Head Shaking: Why does my dog do it?

If your dog shakes his head only very occasionally, it's usually nothing to worry about and your dog may just need his ears cleaned.  But if you notice your dog shaking her head a lot, or very hard, or simply more than usual, it may warrant a trip to the vet.

Your dog may have a bacterial or fungal infection, or may even have mites! Any dog can get an ear infection, or Otitis Externa, but those with longer or floppy ears are usually more susceptible. The most noticeable sign of an ear infection is head shaking and ear flapping, or your dog may show off her flexibility and use her feet to rub or scratch at her ears.

The first thing you should do is clean your dogs ears.  I like to use a cleanser such as Virbac Epi-Otic or Zymox Ear Cleaner.  There are two ways most people clean their dog's ears.  You can soak a cotton ball with the cleaner, then gently wipe inside your dog's ear.  Use a fresh cotton ball for each ear, and you may need a dry cotton ball to get all of the debris out.  Their ear canal is "L" shaped, so you can feel pretty comfortable cleaning their ears without worrying about going too deep.  The other method is to squirt a little bit of the cleaner in each ear, then massage the ear with your fingers to work the cleanser in and help break up debris.  Then you wipe out the ear with a tissue or cotton ball.  My vet has told me that it's safe to clean my dog's ears everyday as long as I am getting debris (or have a dirty cotton ball after wiping out the ear). You may need to clean your dogs ears daily until the head shaking subsides, then less often  such every other day, once a week, once every two weeks - whatever works and keeps your dog's ears from being dirty and getting infected.

Your dog may have a bacterial or fungal infection and need to see the vet for diagnosis and treatment. Usually, the vet will swab the ears to determine the cause, then prescribe ear drops.  Your dog may moan with relief when you rub her ears, or he may cry or wince/pull away in pain.  You may notice dark discharge in the ear or when you clean your dog's ears, and your pup's ears may have a less than pleasant odor.  Moderate to severe cases may require an oral medication like the steroid prednisone to help with the itching and reduce inflammation.

Other causes may be foreign body in the ear (bugs, grass clippings, etc), ear mites (small parasites), or allergies to the environment or an ingredient in her food.  I recently discovered that one of my dogs may be allergic to chicken, and it wasn't until I switched him to fish-based food and treats with zero chicken, chicken meal, eggs, or chicken fat that his ears finally started to clear up!

When in doubt, see your vet.  If your dog is uncomfortable, itching, scratching, and shaking his head, it's time to be checked out by a vet to determine the true cause and treat it.


SOURCES:
VetStreet
Pet WebMD
MedicineNet