dawn as ear cleaner

[dogmom]

When I was in grooming school, they squirted dawn into the ear canal and sprayed it out with the water nozzle. I was horrified. couldn't wait to get out of there.

[Particentral]

This topic brings up a huge conflict, but what praytell horrified you about it? Water does not cause a problem in ears and Dawn is widely used to clean ears. Maybe I wouldn't squirt it down it, but I can see how it would work well.....

[OntheBRINKofDisaster]

Parti-
I've heard you make mention of it before, and as I've never heard of that way to clean ears, I'm so curious! Can you do it without a recirc? Do you put shampoo in and then rinse it out, or do you just rinse? Can you maybe put up a tutorial on your blog? (Or have you and I'm just woefully nonobservant?) You can PM me too if you don't want to discuss it out here, I just thought this would be a great way to stretch some minds and maybe open some eyes.

[Particentral]

I will have a post oni my blog about it in January as soon as the shop calms down a bit. Cannot add it to my plate just yet. You will never get groomers to agree on the use of Dawn or the cleaning of ears in the tub. I can just show you what works for me.

[workingchihuahua]

the problem with squirting water down the ear canal is that if you don't completely dry out the ear you set it up for bacterial infections. I most certainly would NOT use the recirc to do it.

[DazzleDog]

At the clinic I work at, our veterinarian has been successfully treating ear infections by using pressurized water pulsed into the ear for several years now. Although we use an ear cleanser instead of Dawn, the safest way to get the debris thats caked on to the ear drum is to squirt the ear cleanser into the ear, massage the base of the ear to help break debris up, and then use a bulb syringe or shower head to give several short "blasts" into the ear to rinse the crud out. If you look into the ear with an otoscope after doing this, they're squeaky clean. Then any antibiotic (if needed) can be applied directly to the ear instead of the debris. You can't clean the ear by sticking cotton swabs down there! And if you don't get all the gunk out, what good are you doing? So no, I don't think there is anything wrong with flushing ears with water. A lot of ear cleansers have drying properties-you can apply a little more if you are worried about the ears being wet.
Do I do this with every dog that comes in? No, but I just wanted to give my 2 cents that it works safely for us if we need to.

[lexapurple]

Dazzledog, how many groomers have otoscopes in their shop?
Flushing ears with water or anything else is not a big deal IF you know that eardrum is intact. Otherwise, you are in trouble.
I have used Dawn to clean greasy ear leather and hair but I have never heard of using it as ear cleaner, I would think that regular ear cleaner or vinegar solution would be sufficient.

[DazzleDog]

Lexapurple-I'm not implying that groomers have/should have otoscopes. I was merely pointing out WHY at our vet clinic, we use that technique and how it's rarely harmful to flush with water. I don't use an otoscope when I groom either. And if you have a dog with ears bad enough to have a ruptured eardrum, you as a groomer probably shouldn't be touching them; they should be referred to a vet for treatment.

[janelle]

Lexapurple-I'm not implying that groomers have/should have otoscopes. I was merely pointing out WHY at our vet clinic, we use that technique and how it's rarely harmful to flush with water. I don't use an otoscope when I groom either. And if you have a dog with ears bad enough to have a ruptured eardrum, you as a groomer probably shouldn't be touching them; they should be referred to a vet for treatment.

Rarely water will cause an infection soap left behind in the ears will always cause an infection . Even IF you don;t flush ears ...some water in the ears can be a good thing .Being to careful as not to get water in the ears will possibly leave soap behind and then your are in trouble ..so always rinse the ears atleast a little just to make sure they are soap free. Dog with a ruptured ear drum will usually show symptoms of being painful.
If a dog is groomed frequently and you know this dog by all means FLUSH THEM EARS
IMHP

[OntheBRINKofDisaster]

I will have a post oni my blog about it in January as soon as the shop calms down a bit. Cannot add it to my plate just yet. You will never get groomers to agree on the use of Dawn or the cleaning of ears in the tub. I can just show you what works for me.

Thanks, I will be waiting.

As far as agreeing...it's rare that groomers can agree on anything! One of the main reasons I come here is to challenge what I know and grow. Even if it's not something I might agree with or implement myself, I can't say with certainty it doesn't or shouldn't work if I have no idea what it's about. It takes all kinds. Even if we don't all agree, hopefully we've learned something.

[Helly]

At the clinic I work at, our veterinarian has been successfully treating ear infections by using pressurized water pulsed into the ear for several years now. Although we use an ear cleanser instead of Dawn,...Do I do this with every dog that comes in? No, but I just wanted to give my 2 cents that it works safely for us if we need to.

Whether you consider it safe or not (I don't), why don't you try using a sprayer in your own ear? IT HURTS! I'm surprised dogs don't bite the living daylights out of people who do that. I know I would.

[rapuzzled]

Whether you consider it safe or not (I don't), why don't you try using a sprayer in your own ear? IT HURTS! I'm surprised dogs don't bite the living daylights out of people who do that. I know I would.

ummm, yeah! pressurized water? ow!

[Full_Groom]

Whether you consider it safe or not (I don't), why don't you try using a sprayer in your own ear? IT HURTS! I'm surprised dogs don't bite the living daylights out of people who do that. I know I would.

Now I have a headache.:P