Cocker Ear Maintenance

Your vet on the other hand asks you to sign a release before he will even see your animal, the release says he is not responsible for anything he may or may not do. On you signing of this release, you have entered into an employee employer relationship, in other words he cannot do anything without your approval, which implies you as the owner has the education to know when someone is blowing smoke up your skirt...

Wow, Having owned many dogs, cats, horses and birds over the years I have seen several vets and not had one make me sign a hold harmless agreement.

I have had vets show me how to clean ears and having had cockers for the past 25 years, am lucky to have not had many ear infections show up in them. Maggie (8) gets them occasionally but then she has huge heavy ears making it hard to get air in there and Zoe' who seems to have a compromised immune system has only had 2 in 7 years. I use K-9 Liquid Health-Ear Solutions to clean their ears weekly.
 
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My vet has NEVER asked me to sign a release before seeing my animals. They are very aware that they are held liable for any malpractice. What they are not liable for is illness or injury caused by the owner, or potential side effects of medications/surgery. That's not any different than human MDs.

I have had Cockers for 12 years, and have never had a dog with bad ears. I have NEVER use Q-tips, paper or otherwise. Yes, proper ear-cleaning methods are important, but I wouldn't recommend the use of Q-tips to any owner that hasn't owned the breed for many years. For me, the risk of ear drum perforation is just TOO high.

JMHO. Obviously I haven't had as many Cockers as you, but have been showing and grooming for 12 years, and haven't EVER know of a Cocker with horribly infected ears that required special deep cleansing or ablations.
 
Vets use q-tips in the ear, that big long honking one that's wooden. I usually do a clean and a flush -- and might q-tip part of the ear, but not down inside....

I've found it's the food that cause most of the problems with ear issues.

Besides normal ROUTINE cleaning and keeping your dog in a clean environment (not the back yard kennel or garage, etc)

their ears are generally OK.

Of course, lets face it. Dogs step in poo, they use their paws to scratch ear, if feet and nails are not clean they can get all sorts of gross stuff in there from strep, to pseudamona's, to ecoli etc. So, good food, good hygiene, etc and hopefully there won't be an ongoing ear issue.

We get plenty in that have mites and swollen shut ears and brown/black crap coming out. Once we put them on our protocal, things improve greatly.
 
Um, Joe,

where do you get this "stuff" you are posting? Is it a copy/paste from your website, or from a link you found?

Never once in my life (over 50) has a vet have me sign any waiver like the one you're talking about.

Our vets have performed hundreds of surgerys and/or exams on our foster dogs as well as my own dogs.

If it's a copy/paste from someone else, please provide that link
 

I have never had to sign a waiver of any sort either. I have owned and loved cockers for over 20 years. And, like I said earlier, mine are all rescues with the exception of Stormy, who is CH Phantoms Gonna Steal Your Thunder, CGD, TDI from Robin of our little Forum who is Stormbeau Cockers. In all the 20 years I have loved cockers, I have had only one with chronic ear problems. I got her that way from a Los Angeles shelter. She is a "mini" cocker who not only has bad ears, but is blind also. My little Tunie was used and used as a brood bitch. Her little body was all used up when we rescued her. So, she was used by someone, more than likely without any vetting at all, and when she was worn out, she was thrown away like trash. Luckly we found her and she will finish her life here with us.
 
Gotta say, I've never signed a release / waiver with my vet either. As Linny mentioned, my vet has used those big ole wooden Q-Tips to clean deep in the ear, but he used an otoscope and knew what he was doing. And he certainly gave me the "do not try this at home" speech. They were the ones suggesting I change food because the ear problems were likely allergy related. And they have gone out of their way to show me how to properly care for ears specifically so I don't have to keep coming back.
 
Thank God We are starting to hear this more often

In breeding or line breeding has been the biggest one thing that has damaged the purebred dog populaton in the United States, and we have the AKC to thank for it.. It was from the AKC where they supported and reccommended breeders to use and follow the Frankenstein Mendln Theory..

Some people wonder why I hate the AKC? It is because of all the suffering and heartache they have cause to the animals and to the owners of those animals... Then they try to blame breeders.. This one has finally come home, where it belongs...in the "Fancy" laps.
 
