ear cleaning solution

Paula N.

Paula N.

Member
Owned by
1 cocker
I'm happy to report that Angus went to the vet last night and was given the all clear in regards to his bilateral ear infection. I asked the vet about preventative measures (ie: gentian violet solution) and he was totally against it. He said that gentian violet is actually irritative and basically "don't fix it if it ain't broke". I love my vet but I tend to disagree with him on this one and would like your opinions.

I realize that the vet is an animal lover but also a businessman. I'm sure he doesn't want the poor dog to have constant ear infections any more than I do but I am leaning (heavily) towards the preventative measures, especially since I had no idea that he had an infection before (ie: no smell, no scratching, no head shaking).

I've set up an appt with a groomer who is willing to teach me how to groom Angus and she is also a breeder (not of cockers). She is definitely going to show me how to groom the insides of his ears to improve air circulation but I might try that myself beforehand though. I'm sure I will screw it up somehow and the poor dog will look ridiculous but at least it will only be underneath his ear flaps and not visible to the average person! I have to get him used to the trimmers first though!
 
I've been using the solution for about 11 years now.

When a dog comes in (rescue) with seriously bad ears, of course a change in diet helps, keeping them clean helps and addressing if there are mites, and other things going on.

My vet shakes his head and knows better to say, "Cocker ears". So, after a month or so on good food and blue power, I take dog back in to show the difference. Again vet shakes head and says -- HOLY COW what did you do? I THEN tell them I used blue of course and "so & so food" and he tells me that whatever I'm doing, to keep it up. Several have asked for the recipe and said they can't sell it, cause some bozo will surely stain their white couch with it and sue them, but they can suggest it and have asked me how to explain to folks that they need to be persistant, as persistant at the ear infection so to speak.

SO, my suggestion to you is -- keep doing what you're doing and as a precaution, use the solution as a cleaner once a month and yep, do keep some of the bulk of the inside fur cleaned out.

Glad to hear you got a good report
 
Paula
So glad you have a good report on his ears also! And, I have been using the blue power for too many years to count. I have only one that has a bad ear, and she has had it since she came to me.. my vet wants to do an ablation on her, but, I won't.. she is old and why put her through so much pain when she is more than likely over 13 years old. I groom often, and do ears, teeth and eyes on a regular basis. Because Stormy has dry eye as does Tunie, they get eyedrops several times a day.

I shave the inside of the ears monthly and use the blue at least twice a week on them all except tunie.. I use it more often on her..

Linny has a great short clip on doing the head, and it does include some info on ears.. I'm sure she or Kelly will provide a link to the u-tube version.. Also Kelly wrote an in depth on grooming .. you can access that here on the forum also Kelly's posts are here in the Grooming Forum.
 
I am fanatical about grooming, so I trim my dogs' faces and ears every 3 weeks. I take my #15 blade and trim the entire inside of the ear leather, to make sure the air has lots of room to circulate. I have not had ear issues since I had a small sable female with allergies.

I check ears several times a week, looking for redness and a funky (yeasty-sweet) smell. If the ears are dirty or stinky, I clean them. If they aren't, then I leave them alone. For cleaning I use either the Blue Power ear formula, or the Zim ear formula (http://www.zimfamilycockers.com). Both are very similar, I just can't always get gentian violet here.

Beware of over-cleaning the ears . . . the more you clean, the more wax production is stimulated and the dirtier the ears look. When my dogs are in good health, I end up cleaning ears maybe once a month. Ear cleaner lasts forever at my house!
 
Gabby rarely has problems with his ears which I'm grateful for. I never clean his ears. Vets are usually surprised to see his ears in such good condition although they are stinky. I'm not sure what the smell is. I'm curious as to what to expect with Hoshi.
 
Have had sooo many compliments on my cockers' ears. They are clean and non-smelly and healthy. Have been using Blue Power for years. Charlie isn't quite up to snuff yet but his ears are weird. They just get nasty all by themsleves! I have cleaned, I have scoured, he's just got crappy ears...but NOT infected. Just dirty.
 
Sharon
My Bunkie (God Bless Him) used to have dirty ears like that.. the wax was like cement.. Oh My Bunkie how I miss him..
 
Thanks for your input everyone. I think I will do his ears with the gentian blue solution and to heck with my vet! I tried to trim Angus' ears last night and he definitely was not co-operative. I'll give it another go over the weekend. I plan on giving him his first bath - hubby is away so we'll have lots of fun!
 
When you're trimming puppies, the key is to take your time and make it as stress-free as possible. If two of you are around, one person should be distracting the puppy with yummy treats while the other person trims. It will stop the pup from concentrating on the fact that you're taking their hair off with this big, scary, noisy tool.
 
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