Swimming fills a dog's ears with water, warmth and whatever the lake carried, and ears with heavy flaps or hairy canals dry slowly afterwards. Problems rarely start as an emergency; they start as damp, redness and a smell that an owner notices three days late. A short check done while he is still damp catches change early, when a phone call can still sort it.
Prepare the Kit Before He Gets Wet
Put the return kit by the door before you leave: a towel for the coat, several large cotton pads or balls for the ears, a second dry towel, and food rewards. Add a torch for dogs with dark ear skin or deep canals you cannot see into under room light. Nothing else belongs in this kit; bottles sold for ears are a conversation for the vet visit, not a doorstep habit to improvise.
The Look-and-Smell Check, in Order
Settle him sitting or standing and let him shake first; a good shake clears more water than any towel. Lift one ear flap fully and hold it up so light reaches the inner surface and the opening of the canal. A settled ear looks pale pink, smooth and fairly dry, with only a trace of light wax, and it smells of very little, warm skin and not much else.
Compare the two ears with each other, since one ear changing ahead of the other is the usual opening chapter of trouble. Look for redness spreading beyond the opening, skin that looks swollen or angry, dark brown or black discharge, yellow discharge, or specks and crusting in the folds. Smell deliberately; a sour or yeasty odour is a finding even when the ear looked passable. Touch gently around the ear base: flinching or pulling away at a touch he normally allows means the ear hurts, and sore ears belong to vets.
Drying What You Can Reach
Dry only what you can see. Wrap a cotton pad around your finger and wipe the inner flap and the visible folds at the canal opening, turning to a clean pad as each one comes away damp or dirty, and stop where the canal turns downward out of sight. Pat the outer ear dry with the towel, and tease long ear hair gently apart with your fingers so air reaches the skin.
Never push cotton buds, tweezers, tissue twists or your finger down the canal itself. The canal bends, and debris pushed down packs where only a vet can retrieve it. Pour nothing into the ear either, no water, oil or home mixture, and use a drying or cleaning liquid only if your vet has previously supplied or directed one for this dog and this situation, exactly as they directed it.
Signs That Mean a Vet Call
Ring the practice when you find redness that is spreading or angry rather than a faint post-swim pink, discharge of any colour beyond a trace of pale wax, a new sour or yeasty smell. Ring as well for behaviour that outlasts the evening: repeated head shaking, scratching at one ear, rubbing his head along the floor, holding his head tipped to one side, or soreness when the ear is touched.
Mention that he swims, how often, and what you found on which day. A dog with previous ear problems deserves a lower threshold for the call; agree the check rhythm with the practice and write it down.
Make It a Swim-Day Habit
Run the identical check after every swim while the season lasts: shake, lift, look, smell, wipe what you can see, note anything new. The repetition is what gives the check its power, because you judge each ear against the previous swim's, a comparison your eyes can win.
Jotted in a line or two per swim through KinsLe, those checks sit in Pet Passport beside his other skin and ear history, ready to hand over when a pattern needs a clinician's eye rather than another week of watching.