Ear wax

[Jane57]

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.

[john51]

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!

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

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.

[Jonnydog]

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  , 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.

[Pudding]

I too use Epi-otic on Bob his ears are fab.... i do them each time he is groomed
about every 6-8 weeks

[Jane57]

Im surprised at how much people go into the ears, I have always been scared to do this, thinking it would cause problems.

[michelle123]

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. 

[Jane57]

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.

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

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

[praia]

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.

[Jane57]

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.

[john51]

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.

[praia]

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. 

[Jane57]

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.

[debbiedaywalker]

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.