You should make your dog's ear grooming as a part of the grooming routine for your Jack Russell to make sure that your terrier's ears are always clean so that they do not cause your dog any problem. Just like humans, your dog's ear may have a tendency to grow hair and produce wax. This is nature's way of protecting the inner ear as the hair and wax trap dirt and retain moisture. The flip side to this is that the dirt and moisture may also breed bacteria which may cause infections.

As your Jack Russell's ears is one of the very important component of his senses and can also be very easily get dirty (as he chases prey and burrows into the ground), I recommend that you check it every other day. I also recommend that you check them each time after you give your dog a bath.

Here are 2 simple steps that I use for grooming my Jack Russell's ears to make sure that my Jack Russell terriers' ears are always healthy and free from infection.

1. Examine the ears
Make sure the outside ears looks good and there are no tears, scratches and other patches etc. Then check to make sure that there no big amount of wax. Some wax should be normal. If there is a large amount of ear wax and if those wax is smelly or looks reddish-brown, then I suggest that you take your terrier to the vet, otherwise gently wipe away any dirt with a cotton ball

2. Check for ear hair.
Ear hair functions as a filter. However as the filter functions to prevent dirt from getting into the ear, it also traps the dirt. Bacteria normally comes together with the dirt and together with the moisture and was, they can easily multiply and cause your dog's ear to be infected. Carefully clean it with cotton bud if it is dirty. If there is excessive ear hair, you may want to trim of some of those. To trim ear hair, pull the ear back over the dog's head, laying it flat against the skull. This will make sure that the delicate parts of the ear canal are not exposed. However do be careful. You can also get the vet to help you to trim the hairs.

Once you have done the above, use a damp cloth to wipe the areas around the ears and the ears themselves. The benefits of a regular ear grooming is that you will always be aware of the health of your terrier's ears and should any unforeseen infection occurs, your Jack Russell will be more comfortable with it when a dog grooming professional or vet has to examine them.

Darlene Browne is an avid lover of dogs and in particular Jack Russell terriers. Feel free to reference Darlene's dog grooming and other dog training information and related resources on her site that she uses herself and shares with her other dog loving friends.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Darlene_Browne