If there’s one part of a dachshund’s body owners tend to forget about, it’s the ears. We talk a lot about backs (for obvious reasons), and I’ve written plenty about shedding and bathing around here. But ears quietly cause more vet visits than almost anything else I see in this breed, and most of it is preventable with about two minutes of attention a week.
I’m Rex, and healthcare is my corner of this site. So let’s talk about why dachshund ears get into trouble in the first place, how to clean them properly at home, and how to tell the difference between “a little wax” and “time to call the vet.”
Why Dachshunds Are Prone to Ear Problems
A dachshund’s long, floppy ears aren’t just part of the look — they’re functional flaps that cover the ear canal almost completely. That’s great for a scent hound working close to the ground (it helps trap and funnel smells toward the nose), but it’s rough on ear health for one simple reason: airflow.
An ear canal that’s covered most of the day stays warmer and more humid than an upright ear that gets constant ventilation. Warm, dark, and damp is exactly the environment yeast and bacteria like best. Add in a bath, a swim, a rainy walk, or even just a dachshund’s naturally narrower ear canal, and moisture has nowhere good to go. It sits, and it starts a chain reaction that can turn into an infection within a day or two if nothing dries it out.
Wire-haired and long-haired dachshunds have it a little harder than smooths, since hair around and inside the ear flap traps even more moisture and can restrict airflow further. But every coat type is built the same way underneath, so every dachshund benefits from a regular ear-care routine — not just the ones who’ve already had a problem.
How Often Should You Clean a Dachshund’s Ears?
For most healthy dachshunds, checking the ears weekly and cleaning them every one to two weeks is the right rhythm — enough to catch early wax buildup or odor before it becomes a real problem, without over-cleaning, which can actually irritate the ear canal and strip away the natural, protective wax layer.
A few situations call for cleaning more often, at least temporarily:
- After every bath or swim — moisture is the single biggest trigger for ear trouble in this breed
- During humid summer weather, especially if your dachshund is outside a lot
- If your dog has known allergies, which make ears more reactive and prone to yeast overgrowth (I go into this more in my dachshund allergies guide — ear irritation is often one of the first allergy signs owners notice)
- If you’ve had a confirmed infection before — those ears are more likely to flare up again
On the flip side, if your dachshund’s ears are clean, odor-free, and not bothering them, resist the urge to clean daily “just in case.” More isn’t better here.
How to Clean Your Dachshund’s Ears at Home
This is genuinely a two-minute job once your dog gets used to it. Here’s the routine I recommend:
What you’ll need
- A vet-approved dog ear cleaning solution (ask your vet for a recommendation — formulas vary by whether your dog runs dry, waxy, or yeast-prone)
- Cotton balls or soft gauze pads
- Treats, for cooperation and bribery in equal measure
The steps
- Lift the ear flap gently and take a look and a sniff before you do anything else. Healthy ears are pale pink inside, don’t smell strong, and have only a small amount of light-colored wax.
- Fill the ear canal with cleaner according to the bottle’s instructions — this usually means enough to see it pool slightly, not just a token drop.
- Massage the base of the ear for 20–30 seconds. You should hear a soft squelching sound — that’s the solution working through the canal and breaking up debris. This step matters more than people expect; skipping it means the cleaner just sits on the surface.
- Let your dog shake. Step back (seriously — dachshunds do not shake gently) and let them fling out the loosened debris and excess solution on their own.
- Wipe the visible part of the ear — the flap and the outer canal you can see — with a cotton ball or gauze pad. Never use cotton swabs (Q-tips) inside the canal itself. They tend to push debris deeper rather than removing it, and they carry a real risk of injuring the eardrum in a dog that moves suddenly, which dachshunds absolutely do.
- Reward heavily. A dachshund who learns that ear time means treats will fight you a lot less by the third or fourth session.
Only clean as deep as you can see. If a cleaning solution needs to reach further into the canal to address a problem, that’s a job for your vet with the right tools, not a cotton ball at home.
