Use Cotton Pads, Never Cotton Buds
Cleaning ears starts with the right tool, and the wrong one is genuinely dangerous. Never use a cotton bud in a dog’s ear. A dog’s ear canal is L-shaped and deep, and a bud pushes wax and debris further down towards the eardrum rather than removing it, risking impaction and injury to the canal.
Use a cotton wool pad or ball instead, or a purpose-made ear wipe, and clean only the parts of the ear you can actually see. The visible flap and the entrance to the canal are all you should ever touch. Ready-to-use products such as dog ear cleaner wipes make this simple and keep you from over-reaching into the ear.
Never push a cotton bud or anything else into the ear canal. Clean only the visible part of the ear; going deeper can damage the eardrum or impact wax.
Master the Ear-Cleaning Technique
If you are using a liquid ear cleaner, the technique matters. Gently lift the ear flap and squeeze the recommended amount into the canal opening, then, without letting your dog shake yet, massage the base of the ear for a few seconds. You should hear a soft squelching sound as the cleaner loosens wax and debris deep down.
Now step back and let your dog shake its head; this brings the loosened debris up to where you can reach it. Wipe the flap and the canal entrance clean with a cotton pad, and stop there. Never dig deeper. Reward your dog throughout, because a calm, positive association makes every future clean far easier, much as it does at bath time.
Learn to Spot the Signs of Infection
A routine ear clean is also a health check, so know what a problem looks like. A healthy ear is pale pink, barely scented and clean. The warning signs are hard to miss once you know them, and they mean a trip to the vet rather than more cleaning.
- Smell: a strong, yeasty or sour odour coming from the ear.
- Redness: inflamed, pink or angry-looking skin inside the flap or canal.
- Discharge: brown, yellow or dark waxy build-up, sometimes with a coffee-ground look.
- Discomfort: head-shaking, scratching at the ear, tilting the head or flinching when touched.
If you see any of these, stop cleaning and book a vet appointment. Ear infections are painful and worsen quickly, and pouring cleaner into an already infected ear only adds to the discomfort.
Trim the Fur Around the Paw Pads
Long-haired dogs grow tufts of fur between and around the pads, and left unchecked it mats, collects grit and mud, and reduces grip on smooth floors, which can leave older dogs slipping and skidding. A tidy trim keeps the paws comfortable and secure.
Use blunt-tipped scissors only, and trim the fur back level with the pads rather than digging down between them. Hold the paw steady and gently spread the toes so you can see clearly, and never rush; paws are ticklish and dogs often pull away. Go slowly, take small snips, and stop if your dog becomes fidgety rather than risking a nick. Blunt-tipped scissors are essential here, as covered in our grooming safety tips.
Check Between the Toes for Grass Seeds
The gaps between the toes are a magnet for trouble, especially in summer. Grass seeds are the classic hazard: sharp and barbed, they lodge in the soft skin between the toes and can burrow inward, causing painful swellings and abscesses if not found early. After every walk in long grass, part the toes and look.
Feel for any lump, spot any redness or a small hole, and check for matted fur hiding debris. A visible grass seed can often be eased out with tweezers, but anything embedded, swollen or sore needs a vet. Whilst you have the paw in hand, glance at the nails too; if they are clicking on the floor, it is time for a trim, which our guide on trimming nails walks through.
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Frequently Asked
For most dogs, a check every week or two and a clean roughly once a month is plenty. Dogs with floppy ears, lots of ear hair or a history of infections may need cleaning more often. Over-cleaning can irritate a healthy ear, so let condition, not habit, guide you.
A dog's ear canal is long and L-shaped, so a cotton bud pushes wax and debris deeper rather than removing it, risking impaction and damage to the eardrum. Use a cotton wool pad or an ear wipe, and clean only the visible part of the ear you can safely reach.
Look and smell. A strong yeasty odour, redness, brown or yellow discharge, and head-shaking or scratching all point to infection. If you notice any of these, stop cleaning and see your vet, as infected ears are painful and get worse quickly without proper treatment.
If it is sitting on the surface and easy to see, you can gently ease it out with tweezers and clean the area. If it looks embedded, or the paw is swollen, red or sore, leave it and see your vet, because a buried grass seed can burrow in and cause an abscess.
Yes, with care. Use blunt-tipped scissors, trim the fur level with the pads rather than digging between them, and hold the paw steady while spreading the toes to see clearly. Take small snips and stop if your dog fidgets, as paws are sensitive and easy to nick.