# Itchy Cocker Spaniel Ears



## SEVEN_PETS (Aug 11, 2009)

Hey

Ollie used to have a huge build-up of wax and itchy ears. Ear drops from the vet and regular cleaning of the ears seems to have solved this problem. However, although he is hardly producing any wax, he still has itchy ears. He scratches his ears often, and groans and moans whilst scratching them. I look in his ears, and the canal isn't red or inflammed, it actually looks pretty healthy. Because he's a cocker spaniel, he has hairy drop ears, so I clip the underside flap of his ear and around the entrance of his ear to try and keep air circulating around the canal entrance and reduce the weight of the ears.

He is fed Natures Harvest wet food. He was previously fed Burns dry kibble.

Should I take him to the vet to check it out? Or should I use ear cleaner to try and soothe his ears?


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## SixStar (Dec 8, 2009)

PetNat do some drops and a cleaner for itchy ears - they're all natural and might be worth a try. Petnat Rapid Relief for Dogs with Ear Problems I'd also be looking at his food - his main diet sounds ok, but what about treats? Did he have problems when eating Burns?


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## Beau-a-saurus (Jan 26, 2011)

Beau has quite hairy and floppy ears which I have to pluck, I swear by Thornit, I just put a little in every 2 weeks or so and it seems to stop any itching etc.

So long as you don't think he has any ear infection or lots of gunk which needs checking by the vet it might be worth a try, the small bottle lasts ages and being a powder rather than drops he doesn't object to them at all. :thumbup1:


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## SEVEN_PETS (Aug 11, 2009)

thank you both for your comments. 



SixStar said:


> PetNat do some drops and a cleaner for itchy ears - they're all natural and might be worth a try. Petnat Rapid Relief for Dogs with Ear Problems I'd also be looking at his food - his main diet sounds ok, but what about treats? Did he have problems when eating Burns?


I would prefer to use a natural product to treat his ears, so I'll definitely try that.

He has had this problem all his life (or the majority of his life anyway). He was weaned onto Hills puppy, and then at around 1 year old, he was changed to JWB and then at around 2 years old, he was changed to Burns. And he was then changed to solely Natures Harvest a few weeks ago.

I thought the Burns may be causing problems with his ears, because I had read that cereals/rice can cause itchy skin, so changed over to a higher meat content food (NH only contains 7% rice). I was hoping to see a difference, but not yet. He didn't have any major problems on Burns, but he's had non-waxy ears for at least a few months now, but they are still itchy.

He does get fed a few treats. He gets a Pedigree Bonio once daily. He also gets a variety of training treats, including Pedigree Gravy Bones, [email protected] Training Treats, Wainwrights Duck Training Treats, and Naturesmenu Chicken Training Treats. Could the treats be causing this? Should I switch to more natural training treats? If so, which would be suitable? What ingredient could be particularly causing this?


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## I love springers (Dec 3, 2010)

Sevenpets...I use thornit powder on my springers...especially the show one who has really long ears...Like you i trim around the entrance so the air can circulate and make them lighter....It is really good stuff....It is well worth you trying...and as above it last for ages....

I can't advise on the food you give him...but my springers have ww


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## 912142 (Mar 28, 2011)

Same here I use Thornit - great stuff


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## RAINYBOW (Aug 27, 2009)

I use an aural cleanse but i do think oscar sometimes just likes to rub his ears on the rug. He grumbles when he is doing it but i think it's more of a pleasure thing than him being in discomfort as his ears (like Ollies) are not red or inflammed at all. 

I think it's a bit lik when someone scratches your back for you, even if it isn't itchy it still feels nice


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## henry (Mar 16, 2009)

SEVEN_PETS said:


> thank you both for your comments.
> 
> I would prefer to use a natural product to treat his ears, so I'll definitely try that.
> 
> ...


Hi. Since you asked about the treats, some of those contain "cereal derivatives" and wheat. These could definitely be adding to Ollie's ear problem. Personally I'd avoid those treats and maybe go for cereal-free ones such as F4Dogs, etc. Bonio also contains cereals. Worth a shot, I think.

Thornit Powder is excellent - I use it for Henry. Just a tiny pinch around each ear flap.


