Wade’s Labrador, Reef, had a Tuesday date with the reservoir and a Thursday date with a head shake. By August the left ear smelled like wet corn. The vet cleared a yeast flare and sent them home with a boring after-swim ritual. Wade wanted the lake, not a summer of drops.
Key points at a glance
- Water that sits in a floppy ear is the usual setup, not “he swam too happily.”
- Dry the flap and the visible canal. Do not ram a cotton swab down the hole.
- A vet-approved cleaner after swims beats leftover vinegar recipes.
- Weekly lake dogs need a weekly look: pink skin, odor, and extra wax.
- Head shaking plus a sore ear is a pause on swimming, not a tougher dog problem.
Why the same ear flares every July
Reef’s ear is a warm tunnel with a leather lid. Lake water, pond water, and even a chlorinated pool leave moisture plus whatever lived in that water. Yeast and bacteria like that room. A Lab with hair in the canal, a spaniel with heavy flaps, or any dog who already had one infection is on a shorter fuse.
Swimming is not the crime. Leaving the ear wet until bedtime is. Wade used to towel the back and call it done. The flap looked dry. The canal did not.
Allergies play a part. If Reef itches his paws all winter, the ear skin is already unhappy before the first jump. Prevention then is allergy control plus drying, not a stronger over-the-counter splash.
A post-swim routine that takes four minutes
| Order | Action | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Let him shake on the bank or mat | Removes the easy water |
| 2 | Towel the flap, inside and out | The lid holds a puddle |
| 3 | If your vet said yes, apply the cleaner, then let him shake again | Displaces water and wax |
| 4 | Wipe what comes out with cotton or gauze | You are cleaning the exit, not the eardrum |
| 5 | Check color and smell before the car ride home | Catch Thursday’s infection on Tuesday |
Ask the clinic which cleaner Reef should use. Some ears need a drying solution after water. Some need a gentle cleaner only. A raw, already infected ear can sting if you pour acid on it. Wade’s vet picked one bottle and said daily after swims, not “whenever it looks funky.”
Cotton balls at the entrance before a swim are a maybe. Some dogs shake them loose in ten seconds. If you use them, they sit in the outer bowl, never packed deep. Skip homemade alcohol dumps. They burn cracks in the skin you cannot see.
A human hair dryer on cool, held at arm’s length, can finish a heavy flap if Reef accepts the noise. Keep it moving. Heat on ear skin is a burn.
What to watch between lake days
A healthy inner flap looks pale pink and smells like almost nothing. After a swim it can look a little damp. It should not look beefy, greasy, or brown-crumbed. Reef’s warning sign was a sweet, stale smell and a shake when Wade touched the base.
If he cries when the flap lifts, stop swimming and stop cleaning. You can push debris onto an ulcer. That is a recheck, often with a swab so the clinic knows yeast from bacteria.
Hair plucking in the canal is a groomer-and-vet debate. Plucking an already angry ear makes it angrier. Do not discover tweezers on a wet Lab.
Keep the weekly swim, drop the extra ones if the ear is mid-treatment. Chlorine is not a disinfectant for Reef’s canal. It is just more water.
After a bath, treat the ears like a swim day. Do not leave him damp in a crate with a towel over his head. If Reef is a diver, a snug ear covering made for dogs can help on boat days. It has to actually stay put.
Wade still goes on Tuesdays. He keeps a bottle and gauze in the hatch. Reef’s Thursday shakes stopped when the ear dried the same afternoon.
Recurring ear infections need a veterinarian. Home drying does not replace an exam, cytology, or prescribed drops. Do not use leftover ear medicine from a previous year or from another pet.