Basic dog grooming should definitely involve cleaning inside your dog's ears.  There's many dog breeds which grow hair inside their ears, making it easier for wax, dirt and other issues to buildup.  The dirtier or more clogged your dog's ears get, the more likely they are to get an ear infection or other problem.  If you see your dog shaking its head a lot and scratching at it's ears, it may already have one.

If your dog has hair inside the ear, you'll need to pluck the hair out inside the ear, and then clean inside.   You can use an ear wash or ear powder to help grip the hair and pull it out.  A hemostat can also be used to grab the hair inside the ear and pull it out.  Be careful not to pinch the dog's skin while doing this.

How you clean the dog's ears depends on how dirty they are inside.  If they aren't too dirty you can simply use cotton balls dampened with the ear cleaner or wash solution.  If your dog's ears are very dirty, you'll want to pour the ear wash into the ear and massage the ear to work it around inside, then wipe it with a cotton ball. 

When cleaning with a cotton ball, don't worry if some ear cleaner goes down the ear canal because the dog will eventually shake it.  While cleaning, always work on the top area, don't go too far down or you can actually damage the dog's inner ear.

If your dog gets an unfortunate ear infection, you'll need to treat it per your vet's instructions.  Usually, the veterinarian will prescribe some sort of ear medicine cleaner as well as an ointment to use inside the ear.  You'll dab a cotton ball with the medicated ear cleaner and clean just as described in the above instructions.  Next, you'll need to follow the specific directions on the ointment you were given by the vet.  Some require that you drop a small bit in the ear and then massage the ear some, to work the ointment all throughout your dog's ear.  Repeat this with the prescribed ear care products until the recommended time period for treating the ear infection has passed, even if it seems to have cleared up sooner.

There's plenty of great products on the market when it comes to cleaning your dog's ears. For example, Synergy makes Dr. Gold's Extra Gentle Ear Therapy. This particular ear cleaner is made with a tea-tree oil, witch hazel and special dioctyl sodium sulfo-succinate solution to gently clean and disinfect your dog's ear canal. It doesn't contain any alcohol, so its painless while it works to clean, deodorize and disinfect your dog's ears. It can also treat yeast infections.

The Nolvasan Otic Cleansing Solution is a great product to buy if your dog is suffering from any sort of ear irritation or infection. The cleansing solution is one of the top sellers at Amazon.com, and will clean, deodorize and disinfect. In addition, it can restore your dog's fur coat's lusterous shine. Nolvasan's product can also be used on cats, so if you have a few pets, it makes a good investment.

Veterinarian's Best Ear Relief Wash & Dry is another great product available at Amazon.com.  This kit includes two bottles of ear relief wash, and two bottles of ear relief dry solution.  It works to give your dog fast relief for any irritation inside the ear, preventing wax buildup, odor and ear scratching all at once.  It will also help prevent swimmer's ear in your dog, a condition which dogs develop that swim a lot or may develop after bathing.  You can also use Vet Solutions Swimmer's Ear Astringement specifically for this problem.

If you practice good dog grooming regularly including ear care, you will be able to greatly reduce or eliminate your dog's potential ear health issues. Some of these can include dog ear infections, ear wax buildup, and the development of mites inside their ears. If your dog's ears become infected then you will have to get more serious about their care, and more money will be spent on vet bills and prescribed medicine products.

If you find your dog is having an awful amount of irritation, scratching and head shaking from its ears, you'll want to bring them into the veterinarian. The vet may determine that your dog has an ear infection. Depending on the severity of it, the vet may prescribe that you use a special cleaning solution, and may also prescribe an ointment to use in the dog's ears. Follow all instructions carefully on any prescribed products, as well as the instructions of the veterinarian.

One line of products your veterinarian may recommend is by Zymox, who makes all sorts of medicated ear cleaners, washes, solutions and ointments.

Cleaning and caring for your pet dog's ears are just one part of the dog grooming process.  Other processes you must engage in regularly including brushing their teeth, brushing or combing out their fur coats, giving them a regular bath, using flea & tick control methods and clipping their toenails.  For more information on dog grooming refer to the links below.