Dog Shaking Head: Causes and Solutions

Reason #1: Your Dog Is Having a SeizureThis, obviously, is the most serious cause of dog shaking head syndrome. If the shaking is persistent, call your vet immediately--and be prepared to take him straight in for a visit.

Seizures can cause serious damage to a dog's brain and could even be fatal, so it's essential that you get the dog treatment as soon as you suspect this is happening. Luckily, seizures are quite rare, and dog shaking head syndrome is usually caused by one of the following two reasons.

Reason #2: Your Dog Has Ear MitesYou can usually tell if the dog has ear mites if--in addition to the dog shaking its head--it also scratches at the ears (even causing bleeding). Like the photo above shows, they usually present themselves as reddish-brown or deep brown; they are much darker than typical ear wax. If you look hard enough, you might even be able to detect white spots moving--these are the ear mites. These are particularly dangerous to dogs, as they can cause severe damage to the ear canal if left untreated.

If this is your first time dealing with this, you might want to see your vet for guidance. Typically, though, this can be treated at home with an over-the-counter remedy.

Reason #3: Your Dog Has Dirty EarsIf you notice the dog's head shaking every now and again, your dog may simply have dirty ears. If the debris you see inside the ears is mostly a light-to-medium tan color, a buildup of ear wax is the cause and a simple ear wash is needed.

A natural way to clean the dog's ears is to flush them with any type of vegetable oil. However, this can be quite messy and oily! I prefer to use a commercial ear cleaner as it's less messy, and less likely to interact with any sort of other treatment I may be using (like for mites).

Step 1: Grab the dog's ear with one hand and the cleaner in the other. Lift up the ear and lightly squeeze the cleaner into canal. Take care not to try to get the dog ear wash as far into the canal as possible as debris can live past where the eye can see.

Step 2: Let the dog's ear lay flat (or fold it over) and gently message in the solution for 30 seconds to one minute; you should hear a squishy sound. The dog's ear should serve as a buffer between your fingers and the ear. Allow your pet to shake out any excess when you are done.

Step 3: Use a cotton ball to remove any excess solution. If the dog has a lot of ear wax, use a fresh cotton ball with every swipe to ensure that you are not pushing any debris further into the ear.

Dog Shaking Head is lens #32 for the author.



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