hates it the most. He’s dramatic in general, and he’s very particular about anyone touching him. So the whole time I’m cleaning his ears I’m kissing him and telling him he’s doing so good, he’s so pretty, good boy, good boy. I do the exact same thing when I brush him and when I brush his teeth every night. It sounds silly, but the constant praise is what keeps him still.
Our 14-year-old girl doesn’t love it either. She’s a bit dramatic too, and she just doesn’t enjoy being handled like this. With her I slow everything down and go extra gently, so it never turns into something she dreads. Being patient with her age is a theme at our house lately, and it’s the same reason we finally got her a stroller. I wrote about the signs your senior dog needs a stroller if you’re seeing the same slowdown.
And then there’s our middle boy, the goldendoodle in these photos. He doesn’t care at all. He sits there and lets me do whatever I need to do, every time.
What about treats? When they were little I used treats to get them through it. I stopped, because the treats were adding up and they were gaining weight. Kisses and praise work just as well for us, and they don’t come with calories.
| Dog | How they feel about it | What I do |
|---|---|---|
| Our youngest boy (maltipoo) | Hates it the most | Kisses and nonstop praise the whole time |
| Our oldest girl (Pomeranian, 14) | Doesn’t like it | Slow and extra gentle so she doesn’t start dreading it |
| Our middle boy (goldendoodle) | Doesn’t care at all | Nothing special. He just lets me do it |
What the Label Says vs What I Actually Do
I want to be upfront about this. The TropiClean directions say to apply the cleaner liberally into the ear canal, gently massage the base of the ear, then clean the excess with a cotton ball or tissue, and not to use cotton swabs.
What I do at home is gentler: drops on the wipe, then wipe what I can see. That’s what works for my three, who are small and don’t love liquid poured into their ears. If your vet has told you to flush the ear canal, follow your vet and the label. My routine is for regular upkeep, not for treating a problem.
| Label directions | What I do | |
|---|---|---|
| Where the cleaner goes | Into the ear canal | On a dry wipe |
| Massage | Base of the ear | No |
| Wipe with | Cotton ball or tissue | A fresh textured wipe per ear |
| Cotton swabs | Do not use | Never |
| How often | 2 to 3 times a week | When I smell it, plus every bath |
Ear Pads vs Liquid Ear Cleaner: Why I Switched
I’ve used both, so here’s how they compare for me. Pads are convenient. They’re already soaked, you just grab one. But with three dogs I didn’t love reaching back into the same tub over and over, and for hygiene reasons I switched to a bottle of liquid cleaner and a dry wipe.
| Ear pads | Liquid cleaner + wipe | |
|---|---|---|
| How it works | Pre-soaked pads from a tub | Drops on a fresh dry wipe |
| Hygiene | Reaching into the same container every time | A brand new wipe and fresh drops for every ear |
| Control | Whatever is on the pad | I choose how many drops |
| One product for 3 dogs | Yes | Yes |
| My pick now | This one |
If you travel a lot, pads might still be easier to toss in a bag. At home, the liquid feels cleaner to me, and that’s the whole reason I changed.
Cleaning Ears on Bath Day
Bath day is when everyone gets a full once-over at our house, every two weeks. After the bath I always clean their eyes and ears too. We live in a hot, dry climate, so I don’t use a dryer or even towel the ears specially. They just air-dry, and they dry fast, which I like for floppy ears. While I’m up close, I peek at their teeth and gums too. Here’s what I watch for in signs your dog needs a teeth cleaning.
Should You Pluck Dog Ear Hair?
Both of our boys have hair growing near the ear opening, the maltipoo especially. I don’t pluck it or trim it at home. I just wipe around it. When they go to the groomer, the groomer takes care of the ear hair each time, so I leave that part to the pros.
If you’re unsure whether your dog’s ear hair should come out, that’s a good question for your groomer or vet. I’m not going to pull hair out of a dog who already hates having his ears touched.
Three Dogs, Three Different Ears
This is the part I didn’t expect when we got more than one dog. Ear cleaning is not one size fits all.
| Dog | Breed and age | Ear type | What I do differently |
|---|---|---|---|
| Our oldest girl | Pomeranian, 14 | Ears stand up | Easy to see inside, but I go slow because she doesn’t like it |
| Our middle boy | Mini goldendoodle, 3 | Floppy, thin almost straight hair | I lift the flap and wipe the folds |
| Our youngest boy | Maltipoo, 3 | Floppy, curly hair | Curls hide the opening, so I part the hair first |
Floppy ears cover the ear opening, so air doesn’t move in there as much. That’s one reason I keep an eye (and a nose) on the boys’ ears in particular. Upright ears like our girl’s are just easier to see into.
Signs It Is a Vet Visit, Not a Cleaning
Home cleaning is for keeping healthy ears clean. It’s not for fixing a problem. So far we’ve never had to take any of our three to the vet for their ears. But I’d skip the wipe and call the vet if I saw any of these:
- Redness or swelling inside the ear
- A strong bad smell that comes back right after cleaning
- Dark brown or yellow discharge, or lots of gunk every time
- Head shaking, pawing at the ear, or tilting the head
- Crying or pulling away when you touch the ear
A healthy ear for my dogs looks pink, dry, and doesn’t really smell. If it looks like the photo above after a wipe, we’re good. I also don’t see any reaction from them after cleaning, like head shaking or scratching at the ear. If your dog keeps shaking or scratching after a gentle wipe, I’d mention it to your vet.
Mistakes I Avoid
- Cotton swabs. The label says not to, and it’s too easy to push gunk deeper.
- Going deep. I only wipe what my finger reaches comfortably.
- Reusing a wipe. One wipe per ear, every time.
- Improvising with random liquids. I stick to a cleaner made for dogs. If you’re out of cleaner, ask your vet before trying anything from the kitchen cabinet.
- Making it a wrestling match. Short and calm beats thorough and stressful.
- Bribing with too many treats. I did this when they were puppies, and it showed up on the scale.
How Ear Cleaning Fits Into Our Grooming Routine
Ears are part of a bigger at-home routine for us: brushing every morning, washing paws after every walk, a bath every two weeks, and eyes and ears on bath day. I wrote about the rest of it in how we keep our dogs clean between grooming appointments, and about what we look for after a groomer visit in signs your dog had a good grooming experience.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you take one thing from this: put the cleaner on a fresh wipe, wipe only what you can see, and use a new wipe for every ear. If your dog hates it, slow down and praise the whole time. Let the smell be your reminder, and let redness, swelling, or head shaking be your cue to call the vet instead.
Next in our pet care series I’m sharing the early signs of arthritis we’ve noticed in our 14-year-old. How do you handle ear cleaning with your dog, and does your dog tolerate it? Tell me in the comments.
