To clean your dog's ears at home without solution, wait until your dog is calm and relaxed before attempting to clean their ears. Then, turn them on their side and hold their ear open. Fill their ear with a gentle cleansing liquid until you can see the fluid, then pinch the ear shut to keep the cleansing liquid in. Massage the base of the ear gently for about 30 seconds, listening for the sound of the fluid swishing around. Thereafter, allow your dog to shake their head to loosen the debris. Use a cotton ball or gauze to remove the debris from their ear, not going deeper into the canal than one knuckle. Be sure to wipe all the liquid from your dog's face if any fluid ended up there after your dog's shake. Hold their ear open while on their side and fill the exposed ear canal with water. Gently massage the base of the ear for at least 30 seconds. Release your pinch on the ear canal and allow your dog to shake which will help to loosen debris further and bring it up higher in their ear canal. Use gauze or tear a cotton ball in half and wrap the cotton around your finger, and gently wipe away any debris as far into the ear canal as you can comfortably reach—but no deeper than one knuckle.