Expert: Dr. Louis N. Gotthelf - 9/12/2010

Question
My dog Blondi Is a 2 y/o shepard/lab mix ever since she was a puppy the vet said she had ear build up now shes an adult somewhat and her ears are still the same way..I dont know if their is a cause of this and/or a solution for it. Her ears dont look dirty. I have ear cleaning solutiion the vet recomended squishing down into her ear canal..recomending it will help, but it seems to make her ears very tender after doing so. Help!

Answer
Wax in the ears is actually good as long as the dog does not have any redness or itching in the ears.  Wax protects the sensitive ear skin and keeps particles from getting deep into the ear.  If she is otherwise normal, then just wipe out the outside of the ear with regular rubbing alcohol on a cotton ball periodically and leave the ear canals alone.