It’s important to clean your Maltese’s ears on a regular basis. The drop ears of the Maltese require special attention, as they are prone to infection and tend to have excess hair growing inside them, which is always a bit of a nuisance. Clean them at least once a week. One easy way to check your Maltese’s ear health is to smell those ears! Foul or yeasty smells signal an infection, as does redness, sensitivity to touch, irritation, or head-shaking or tilting.

Collect your materials, which should include cotton balls, paper towels, or moistened gauze sponges. Use a commercial ear cleaner or a combination of vinegar and water (if you can handle the smell). Vinegar does a good job of killing many varieties of fungus, but it’s not an especially good cleaner for bacteria. And Maltese ears seem especially prone to both kinds of infections.

Avoid ear-cleaning products that contain alcohol, because they sting. Begin by cleaning the ear flap removing the dirt, wax, and debris. Don’t use cotton swabs which can push the debris further into the ear. You’re better off with thin wipes that mold to your fingers and work better to remove debris. Then, proceed to the cartilage. The doggy ear canal is shaped like an “L,” so you will not be able to manually clean the entire ear; it’s safest to just clean the parts you can see. If the ears are excessively dirty, you might buy a liquid commercial cleaner (again, one without alcohol) and use that.

Use a paper towel or dry cotton ball to dry the ears when you’re finished; you do not want the dog to go running around shaking his head, as that can cause trauma to the inside of the ears. Repeat the procedure on the opposite ear. Then, give your Maltese a delicious treat to reward him for his “pawfect” behavior.

Dealing With Ear Hair

The hair growing inside the ear can cause a great deal of trouble, and most Maltese experts believe that it should be removed in order to allow the air to circulate freely. However, some people claim that removing the hair actually makes the ear more vulnerable to infection; you may want to discuss options with your vet or groomer.

Owners who decide to have the hair plucked may go to a professional groomer, but you can do it at home as well, using a commercial ear powder. Take the ear powder and sprinkle a little into the ear canal, covering the hair. Wait few minutes to let powder dry the hairs completely. Then pluck out the hairs with your fingers, tweezers, or a hemostat. Pull quickly! Oddly enough, this doesn’t seem to hurt if you do only a few hairs at a time, although you think it would. Don’t try yanking the hairs growing on the inside of the ear flap, however. That does hurt.

Watch this video about cleaning your Maltese’s ears.