CockersOnline Forum
Cocker Specific Discussion => Health => Topic started by: Jane57 on July 03, 2012, 11:44:40 AM
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Riley has a little wax in the parts of his ear I can see. It doesnt smell bad at all.
What Im wondering is should I be cleaning it out and what with? I usually give his ears a wipe with dampened cotton wool , then later that day put a sprinkling of thornits around the area, not in the canal, I never clean in there either.
What is the correct way to do this? I do remember our springer having lots of ear troubles when we had him when I was a child.
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As you may have seen on another post I'm cleaning Lenny's ears twice a week at the moment due to problems linked with an allergy. I would certainly say it's a good idea to clean the ears as a regular precaution because cockers' ear canals are so long and narrow they're almost designed as a breeding ground for all sorts of problems. Whether you do it once a week, once a month or whatever depends on how you see things in your dog. As well as cleaning, commercial cleaners usually help to set the pH of the ear to keep them healthy.
I'm using Epi-otic at the moment but there are plenty of others such as Sancerum and CleanAural and I guess vets will each have their favourites. Unless you are tackling a specific problem, one of these will be fine. The procedure I use is to put a few drops of the cleaner in the ear - one vet said half fill the ear canal but I think that sounds a bit much - and massage at the base of the ear for around 10 - 20 seconds or so. You should get a satisfying squelchy sound and the dog is normally happy with his ear being massaged. When you stop massaging, he will normally shake his head and get rid of a lot of liquid (and gunk). Finish off by wiping the outer folds of the ear to remove traces of wax and help to dry it.
I don't use Thornits but I don't want to get into a war about whether it is useful or not.
Ear problems are unpleasant for the dog so I'm sure Riley will thank you for it!
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I've been wondering this for a while too. I do have a look in Charlies ears but I've not cleaned them yet as they always seem ok, but I think I should.
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As Penny's ears seem to be constantly wet thanks to the weather and the fact that she likes to jump into any available water, I clean her ears once a week. First I sniff them ph34r , then I use Epi-otic, to moisten half a cotton wool pad, then clean as far down the ear canal as my finger will reach. She enjoys this process. Occasionally I do a small dusting of Thornits as well. So far no poorly ears.
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I too use Epi-otic on Bob his ears are fab.... i do them each time he is groomed
about every 6-8 weeks
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Im surprised at how much people go into the ears, I have always been scared to do this, thinking it would cause problems.
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Goodness me I wouldnt go into the ear that far at all ! I'm using epi-optic, I got mine off the internet. Blue suffers with his ears so I do his around twice a week. I squirt in just before a walk and then let the fresh air help with drying off.
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Goodness me I wouldnt go into the ear that far at all ! I'm using epi-optic, I got mine off the internet. Blue suffers with his ears so I do his around twice a week. I squirt in just before a walk and then let the fresh air help with drying off.
When you say you squirt in? Michelle do you mean just the outer part that we can see when lifting up the flap?
Thanks. I dont want to go into the canal , doesnt seem normal to me.
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When we had Katie (20 years ago) we used to squirt "something" into her ear and massage it, then the "something" would run out with bits of wax/dirt and it was nice and easy to clean up :)
Ok it wasn't "something" it was something whose name I don't remember, not a random thing :)
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A little bit of earwax in the outer part of the ear is okay. As long as the ears aren't damp, smelly, or the earwax is brownish or coming out in large amounts then I wouldn't do anything more than a gentle wipe down of the outer part of the ear. No all Cockers have problems with their ears. If the ears are fine and healthy on their own there is no reason to be regularly dousing the ear canal with unnecessary products.
The most we ever do with our spaniels is to keep the hair very trim around the canal and wipe down after baths and swims. We live right by the water so the spaniels are more soaking wet than dry these days, but we've never had any problems with their ears.
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A little bit of earwax in the outer part of the ear is okay. As long as the ears aren't damp, smelly, or the earwax is brownish or coming out in large amounts then I wouldn't do anything more than a gentle wipe down of the outer part of the ear. No all Cockers have problems with their ears. If the ears are fine and healthy on their own there is no reason to be regularly dousing the ear canal with unnecessary products.
The most we ever do with our spaniels is to keep the hair very trim around the canal and wipe down after baths and swims. We live right by the water so the spaniels are more soaking wet than dry these days, but we've never had any problems with their ears.
Thats more what im inclined to do, its just odd little brown bits, his ears actually smell lovely lol, well as lovely as they can smell. I kinda like it though.
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praia is obviously right to say that not all cockers suffer from ear problems, and a little wax in the outer ear is not a cause for concern. However, you cannot escape the fact that due to the anatomy of the cocker's ear canal, and the reduced ventilation due to the ear flap, cockers are more susceptible to ear problems than many other breeds and a lot of our dogs will suffer from one or more ear infections during their lifetime. If these become chronic it can be miserable for the dog. Many vets, mine included, recommend regular cleaning.