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## SixStar (Dec 8, 2009)

henry said:


> Hi. Since you asked about the treats, some of those contain "cereal derivatives" and wheat. These could definitely be adding to Ollie's ear problem. Personally I'd avoid those treats and maybe go for cereal-free ones such as F4Dogs, etc. Bonio also contains cereals. Worth a shot, I think.
> 
> Thornit Powder is excellent - I use it for Henry. Just a tiny pinch around each ear flap.


I agree with this.

Bonios and any other Pedigree biscuits especially should be avoided - they're pretty much wheat and not alot else, and wheat is a huge trigger for allergies and itchiness. James Wellbeloved do cereal free Crackerjacks and Minijacks biscuits, and I'd probably stop the training treats you currently use and opt for more natural ones, grain free if possible.


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## SEVEN_PETS (Aug 11, 2009)

SixStar said:


> I agree with this.
> 
> Bonios and any other Pedigree biscuits especially should be avoided - they're pretty much wheat and not alot else, and wheat is a huge trigger for allergies and itchiness. James Wellbeloved do cereal free Crackerjacks and Minijacks biscuits, and I'd probably stop the training treats you currently use and opt for more natural ones, grain free if possible.


Thank you. I've just looked around on various sites and came up with this list. Do you think they are suitable? Any that may not be suitable?

Wainwrights Cereal Free Biscuits by Pets at Home | Pets at Home

Fishmongers Fish Bites Dog Treat 90gm | Pets at Home

Fishmongers Fish Chunks Dog Treat 90gm | Pets at Home

Beef Stick with Beef for Dogs 12gm by Vitakraft | Pets at Home

Not too sure about composition of these two:
Deli Beef Stick with Game Dog Treat 12gm | Pets at Home
Wainwrights Training Treats by Pets at Home | Pets at Home

Home - ProReward
Home - ProReward

Sea Jerky Fish Rolls Treats - Fish4Dogs Online Shop
Sea Jerky - Squares
Sea Biscuit - Tiddlers
Sea Biscuit Squares Treats - Fish4Dogs Online Shop
Super Star Training Treats - Fish4Dogs Online Shop


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## cinnamontoast (Oct 24, 2010)

I love springers said:


> Sevenpets...I use thornit powder on my springers





912142 said:


> Same here I use Thornit - great stuff





henry said:


> Thornit Powder is excellent - I use it for Henry. Just a tiny pinch around each ear flap.


Me too, was super effective on Zak's itchy ears. I found it very cheaply on eBay.


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## henry (Mar 16, 2009)

SEVEN_PETS said:


> Thank you. I've just looked around on various sites and came up with this list. Do you think they are suitable? Any that may not be suitable?
> 
> Wainwrights Cereal Free Biscuits by Pets at Home | Pets at Home
> 
> ...


I'd use the WW Cereal Free Biscuits (and have done in the past), the Fishmongers treats and all the F4Dogs treats. The Superstars are excellent for small training treats. Henry loves the F4Dogs range!

I'd avoid the rest personally.


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## Burrowzig (Feb 18, 2009)

Other good cereal free treats are Lakse Kronche from Denmark - 100% fish. Little squares. I get a 800g bag for £8, lasts for ages.

Also look at Trixie Trocken-fishe (the pack writing is in German, so from Germany, Austria?). These are whole dried little fish - look like sprats. My dogs will do anything for these. 200g bag was something like £4, but there must be 200 fish in, and you can break them into 2 or 3 pieces.


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## corin (Jan 8, 2012)

I have heard of people putting their spaniels ears up on top of their head using soft hair bands to allow air to flow around the ear better. with reference to food, if he is happy on the food you are feeding cut out all other treats and just take some of the kibble out of his daily allowance this means that you still get pleasure from giving treats but he doesn't get more food then he needs during the day. if the itching continues I would probably seek veterinary advice as there may be an allergy causing the itching. hope this helps.


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## toffee44 (Oct 21, 2011)

Teal my Springer x has horrendous ears if fed kibble. Since going raw last year I just rinse his ears through every week or so with epiotic. Also thoroughly dry ears after a wet walk/ swim and apply Thornit. He has a bad habit of swimming under water  which will set a sore attack of wax build up. 

My vet found he had naturally narrow ear canals and although I never officially tested his allergies as soon as he went raw it cleared up other than when they get wet.


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