Ear problems in spaniel.

[mandy4727]

Sasha is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and nearly 1 year old now. Always checked her ears (internally) by sight as know that dogs like Spaniels can get ear problems because of the make up of their ears. She has never had any problems and they are lovely and clean. But recently she has started scratching them. Nothing horrendous but having a good 10 minute go and then she would leave them alone. But today we noticed her ears are full of what i can only describe as "muck". It is brown rather than black and quite thick and a lot of it. Not on the ear flaps but inside. There is no heat, and no redness. She was scratching before and a clump of the substance came out so i examined it. Sorry gross I know!!. It is the colour of wet sand and the same consistency. Not waxy more gritty. One of my cats once had ear mites once but his hat black flecks inside and Sashas don't look the same. I have checked both cats and their ears are clean and clear. Sasha doesn't seem distressed by this. What can this be and what would clear it up. Would the vet be able to give me something over the counter rather than take her in. Or any home remedies that work.

 

[CAYLA]

I would get her checked...noramlly I would say try and give it a clean...but the ear can be very delecate and I have seen owners make it worse/sore by attempting d.i.y, you can get spot on's to cover ear mites if that's what u suspect,but they wil still need a good clean for all the lovely mite shi*te

could be wax build up or start of an infection from hair/foreign body...if u are hapy to give it a clean to see if it clears try...if not just get it checked...Spaniels and ears

need I say more

 

[mandy4727]

Thanks Cala. I would clean it wouldn't bother me. But with the ear being so delicate don't want to push anything further into the channel and cause more problems. And as she is only a small dog the inside of her ears are tiny. When I was younger we had an English Setter and he was prone to Canker. But it doesn't look like this either. His ears used to stink, and were very hot to touch and red and sore looking. he was forever having ear drops and he hated them. Sasha has the problem in both of her ears and looks like a build up of some sort of "sh1t" as you say, but it is what has caused it. She will let you touch her ears and examine them so they aren't sore and she isn't scratching all the time.

 

[CAYLA]

Try giving the outside a little clean.
If it was sh*t from mites they do normally scratch, u can test by placing a bit on some paper and watch for it tiny spots of red from the sh*t much the same as fleas.
Maybe its a built up of moisture with her having closed ears flaps causing a bit a wax/debris.

 

[dany]

Our Shar pei need their ears cleaned reg, or they start to shake/scatch. We dont nec see and signs of muck, just their response. Both act differently, one shakes and the other scatches until she is raw. We have ear cleaner on hand and a bottle of anti inflamatory drops just in case.

It could also be as simple as a hair stuck down deep in wax? Id go to the vets x

 

[brightmount]

This is very normal with Spaniels, as their ears are poorly ventilated due to the flaps, plus they do like to go swimming!

I'm afraid to treat it properly you will need to go to the vets to get the best products. To treat the irritation, you need Canaural ear drops. They make the ear greasy but it's a small price to pay as it stops the scratching and headshaking, it's really good.

Then for regular cleaning you need CleanAural, a spirit based ear cleaner, it goes in the ear canal and you can also use it on cotton wool to clean the inside of the ear flap.

The vet will probably do a clean-up while you're there and will check for mites although my vet tells me they are actually very rare, and ear problems are generally due to a build up of gunk.

My last Spaniel went deaf from around the age of 7, so it's worth keeping on top of things with floppy-eared dogs.

 

[dany]

I second Clean Aural, as its ok to use at the same time as Surulan (sp) if needed also.

 

[Meadon]

Sounds like canker (spelling ??). One of my cocker spaniels has it and I use Surulan for it. Best to get it checked by the vet. Martha's ear get very hot though and red and she can be quite down when it flares up. The gunk that comes out is awful at times and she has her ears cleaned regulary.