My lab shakes his head

I've just noticed that my 1.5 year old lab shakes his head for a few seconds about every 20 minutes or so. He digs in the yard constantly and so I have been trying to keep the dirt out of his ears. I have some ear cleaning solution that my vet gave us about 6 months ago to clean his ears, that I use.

What would be in his ear that could possibly cause him to shake his head so? I read on a previous thread about ear mites. I don't see any little scabs at the base on his ears. But he does have quite a bit of brown goop that is in his ears. I thought it was dirt, but perhaps it is wax.

If I can get out of taking him to a vet that would be great. My son just started college and I don't have a lot of extra cash.

Thanks,
Laura

Take him to the vet. He could have something lodged in his ear canal and you shouldn't try to remove it or you could deafen him and cause him great pain.

Thank you. I wasn't sure whether it was just wax build-up that I could easily remove. I've only cleaned the areas of his ears that are visible to the eye.

I agree w/Luba. Take him to the vet.

Keep us updated and let us know what is causing this.