Can I clean my dog's ears and teeth using homemade solutions?

All good questions!. Dog's ears are shaped a little bit differently than people's ears. You don't have to be very scared of damaging the ear drums because the canals are L-shaped. As long and you go straight in and do not try and bend a q-tip in a 90 degree angle, there should be very little chance for damage. A cleansing formulation should be available at most pet stores. Deposit this into the ear first, massage at the base of the ear, and then clean the ear with gauze and/or q-tips. Be sure to get most of the liquid out, as leaving residual moisture in the ears can actually cause an infection. As far as teeth, tooth brushes and doggy toothpaste is readily available at your vet or a pet store. You don't have to brush them every night, but once or twice a week would be great. Depending on the color your dog's nails, you can sometimes see precisely just how far you can clip the nails without causing a problem. If you cut too far, you will sever the small blood vessel at the end of the nail and cause some bleeding. These can bleed quite a bit but are easily stopped with something called "Quick Stop", another product available at most pet stores. For long-haired dogs I would use a brush with plenty of wiry bristle on them to break apart any potential knots and mats in the hair. As long as your brush regularly, you shouldn't have to worry about this much, though. The nails can be trimmed down just before the point where you can actually visualize the blood vessel. Alternatively, you can considering using a grinder / dremel to achieve a smoother surface on the nail. In terms of bathing, this can be done anywhere if Rusty doesn't tolerate a tub well. As long as you can get him wet and lathered up, it doesn't really matter what the location is.

Hi and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I'm sure Chloe is a beautiful dog. Love the breed. In my honest opinion, there are so many great ear cleansers out there I would always recommend buying one instead of making it. Years of research have gone into a lot of these products and they are truly the best to use on sensitive ears. If you are just cleaning for a maintenance clean or you are treating due to problems, it's always best to discuss the various products that your vet recommends. Homemade cleansers can often times not be pH balanced resulting in drying of the ear canal or pain/sting upon application. Good luck with Chloe.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your question. I would not recommend formulating your own ear cleaner and instead purchase a commercial ear cleaner. I would recommend using Zymox otic cleanser or Epi Otic ear cleanser. Both of these can be found online quite easily. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. Please take the time to mark this question as helpful or not as it helps us to improve on the quality of our answers to other pet owners. Thank you kindly!

The most important part of a home dental care program is actually just brushing the teeth at all and does not seem to make a difference which toothpaste is used unless you use a proven toothpaste. There are actually only 2 toothpastes on the market that have been proven to help improve dental health in dogs. I am attaching a list of approved dental products below. http://www.vohc.org/VOHCAcceptedProductsTable_Dogs.pdf So, I would recommend purchasing PetSmile or Essential Healthy Mouth if you are going to use a toothpaste. I have found that homemade toothpastes are not very good tasting (so it makes it harder for you to brush the teeth) and would recommend using a good brush without any toothpaste instead of making a homemade toothpaste. I am attaching a link to a handout below which includes a detailed discussion on home dental care including products for cleaning the teeth. https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=640 Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.

I don't recommend to use peroxide or any other product not tested and proven safe for pets. Instead use a cleaner (vets and pet stores carry these) that is meant for dog ears. These products will generally not overly dry the skin, cause damage to the ear drum (but if the ear drum is ruptured, any products applied in the ear will cause damage) and these products generally condition the skin as well. Here is a helpful link: https://www.petcoach.co/article/ear-infections-otitis-externa-ear-cleaning-in-dogs/ I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additiona questions.

1. Rusty should not get bathed more than once a month unless he is very dirty. Bathing him too often will strip his skin of it's natural oils and dry it out. He can be brushed daily, and should have his ears and teeth cleaned daily. Cut his nails when they become too long. 2. He should get at least 45 minutes of exercise twice a day. GSDs are a high energy breed that need a lot of physical and mental stimulation. 3. You should leave water out for him all the time during the day so he can drink whenever he is thirsty. 4. Great question! Yearly check ups are recommended, but bring him into the vet whenever you have a health concern. I hope this helps :-)

I really like Virbac's line of dermatologic products, and their Epi-Otic is a great all-purpose ear cleanser for dogs. It is available over the counter, and you can order it from DrsFosterandSmith.com or Amazon.