Signs of an Ear Infection to Watch For
Catching an infection early makes a huge difference in how quickly and easily it clears up. Here’s what I tell owners to watch for between routine cleanings:
- A noticeable odor — a sour, yeasty, or downright bad smell coming from the ear is one of the earliest and most reliable signs something’s wrong
- Discharge or unusual wax — dark brown, black, or yellowish discharge, especially in larger amounts than usual
- Redness or swelling inside the ear flap or at the opening of the canal
- Head shaking or tilting more than the occasional post-nap shake-off
- Scratching at the ear, or rubbing the side of the face against furniture, carpet, or your leg
- Sensitivity or pain when you touch the ear or the area around it — a dog who normally tolerates ear handling suddenly pulling away is a real signal
- A change in temperament during the ear check, like flinching, growling, or trying to get away, when that’s not their usual behavior
Any one of these on its own is worth watching closely. Two or more together, especially odor plus discharge, means it’s time to call the vet rather than wait it out.
What Treatment Actually Looks Like
If your vet confirms an infection, treatment usually starts with an otoscope exam to check that the eardrum is intact, followed by a swab to identify whether you’re dealing with bacteria, yeast, or both — the treatment differs depending on the cause. Most straightforward infections clear up with a prescribed ear cleaner plus a topical medication (drops or ointment) applied at home for one to two weeks. More stubborn or recurring infections sometimes need oral medication as well, and chronic cases are worth investigating for an underlying cause like allergies or a foreign object trapped in the canal.
I’d gently push back on the temptation to treat a suspected infection entirely with over-the-counter products before a vet has actually looked in the ear. If the eardrum is affected or the infection is more advanced than it looks from the outside, the wrong product can make things worse. A same-day or next-day vet visit for a new ear issue is almost always the right call — this isn’t a “wait a week and see” kind of problem.
Preventing Infections After Baths and Swimming
Since moisture is the root cause behind most dachshund ear infections, prevention really comes down to managing water exposure:
- Use cotton balls loosely placed at the ear opening (not pushed in) during baths to keep water from running straight into the canal — remove them right after
- Dry the ears thoroughly after every bath or swim with a soft towel, gently patting rather than rubbing
- Use a drying ear solution (different from a cleaning solution — ask your vet which to use and when) after swimming sessions, especially in warm weather when your dachshund’s in and out of water often
- Keep hair trimmed around the ear opening on wire-haired and long-haired dachshunds, so air can actually reach the canal
- Check ears the same day after any significant water exposure, rather than waiting for your next scheduled cleaning
None of this needs to be complicated. It’s the same principle as drying between your own toes after a shower — a small habit that prevents a much bigger problem down the line.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know if my dachshund’s ears are just waxy or actually infected?
Normal wax is light tan or yellowish, present in small amounts, and doesn’t come with any smell, redness, or head shaking. If the wax is dark, unusually plentiful, accompanied by odor, or your dog seems bothered by their ears, that points toward infection rather than routine buildup.
Can I use human ear cleaning products on my dachshund?
No — stick to products made for dogs. Canine ear canals have a different pH and structure than ours, and some human products contain ingredients that can irritate or even damage a dog’s ear tissue.
Is it normal for a dachshund’s ears to smell a little?
A very faint, neutral smell can be normal. A strong, sour, or yeasty odor is not, and it’s usually the first sign of a problem — trust your nose here.
Do wire-haired and long-haired dachshunds need more ear care than smooths?
They benefit from a bit more attention, mainly trimming the hair around the ear opening to help with airflow, but the underlying cleaning routine and warning signs are the same across all three coat types.
My dachshund hates having their ears touched — what can I do?
Go slow and build positive associations before you’re actually trying to clean anything. Touch the ears briefly, reward, and stop — repeat this daily for a week or two before introducing the cleaning solution itself. If a dog is genuinely painful to the touch rather than just fussy, that’s worth a vet check on its own, since pain usually means something’s already wrong in there.
The Bottom Line
Ear care doesn’t get the attention that back health or nutrition does in this breed, but it deserves a spot in your regular routine right alongside them. A quick weekly check, a cleaning every couple of weeks, and a little extra vigilance after baths or swims will catch almost every problem before it becomes a real infection — and a dachshund with healthy ears is a much more comfortable, much less itchy dachshund.
