My GR ears are looking slighty waxy, just wondering what people would recommend for cleaning them?

I use a damp cotton wool pad and wipe round the ear.  Definitely no poking anything in.

Used to use veterinary products but found they caused irritation, so to clean out the ears use olive oil and then wipe out with cooled boiled water with a little added salt. Don't use cotton wool but an old soft cotton handkerchief.

Unless you have experience of 'ears' I'd suggest checking with a vet first.  I think you have a youngster don't you?  Dirty ears could be anything from general grot to something more serious so a vet visit is always wise.  Depending on the cause they can tell you the best cleaner to use and the appropriate method.

I have different ear techniques for each of my dogs which are dependant on cause, ear design and tolerance :)

Another good person to consult is your breeder,  he/she could probably tell at a glance (or a sniff) what action if any you need take

> he/she could probably tell at a glance (or a sniff) what action if any you need take <IMG class=qButton title="Quote selected text" alt="Quote selected text" src="/images/mi_quote.gif" width=20 height=10>

Made me smile, as my own vet seems to use smell for ears.  He takes a sniff before looking in them, even doing the annual health check.

Thanks. Gave them a gentle wipe with cooled boiled water and olive oil. Was just dirt, she loves rolling in mud!!

Interested inwhat you are saying about veterinary drops.  i've been using them on my girl who had a haematoma a few months ago and her ear is really irritated at the moment.  Will be getting olive oil tomorrow!  Do you slightly warm it as recommended with people?

Perrodeagua.  Use olive oil at room temperature from the kitchen, a pipett to squirt into the ear and then massage the ears (dogs love that part). I'd advise doing it away from your best furniture incase residue is shaken out but I do have dogs with large dirty ears! I refer to ear cleaning as Beverly Hill Billy time - if your old enough to remember. Yes for some reason I have found that any of the veterinary cleaners cause the ears to become very red and sore (rubbing of the ears on the floor - rather than shaking the head to get rid of something), our vet has said he will not use some of them. In the past when I did still use them the dogs used to run away and hide if they saw me with the bottle, now they just come and sit and await their turn. I do suggest that having used oil and cleaned the ears that you have another look a couple of hours later to see if any more wax/dirt has come out. Best wishes. 

are you using veterinary drops or cleaner? Olive oil won't replace medicated drops if that's what it is, only help to clean.
I agree that they seemed to be terrified of the commercial cleaner and try and hide under the sofa,  assumed it was the weird sensation they didn't like and didn't think it could be painful until I was chatting to someone else about it and they said that particular brand (opti something? ) was know for being really bad and there was another brand that the dog didn't mind.

I did use olive oil on one of mine once but if I did it again I'd be more careful to clean his face after as I think I went a bit overboard with the amount and the next day he had a horrible stinky patch of wet excema (sp? help?) where it had dribbled down the side of his face

> that particular brand (opti something? )

Epi-Otic by any chance?

> > that particular brand (opti something? )<br />Epi-Otic by any chance?

That's definitely the brand that has given both of my dogs extremely irritated, red and flaky ears.

I tend to stick with thornit these days for ear cleaning.

I use Ohren-Pfleg and it has proved extremely effective with my one girls ear cleaning. She has always had ear problems but this plus thornit has worked wonders. The amount it has reduced the wax build up has been signifcantly good.