Smelly!

[bracken]

My Bailey gets pongy ears in the winter as they are always damp, so I bath them once a week using a gentle shampoo. She then lets me towel dry and hairdryer them for a while  seems to help a fair bit 
With the rain at the mo (non stop) its proving difficult to keep them dry  as soon as she pops in the garden for a wee they are soaking again 

[Helen]

Jarv get's manky ear tips - I usually shampoo with a tea tree based dog shampoo then when they're dry rub some thornits into the fur at the bottom of the ears.

In general though I find the bitches we sometimes have staying here much pongier than Jarvis - one is neutered, the other entire, one springer, one working cocker - and they both absolutely reek when they're wet.   I'm not sure if it's hormonal or just the individual dogs but give me my relatively sweet smelling boy any day 

[Holly Berry]

Back here again with the same smelly problem.  Lat winter we eventually tracked the smell to the end of her ears.  It was an absolute nightmare trying to bathe them every day.  Then in the summer the smell completely disappeared.  But now the wet weather is here again the smell is back again.

I have tried doing research online and have read cockers can get a fungus infection on the tips of the ears.  Has anyone else had experience of this and how do you stop it.   Our vet just wants to shave her ears and carry out tests but I can't bear the thought of her having bald ears!


Also how do you get their ears dry quickly when you have a dog scared stiff of a hairdryer.

Holly's ears used to smell especially when wet. Everything she chewed also included her ears!she would seem to have permanently wet ears and she did end up with  a fungal infection. The treatment was to dip her ears in weakish soluntion of hibiscrub, dried with a towel and fuciderm applied. Sometimes the end of her ears would split. To help dry them (when not infected) I would dust them in Johnsons Baby Powder, it also helped with the smell. I also kept the hair under her chin short as that too was always wet. To help dry them quicker I would towel then brush and keep towelling and brushing until they were dry.I also used to clip very short the insides of her ears. Hope that helps

[Emma xx]

Meg has become very smelly recently too, i think it may be her ears so we are going to buy some of this thornits stuff. Shealso became smelly after getting damp too (on her body not her ears) so we got her some 'pet freshner' from the vets which we spray on her every day, just a few sprays and it leaves her smelling of apricots so i can put my face up to her body now and not smell DOG xxx

[SandraD]

Monty is also a member of the niffy ear club!  Since the start of this awful wet weather he has begun to "pong" a bit!   Having checked all the obvious i.e. lip folds, inside ears etc., I found the smell was coming from the bottom section of his ears - which he constantly trails in muddy puddles!   I have started to wash his ears off after walks (I pop the bottom section into a plastic jug and give them a gentle swish around) and I add a gentle shampoo a couple of times a week.  I was horrified by the colour of the water the first time I dipped them in the jug, no wonder they smell!  I towel them dry as much as I can and give them a quick blast with the hair dryer set on a lowish setting.  So far so good, things seem to be improving, but if I miss a day the pong is back.

[jenza]

Thanks for all the tips, I now have a jug and dip her ears in every day for a wash and rinse  which seems to be keeping the smell down

[sharonmansfield]

This past week I have had the very same problem with Bella in that she absolutely stank, this is unusual for her. I also tracked the pong down to her ears and although they had been brushed I had not been getting right through the thick fur so they were matted underneath with bits of twig and gravy etc and then getting and staying wet. I have now trimmed them much shorter and clipped the fur off the inside flap and the top 3/4 of the outside. The dangly bottom bit is thinned out considerably but I may yet clip that off as she seems itchy, the underskin seems flaky and one has bled a little, I am so pleased I have read this thread as I can now see its a very common problem. I prefer her with longer ears but for now and for her health they are staying short.

[merrysmum]

The dangly bottom bit is thinned out considerably but I may yet clip that off as she seems itchy, the underskin seems flaky and one has bled a little

We had the same problem with Merry last winter but the bottom of his ears turned out to be infected and only a course of anti-biotics and regular bathing of the ends of his ears and keeping the hair really short worked to clear it up.
Keep an eye out for any pus because Bella's symptoms (flaky skin, smelly, cracking open to bleed) sound exactly the same as Merry's were although hopefully you've caught her in time and won't need a trip to the vet xxx

[maccie75]

Hi There our puppy is not keen on having the hairdryer on his face or ears, we now dry him with the hairdryer on his body and then settle him on his mat with a few treats and pop a fan heater on for an hour which is alot quiter than the hairdryer but just as effective - may be worth a try.

Debbie

[mezzaj]

With my Lucy its her feet that smell   Reminds me of the OH's sweaty socks 

[dillydo]

Dillon's ears tend to trail thru horse poo 
When I get back home from the stables I wipe the bottom of his ears with sensitive baby wipes. So far so good nd it smells soo much sweeter