INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Follow your veterinarian's instructions about how many times per day or week to clean your dog's ears. If your dog has an ear infection, have your vet check his ears to make sure the eardrum has not been damaged or ruptured. Cleaning ears that have a damaged eardrum can make them worse, not better. Cleaning the ears too often cause also harm the ears. Signs of a ruptured eardrum include pain, head tilting toward the affected side and sometimes even rapid jerky eye movements and/or dizziness. It is best to use a veterinarian recommended dog ear cleaning solution, but many over-the-counter ear flush options are available at your local pet store. These are often effective for routine ear cleaning but don't use them to clean infected ears if they contain alcohol or other harsh ingredients. These can be painful and irritating. If your dog has an infection, your veterinarian may prescribe an ear flush specifically formulated to break up wax, break down bacterial cell walls, and treat yeast causing the infection. Have your dog sit with his back up against a wall or in a corner of a room. This will help you keep him still and prevent him from running away during the ear cleaning. Because ears can be very painful, and because you're working with your pet's face, use a muzzle if you need to or if your pet may be likely to try to bite. It may also help to have a gentle grip over and around the muzzle to hold your pet's head still. Remember that even the sweetest animals can and may bite when they are in pain. It may help to have an extra person around to help hold your dog in place and keep his head still. Pour some of the cleaner into your dog's ear canal according to the directions on the bottle. Massage his ear at the base for 20 to 30 seconds to help the cleaner move around and agitate any debris. Use a cotton ball to plug the ear, then repeat the massaging technique underneath the opening of the ear. This will push the cleaning fluid into the cotton ball to be soaked up. Debris should also stick to the underside of the cotton ball. Be sure to only push the cotton into the vertical canal, until it plugs the opening, but can be easily retrieved. The anatomy of your dog's ear is different from your ear. Dogs have an L-shaped ear canal, containing a vertical canal you can see into, with a nearly 90 degree turn into the horizontal portion of the canal (this is an area you cannot see). Remove the fluid soaked cotton ball and look at the bottom surface for wax or discharge. Use a cotton ball to wipe the dirt out of the visible, exterior parts of the ear. Gently wipe the inner ear flap and around the ear with a dry, soft towel to clean loose dirt and moisture. If there is a lot of debris on the cotton ball, then repeat the rinse, agitate, and absorb procedure again.

SUMMARY: Know when to clean your dog's ears. Get a cleaning solution. Position your dog. Apply the cleaning solution. Plug and massage the ear. Remove and examine the cotton ball.

INPUT ARTICLE: Article: There's no set amount of water that you'll need to add. Instead, scoop the primer into the bucket or cup that you'll be using to hold it. Then, add a little bit of water at a time while stirring the gesso and continue adding water until it has the consistency of a heavy cream. Your gesso will probably be really thick, so it's important to dilute it to make it easier to apply and smooth out. It's better to shoot for too little water rather than too much, since if you add too much water to your gesso, your only choice is to start this process over. Go from the top of the canvas to the bottom, stroking parallel to the length of the canvas. Cover the canvas completely while also spreading the primer as evenly and thinly as possible. Try to create as flat a surface as possible with the gesso. For best results, use a stiff brush with relatively firm fibers. If your canvas is pretty big, you can also use a roller brush instead. Be sure to paint the edges of the canvas as well; these can sometimes be hard to hit with just vertical strokes. Gesso doesn't take long to dry, but give it at least an hour to completely dry for best results. Use fine sandpaper to give your gesso a once-over and give it a smooth texture moving forward. If you don't want your canvas to have a smooth texture, you can choose to skip this part. Be sure to brush off the dust from your canvas after you sand the gesso. While the gesso is drying, take this time to clean off your brush. If you leave the gesso on the bristles for too long, it will be very difficult to remove. When you go to apply this second coat of gesso, be sure to turn the canvas 90 degrees first. This way, when you apply the primer with vertical strokes, these strokes will be perpendicular to the ones you used for the first coat. Using perpendicular strokes will make the finish of your texture much more even. You can apply as many coats of primer as you like, but most people choose to apply 2 for a smoother texture. Just 1 coat of gesso will give your canvas a relatively rougher finish. For best results, give your second coat an hour to dry before you go to sand it. Use very light pressure and short back-and-forth motions to avoid scraping off too much of the gesso. Be sure to remove the dust from your canvas after you sand it. Once you've finished sanding the gesso, your canvas is ready to be painted on!

SUMMARY:
Stir your primer and add a touch of water to it to dilute it. Use a wide brush to apply the gesso in vertical strokes. Allow this first coat to dry, then lightly sand it to smooth it out. Repeat these steps to apply a second coat using perpendicular strokes. Sand the gesso after it's dried for a smoother surface.