I'm definitely not one for overtreating dogs, and I have already said that I believe owners should adjust the cleaning frequency to suit the needs of their dog, but by the time the ears smell and the ear is oozing dark compounds it will already be infected. I believe that regular cleaning is a small price to pay to try to keep the ear healthy.
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praia is obviously right to say that not all cockers suffer from ear problems, and a little wax in the outer ear is not a cause for concern. However, you cannot escape the fact that due to the anatomy of the cocker's ear canal, and the reduced ventilation due to the ear flap, cockers are more susceptible to ear problems than many other breeds and a lot of our dogs will suffer from one or more ear infections during their lifetime. If these become chronic it can be miserable for the dog. Many vets, mine included, recommend regular cleaning.
I'm definitely not one for overtreating dogs, and I have already said that I believe owners should adjust the cleaning frequency to suit the needs of their dog, but by the time the ears smell and the ear is oozing dark compounds it will already be infected. I believe that regular cleaning is a small price to pay to try to keep the ear healthy.
I'm not saying that Cockers aren't more inclined to ear problems, because it is fact simply due to anatomy that they are. I'm only saying that if the ears are healthy to begin with and not having any problems, then why bother messing with them? If it ain't broke, then don't fix it. My own vet does not encourage regularly cleaning of healthy ears and neither does my Cocker pup's breeder. I believe that not all Cockers require regular cleaning to keep the ear healthy. Neither of my spaniels do. However, if your dog is more susceptible to such problems then it's your decision as the owner to care for it as necessary.
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praia is obviously right to say that not all cockers suffer from ear problems, and a little wax in the outer ear is not a cause for concern. However, you cannot escape the fact that due to the anatomy of the cocker's ear canal, and the reduced ventilation due to the ear flap, cockers are more susceptible to ear problems than many other breeds and a lot of our dogs will suffer from one or more ear infections during their lifetime. If these become chronic it can be miserable for the dog. Many vets, mine included, recommend regular cleaning.
I'm definitely not one for overtreating dogs, and I have already said that I believe owners should adjust the cleaning frequency to suit the needs of their dog, but by the time the ears smell and the ear is oozing dark compounds it will already be infected. I believe that regular cleaning is a small price to pay to try to keep the ear healthy.
I'm not saying that Cockers aren't more inclined to ear problems, because it is fact simply due to anatomy that they are. I'm only saying that if the ears are healthy to begin with and not having any problems, then why bother messing with them? If it ain't broke, then don't fix it. My own vet does not encourage regularly cleaning of healthy ears and neither does my Cocker pup's breeder. I believe that not all Cockers require regular cleaning to keep the ear healthy. Neither of my spaniels do. However, if your dog is more susceptible to such problems then it's your decision as the owner to care for it as necessary.
You see as a new cocker owner I feel this is quite reassuring, I am trying to look after and care for Riley the best I can and hearing different people views etc.
I for one dont want to start poking and proding as I feel myself that is asking for trouble when his ears seem fine, but didnt know whether this was right or not.
The confusion for me , is when we say "clean" In my opinion and what Im doing is with a slightly damp cotton wool pad Im lifting the flap of his ear and wiping what I can see very lightly, others say putting cleaner into the ear which unless I was told by the vet then I wouldnt do.
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Is Riley scratching the ear a lot Jane? Dylan had a lot of brown wax on the visible opening and was scratching that ear a lot. My Vet gave me the Canaural drops and I've been putting them in and cleaning the visible area with ear wipes. My first Cocker used to build up a lot of wax and I used to put drops in weekly to release it, Dexter has never had any wax or problems at all and he's nearly four, so I don't put anything in his ears, just inspect every time I groom.
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I was shown how to clean ears by the vet, when Jonny was a pup and had ear mites. With the cleaner I had then, you scoosh some into the ear, massage for a few moments, then clean out the result with cotton wool. Unless your fingers are absolutely tiny, you can't go far enough into the ear canal to cause damage, especially as the finger is wrapped in a ball of cotton wool. Nowadays, since neither dog actually has anything wrong with their ears, I just moisten the cotton wool and folow the same procedure. There's usually some wax there to get out.
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Rolo has some dark brown dirt inside his ear. One of the trainers at his puppy class noticed it and told me to use cotton wool with some olive oil and then it should come out on its own. I just wiped it as best i could but didnt go far in the ear. He would let me anyway! I hope this is ok, I was worried about doing it but it doesnt seem to have affected him.
Not sure if its worked as i havent had a chance to look in his ears again yet, hes too mad!
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It's quite a good idea to get him used to having his ears cleaned, even if they don't need it, then if he does get a sore ear at any time he'll let you at it! I learned this the hard way with one of our dogs that needed ear drops three times a day. That's why I've cleaned Penny's ears from day one and got her to enjoy it by lots of smooching and Primula cheese. Now she goes into a sort of ecstatic state when we do ears :005:
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I'm only saying that if the ears are healthy to begin with and not having any problems, then why bother messing with them?
