Dog Eye and Ear Care – Basics and Concerns

Just like humans, pet’s eyes and ears also need special attention and care. These delicate areas of the pet’s body demand special attention as they are frequently exposed to dirt, mites, injuries and harsh weather conditions. Dog eye care and ear care should be an intrinsic part of routine pet care. To avoid infections and diseases, all pet parents should be regular with their routine of cleaning, hydrating and maintaining hygiene for pet’s eyes and ears.

Basics of dogs eye care:

There are no general rules or set schedule to clean up a pet’s eyes but certain norms followed by pet parents have given very good results. You can take clues from them and then discuss it with your vet to get the final call for your pet’s eye cleaning techniques.     

• A healthy canine eye needs to be cleaned ones or twice a week with a mild eye cleansing solution. Take the solution on cotton ball and clean the gunk formed on and into the eye. Wipe from the corners without putting extra pressure on the pet’s eyeball.
• While bathing the pet, make sure the shampoo does not enter the pup’s eyes. It may irritate his eyes causing redness and inflammation. Be careful, as the leather entering the pet’s eyes is irritating to the hilt. Dry of the face area as soon as you end up bathing the pet.
• Tear stains can become a ground for bacterial growth. So, remove the stains with an antibiotic solution or powder. Be careful that the cleansing solution should not enter the pet’s eyes, as it will irritate them further.
• Pets love the feeling of wind breezing through their face and so they love the outing in cars. But, this is the time their eyes are exposed to speeding wind, dirt which may scratch the soft eyes. To avoid this, open the windows partially so that his head cannot go out of the window.
• If the pet shows frequent discharges or colored discharges as it happens in extreme cases, then it is time to see the vet. His diagnosis and treatment is necessary in such cases.

Concerns: Various dog eye diseases and infections are the major areas of concern in dog eye care. Pet parents need to have a fair idea about the various diseases to take primary care of the pet. Genetics also play a big part in pets catching certain eye diseases. To combat all this, a time stretched meeting with the vet will help. Discuss the probability of eye diseases and gather all tips on how to avoid them. This will be an extremely fruitful for all pet parents.  

Basics of dog-ear care: Ears are another area that demands routine care and hygiene. These are an entry place for dirt, mites, bacteria and insects. The pet cannot clean their own ear thoroughly and so you need to maintain a routine for aural cleaning in dogs and cats.

• Use a gentle ear cleansing solution to wipe off dirt, debris and discharge from the pet’s ears. Once or twice a week is the ideal frequency of ear cleaning in pets. You can ask your vet more suggestions so that he can guide you by keeping the breed, environment and sensitivities of your pet in mind.
• For pets who love swimming, you need to make sure that their ears need to be dry and moisture free. Moisture is the basic reason for bacterial and fungal growth in pet’s ears. Using solutions with drying agents and acidifiers will help in this case. Swimmer’s solution for dogs is one such treatment.
• Trim off the pet’s nails as excessive scratching may damage his ear canals. Be gentle in this case or follow your vet’s advice. Dogs with floppy and long ears need special attention as they retain moisture in the ears. Thus, beagles and other long eared breeds need frequent aural cleaning.

Concerns: Major areas of concern in dog ear care are bacterial infections, hardened earwax, mites and painful ear conditions. To prevent all this and to keep away aural diseases, pet parents must maintain a hygiene schedule. Also, keep your pets away from loud noises. Get all the details of absolute aural hygiene from your vet.

Annual checkup with the vet: A yearly check up of your pet’s eyes and ears is a must to keep them healthy. This is an important step as with age pet’s eyes and ears may become week and susceptible to diseases. Meeting with the vet can help you list out precautions for ideal eye and ear care of your pet. Make it a rule to visit your vet annually without a miss.

When all these aspects are put together, you will be able to give a far healthier life to your pet. It will add more healthy years to his life. Isn’t it?