If you have had a dog for more then a year, it is a possibility that you have had a dog with an ear infection at least once.Unfortunately this issue can be quite common, where some dogs seem to always have them, or quite rare for a dog that never has one. Luckily they are both preventable and in most cases quite curable.

There are many different things that can cause ear infections in pets, some of the most common factors will be dirt or foreign debris within the ear, as well as parasites. Dogs with floppy or sagging ears will be more susceptible to ear related problems then dogs with short or standing ears. This is a simple matter of airflow to the ear. The more air your pet's ear gets then the dryer the ears stay. This helps dry out water in the ears and helps prevent buildup of wax.

When a dog gets something in his ear, whether it be dirt, water, or a bug, he will try shaking his head to remove the problem. Sometimes this shaking can be quite violent in nature, and you might think your dog is having a fit. Well, he is. Depending on the extent of the infection or contaminant, this might be the first sign you see. But that may still mean that the dog could have been having a problem for a week or more.

Another sign of ear infections will be the smell of the ears. Often, when the ears are infected with a parasite, or fungal infection, they will begin to smell. This might be barely noticable at first, and after a few days or week, it will become quite putrid.

If your dogs ears are starting to smell that bad, or you see signs of puss, or your dogs ears are sensitive to the touch, or he is whining alot when they are touched, then GET YOUR DOG TO A VET.

An ear infection that is left untreated is quite painful to your dog, could cause permanent hearing loss, affect his balance, and even lead to death depending on the infectious agent.

When your vet gives your dog medication, make sure you FOLLOW IT TO THE LETTER.

Do not skimp on your pets health. Make sure you read the dosage carefully and adhere to the schedule. Your dog may like the pills he gets. These will often be some form of antibiotic, such as Canine Keflex, again depending on the type of infection. The part your pet will hate to have done is going to be the ear rinse and ear drops.

A common infection might require an ear dropper twice a day, and a rinsing solution usually a couple times a week. These are extremely important as they will kill off the infection from the inner ear, and clear out wax, and other contaminants. However it may take a couple people to hold your dog in place for this. As he is hurting already, putting drops into their ears seems counter-intuitive to the dog,

Make sure you rub the ears gently near te base of the ear once you have the drops in. This will massage the ear and let the drops work. This give you time to comfort your pet. Let him lick you if he wants, after all he is in pain, hurting, and scared. Just let him know everything will be ok.

You should try to keep the drops in for a minute or two if you can. Once you let him go, be prepared to clean up a mess, as they will shake everything out that they can. So do not be surprised if you see ear gunk hitting your stove, fridge, or whatever. Just clean it up.

Any dog that has an ear infection once, will also be at a higher risk of having more of them in the future. The conditions that promote infection were right the first time, and they will be again. The best thing to do will be to add ear maintenance or cleaning to your pets routines. Generally once a month in the winter, and every two weeks in the summer should keep your pet's ears nice and clean and healthy.