It has come to light that several dogs in a litter have small ear canals, (I can barely put my finger in the ear, whereas my other dogs seem to have a good bit of room in the canal) and consequently seem to develop more ear infections. Is this something that breeders consider in their breeding programs, or an oversight? Or is it just a weird anomaly?

I have a 6 y/o bitch with small ear canals. The size of her ear canals was pointed out to me when she had her initial vet check as a baby. My vet warned me that she might be prone to ear infections and to keep an eye on her ears. She has had exactly one ear infection in her whole life, and that was recently.

I wouldn't worry about it.

I would also add to avoid putting anything into the ear or trying to clean it out if there is no infection. Ear wax has antimicrobial properties and will protect the ear from infection. Trying to remove the wax will irritate the ear and take away the protection. Only treat an ear infection if there is one.

I'm with Nancy.

I have never cleaned a good ear. I have friends who clean all the time, purple crap etc.

I never clean unless there is a problem, and I don't use commercial cleaners with scents etc. I use only Burosol, which is what my ear doctor uses on me.