I don't fundamentally disagree with that, praia, and I'm sorry if I gave the impression that I did. Obviously you monitor your dogs' ears closely and know that they are healthy. Many dogs will have healthy ears with the regime that you describe. However, many won't and will benefit from periodic cleaning. I am not sure that cleaning ears is much different from cleaning teeth. Teeth cleaning is something that I always do because I believe it avoids potential issues in the future and I think the same of ear cleaning. It's certainly not something that I believe is harmful unless done too frequently, so certainly for any dog that has shown a potential for ear infections or other problems I would think it is a good idea.
I'm now well beyond the limit of my knowledge but would question whether wiping the external ear folds with cotton wool plus some form of cleaner is very effective in terms of what is going on in the ear canal. If the ear has shifted the wax all the way along the canal it is probably not causing much problem. It is what is happening at the base of the ear canal where it's moist and warm that give the potential for infection. To help here you need to use a cleaner as described elsewhere to help shift the rubbish (technical term).
I also don't see this as poking and prodding because, in reality, all you are doing is dripping some cleaner in, giving it a massage from the outside, and letting the dog shake the liquid out.
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Is Riley scratching the ear a lot Jane? Dylan had a lot of brown wax on the visible opening and was scratching that ear a lot. My Vet gave me the Canaural drops and I've been putting them in and cleaning the visible area with ear wipes. My first Cocker used to build up a lot of wax and I used to put drops in weekly to release it, Dexter has never had any wax or problems at all and he's nearly four, so I don't put anything in his ears, just inspect every time I groom.
No Debbie, he isnt scratching at all. It was only that I noticed little bit wax, which incidently hasnt increased since I cleaned it away.
Im just going to monitor and do as Ive been doing for now. Thanks.
I was only meaning the visible wax, I had no idea people actually went "into" the ear to clean out possible wax, I guess its understandable that Im hesitant to do such when there are conflicting views on whether to or not. I really should ask the vet next time Im there.
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Missy had a little trouble with her ears when she was a pup for about the first 8 months of having her this is what i found.
When she was young i used to clean her ears every day with just a dry tissue etc as they used to get loads of wax. She was always scratching etc. Tried drops from the vet no change. In the end i tried a small ammount of thornits only put it on once she got a lot better. Since then the last 3.5 years i never really have to clean them (until a few weeks ago) The vet told me the more you clean the more wax will come i thing this is very true with Missy anyway.
However a few weeks ago she started scratching again. Took her the vets yesterday and we seemed to come to the conclision its probably due to the weather being so wet and warm and her hair is a lot longer than i used to keep it takes a age to dry now. Pretty much warm damp conditions in the ear are brilliant for little nastys to grow. So shes got some drops and is booked in for a good hair cut tomo.
Id say check the ears after every walk clean if you need to but dont go cleaning more than required as the wax is in the ear to help protect it.
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Is Riley scratching the ear a lot Jane? Dylan had a lot of brown wax on the visible opening and was scratching that ear a lot. My Vet gave me the Canaural drops and I've been putting them in and cleaning the visible area with ear wipes. My first Cocker used to build up a lot of wax and I used to put drops in weekly to release it, Dexter has never had any wax or problems at all and he's nearly four, so I don't put anything in his ears, just inspect every time I groom.
No Debbie, he isnt scratching at all. It was only that I noticed little bit wax, which incidently hasnt increased since I cleaned it away.
Im just going to monitor and do as Ive been doing for now. Thanks.
That's good, hopefully you won't see anymore wax.
I was only meaning the visible wax, I had no idea people actually went "into" the ear to clean out possible wax, I guess its understandable that Im hesitant to do such when there are conflicting views on whether to or not. I really should ask the vet next time Im there.
Yes it is okay to clean the outer ear but you shouldn't go into the ear canal.
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What exactly does the ear wax look like? Rolo has dark brown stuff in his ears and he does seem to scratching them but not sure if its anything to worry about or not?
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I thought dark wax was a sign of ear mites? I could be wrong though. Look ear mites up and see if the wax looks the same x
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What exactly does the ear wax look like? Rolo has dark brown stuff in his ears and he does seem to scratching them but not sure if its anything to worry about or not?
Yes sounds like Rolo has wax/mites, it is irritating him if he is scratching, if you are not confident cleaning them yourself I would pop him to the Vet.
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Just googled it. It doesnt look like that so think were ok! Its not sticky or anything so might just be dirt?
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Its probably just dirt + ear wax it builds up and comes out just like it does in a hooomans ear. Some dogs get more than others. If you have never cleaned them it might just be that.
Depends how much your dog is scratching if its all the time just go the the vets probably give you some ear drops. Genrally its nothing serious but can require more than just drops if left.