Ear infection

[bmthmark]

Hi

Jetts been having real trouble with ear infections. He got one in August and I took him to the vet, they gave him antibiotics and after about 5 days he was fine.
He got another infection last weekend, so I rang the vets again and asked for some more antibiotics.
This time they just gave me the ear drops without examining him.
He seems to be improving.

A sign of his trouble is that he shakes his head a lot and after examining his ear he gets black stuff in the canal.

What can I do to reduce ear infections as I really don't want to keep going back every month?

He loves swimming but we have stopped him from doing this for 2 months. He is only 2 so he does run around like a nutter and runs through bushes etc.
I clean around his ears, but I can't really clean inside them.

Is this common or am I missing something?

Thanks

[Finvarra]

I wonder if he has ear mites? Did your vet look down his ears? If you wipe up the black stuff and have a look with a magnifying glass you may be able to see them, if they are there. You can get stuff from the vet that you put into the ears, rub firmly, and it should clear out the gunk. Cotton pads are good for cleaning gently round the top of the canal, but don't poke anything in there.

Ears are so easily infected with spaniels, Milo got infected with ear mites that led to a bad infection and he lost his ear drums and went deaf. When he was poorly I tied his ears up on top of his head to let the air get round them, which helped a bit.

I imagine it's not uncommon in drop eared dogs, ideal place for bacteria. I now check Dylan every day, have a sniff (get familiar with the smell of your dog's ears, bad smell is often the first sign of trouble), I'm paranoid about him going the same way as Milo.

I would just keep them scrupulously clean, and keep him Out of the water. Hope it clears up with no after effects 

Lesley and Dylan

[bmthmark]

Thank you for your response.

The vet did look down his ears and didn't mention ear mites but I will take a closer look just incase it was missed.
The antibiotics I squirt in the ear seems to do the trick but I worry its going to be a regular thing.
It must be really uncomfortable for him, so just want to sort him out.
Thank you again

[bizzylizzy]

If you don?t already, its not  a bad idea to keep the hair short around the ear and if the inside of the ear flap is very hairy you can trim that short, or even shave it if he?ll let you, it all helps to let more air in. Humphrey had a similar thing last year after swimming so I do try and make sure his ears are dried as much as possible when they?re wet but it is a problem sometimes Hope Jett?s feeling better soon. Sending him 

[bmthmark]

Thank you, good idea about keep the hair short around the ears.
I use some ear wipes but I need to try and dry them better, it's tricky as he is a fluffy little monster. Also he doesn't really like me messing with his ears, I think mainly due to being uncomfortable