Animals keep themselves clean in different ways. Dogs usually get clean by scratching themselves. This gets rid of the loose hairs. They don't like a water bath often on them. Too much water makes a dog's skin dry and it may crack. When children take a bath, they sometimes forget to clean their ears. But bats don't forget their ears must always be clean because bats find their way by listening to sounds. A bat puts the thumb of its winged front "hand" in its ear and twists it around to loosen the dirt . The rest of its. Body is kept spotless with its long pink tongue.