I am often asked by pet owners if they need to be cleaning their dog’s ears.  If a dog has normal healthy ears, no cleaning is necessary. But if there are  signs of ear infection, yes, the ears would benefit from a good cleaning with  the appropriate materials.

Signs of ear infections include shaking the head frequently and scratching at  the ears with the back leg. One might also notice a strange smell coming from  the ears. The ear canal can be very red and inflamed. Excessive wax sometimes  accumulates in the ear. This wax could be purulent from infection or thick and  black.

When cleaning the ears, one source of cleaner is your veterinarian’s office.  These cleaners are usually gentle and do not cause undue discomfort. I say  undue, because some discomfort is unavoidable. Even healthy ears do not like  having fluid put in the ear canal. The discomfort is minimized by buffering the  solution’s pH.

Ear cleansers generally have a salicylic or acetic acid base to help break  down the wax and aid in killing yeast. I like the ones that have a good smell,  because it helps to destroy the odor emanating from the ear canal. Ear cleaners  do not have antibiotics in them. They are made to be used frequently and as  needed. If antibiotics were used in this fashion it would compound our problems  with antibiotic resistance.

One mistake I have seen is the use of antibiotic ointment as if it were a  cleaner. Owners put antibiotic drops in the ears once a week or when they see a  flare-up. These medicines were not made to be used this way. Ear washes are to  be used on a daily or weekly basis to prevent infections. Antibiotics are for  treating a severe infection. Occasionally a chronic severe case will warrant  ongoing antibiotic therapy, but these are few and far between.

What can be used at home for washing out the ears? A good natural wash  consists of one part white distilled vinegar to one part rubbing alcohol.  Combine these two ingredients and soak a cotton ball in the mixture. Wipe out  the ear, rubbing the cotton ball so that the alcohol-vinegar mix trickles down  into the ear canal.

The vinegar will kill yeast, and the alcohol will kill bacteria as well as  dry out the ear. The biggest problem with this cleaner is that the alcohol burns  irritated skin. A gentler version would be one part white distilled vinegar to  one part water. It helps treat yeast infections, and it is gentler.

If you find that the ear canal continues to build up with wax even though you  are cleaning out the ear or you see the signs of infection worsening, it is time  to make an appointment with your veterinarian. He can look at cytology and  discover the source of the infection so that a medical treatment can be  prescribed.

Of course at 10 years old, with each dog year being equal to about  seven human years, your furbaby is the ripe old age of 70 and you want  to make sure she lives out the remaining time she has left in the most  joyous way. Dr. Ernie Ward, author of Chow Hounds: Why Our Dogs Are Getting Fatter – A Vet’s Plan to Save Their Lives (2010 HCI) and owner, chief-of-staff at Seaside Animal Care in Calabash, North Carolina, recommends that pet parents be mindful of a host of  potential  health issues their senior pet’s caretaker.

“While we may still view our eight-year old Lab as our “puppy” the  reality is she is undergoing many of the same physical changes of a  50-year old person,” says Dr. Ward.”Simple changes in nutrition and  lifestyle can make a huge difference in preventing age-related diseases  and preserving quality of life.”

The definition of a senior pet

Historically, any pet over age seven is considered a  senior pet, says Dr. Ward. In strict physiological terms, giant breed  dogs over age five should be considered senior and toy breeds and cats  over age nine are viewed as senior pets. The differences in ages are due  to the rate of physiological changes in certain breeds; giant breeds  age faster.

Senior pets need specialized diets

As dogs and cats age so do their nutrient requirements and ability to  digest certain foods, notes Dr. Ward.  If your pet is over seven years  old, it’s important to talk to your veterinarian about switching to a  diet specially-formulated for older pets.

“Senior pets need less fat and carbohydrates and more highly  digestible proteins,” says Dr. Ward. “For example, older cats actually  require higher amounts of protein because studies show their ability to  digest proteins deteriorates as they age. In general, older pets need  fewer calories because they’re less active and begin to lose muscle  mass.”

Diet and supplements

Dr. Ward recommends that pet parents give their  senior pet low or no-grain, higher protein diets for older cats and  highly digestible, low-fat diets for dogs. And since nutritional gaps  and cellular damage can accelerate as pets  age due to genetics,  pollutants and illness, Dr. Ward advises giving nutritional supplements  such as omega-3 fatty acids (fish oils), glucosamine/chondroitin  sulfate, and a good multi-vitamin (especially B vitamins and vitamins A,  D, E, and K, biotin and beta-carotene) to almost every older pet. He  also prescribes SAM-e, silybin/milk thistle, superoxide dismutase (SOD)  and probiotics to many senior pets to combat age changes.

Preventative medical care: What you need to know

Start testing at seven years old. Changes in kidney,  liver and pancreatic function, arthritis, cataracts, heart disease and  high blood pressure are more common in older pets. To diagnose a disease  in the early stages requires consistent examinations and lab tests. As  soon as your pet turns seven, pet parents should ask for basic blood and  urine tests, even if their pet appears perfectly healthy. The value of  routine testing is that it establishes baselines for future reference.

“I recently saw a nine-year old cat for a routine visit,” says Dr.  Ward. “The owner reported her cat was in excellent health yet our test  results showed an increase in two kidney enzymes from the previous year.  While the kidney values were still within normal limits, the change  alerted me to a potential problem. Additional tests confirmed early  kidney disease. If not for the previous test results, we would’ve never  diagnosed kidney disease at this early stage. ”

Bottom line: The money you spend on routine  diagnostic tests may save you big bucks in the future and add years of  life to your pet. Never ignore that tiny voice telling you “something  isn’t right.” If you suspect something – anything – is wrong with a pet  over age 7, have it checked out.

Melissa Chapman, Contributor  to Care.com  www.care.com/pet-care