Cleaning a dog's ears

What do you use to do it, and how often?

My dog gets infections in his ears if I don't clean them well at least every two weeks. Working through one right now, and the doc gave me Epi-Otic again. Have to clean once every day, and have been doing it since last Friday. Yeah, they are cleaner, but I am still pulling new stuff out each day. I feel like it loosens up the wax or whatever decently, but isn't it supposed to dry up after you clean the ears? If I don't wipe it off, it'll stay wet on my dog's ears for two days. I still am not able to get all of it out way down at the bottom of his ear canal. Him shaking his head gets big clumps out, but I have to go in with a Q-tip after every time. Can't keep this bastard out of the water if I'm not watching, and the doc told me I have to do it every time he goes swimming(twice/week).

Should I just use rubbing alcohol so it'll dry up? I feel like it being wet in there creates an environment for more yeast to grow. When I went to St. Stanislaus, they would dump rubbing alcohol in everyone's ears out of a ketchup bottle after we got out of the water to prevent infections

I have noticed that he gets more earwax on the food I used to give him in the summer(EVO Red), so I am in the process of switching him from winter food to Orijen right now. Any other suggestions as to what I should do to slow down the black shite from building up in his ears?


I looked around, and saw this LINK, but want to know how to actually prevent it, not just clean it.


6yr old Black lab; ear infections, none requiring antibiotics, since he was maybe 4