That's a pretty broad statement to make Joe. Inbreeding and linebreeding done properly and responsibly will NOT hurt the breed. What hurts the breed is people who breed without doing the appropriate health testing, without selling on spay/neuter contracts, and without doing adequate home checks before selling puppies.

You hate the AKC? They are not a governing body. They don't recommend any particular breeding practices. They are a registering body ONLY. They don't get involved in breeder disputes, and they certainly don't care which dog you breed to which bitch, as long as you register them. Pretty tough to pin canine health issues on them, especially when they have the AKC Canine Health Foundation dedicated to researching health issues and promoting responsible breeding.
 
In breeding or line breeding has been the biggest one thing that has damaged the purebred dog populaton in the United States, and we have the AKC to thank for it.. It was from the AKC where they supported and reccommended breeders to use and follow the Frankenstein Mendln Theory..

Some people wonder why I hate the AKC? It is because of all the suffering and heartache they have cause to the animals and to the owners of those animals... Then they try to blame breeders.. This one has finally come home, where it belongs...in the "Fancy" laps.

Joe,
I guess I'm a little confused about what this has to do with cocker ear health. I have never blamed the AKC for my dog's ear health. I associate heartache and suffering more with unscrupulous individuals who breed dogs without doing proper health clearances and testing. These people generally have too many dogs who are not kept in favorable conditions. The dogs are bred for profit, not for the betterment of the breed. That is what I associate with heartache.
 
AND the AKC is the ONLY registering body that inspects kennels when there's a complaint brought against a breeder. Is this why you don't use the AKC Joe, so they can't inspect you? I wonder!
 
Joe,
I guess I'm a little confused about what this has to do with cocker ear health. I have never blamed the AKC for my dog's ear health. I associate heartache and suffering more with unscrupulous individuals who breed dogs without doing proper health clearances and testing. These people generally have too many dogs who are not kept in favorable conditions. The dogs are bred for profit, not for the betterment of the breed. That is what I associate with heartache.
Karen very well said!

AND the AKC is the ONLY registering body that inspects kennels when there's a complaint brought against a breeder. Is this why you don't use the AKC Joe, so they can't inspect you? I wonder!
Robin! Very very well said!!!
 
yep, has nothing to do with ear issues at all....

it's a typical ploy to change the subject that has everyone wondering.

Here's what I wonder. ACA -- almost all of the dogs from puppy mills have ACA "papers" weeeeeeeeeeee, big woopie, I toss them where they belong, right in the trash.
 
Bassets have a similar solution but they add a small amount of genetian violet to kill germs, have you ever heard of adding that??? Im wondering if I can use the same solution on the cocker
 
Both the Blue and the K9 ear solutions have genetian violet in them.

Yep and I have a lovely purple splattered tee-shirt that reminds me of that
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...it is now my dog grooming shirt.
 
This is great info on the ears. Everyone needs to read. Inspection and cleaning is a must. My Moose loves the attention. Even the corgis get in on it. Thanks for the instructions. I do use Q-tips but I do not stick it on the inside of the ear...only on the outside.
 
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LOVE the Blue Power solution, have seen it clear up the nastiest ears when I was doing rescue... however, you don't want to use it on a bitch that you are breeding. I believe it's the gentian violet---used during pregnancy can cause uro-genital defects.
 
Hi folks.

I'm very new to Cocker ownership and want to make sure our little Maddie's ears stay clean. Is the recipe at the top of this thread ok for weekly/every few day use? And where does one get Boric Acid?

We just got her yesterday and her ears look and smell fine (yes, my husband did raise an eyebrow when I sniffed her ears, but that's ok), but I want to stay on top of it.

TIA for your info!
 
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Hi folks.

I'm very new to Cocker ownership and want to make sure our little Maddie's ears stay clean. Is the recipe at the top of this thread ok for weekly/every few day use? And where does one get Boric Acid?

We just got her yesterday and her ears look and smell fine (yes, my husband did raise an eyebrow when I sniffed her ears, but that's ok), but I want to stay on top of it.

TIA for your info!
I got my boric acid at rite aid. Just ask your pharmacist.
 
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