Stinky Spaniel ears

Woody's ears seem to always stink lately.

I clean them out once a week but they always smell sort of, damp.

I have therefore concluded that it's not the inside of the ears at all, it's the fur outside. Whenever we walk he swims. It's what he does best and he LOVES to do it. His ears, underneath especially are always the last to dry and I wonder if that's what's making the smell.

Is there anything I can do to stop this? I towel dry like mad but he is petrified of the hair dryer.

Also, while I'm at it, how often should I be cleaning his ears out? I use baby wipes, is that OK?

When you clean his ears out, do you stick your finger right in?? i use cleanaural on mine and then get a piece of kitchen roll and get my finger right in to get the wax out, if its a foster that won't let me do that that i use thornit powder. I tend to do my own about once a month or if they're scratting

We used to use Thornit on all the smelly spaniel ears that came in the Grooming parlour.

Mum uses it on Etta every few weeks.

I also find that trimming the hair around the insides helps them breath better.

Hiya, I have a similar problem with Dan, except it's the hair on his throat that smells! Being scared of the dryer won't help, but I'd recommend Mutney's deep clean shampoo for dirty dogs - it keep him smelling fresh for longer than any other shampoo we have tried

http://www.groomerssupplies.com/inde...pic=cat&cid=70

and I also use an Easidry towel when he is wet - probably the best piece of grooming kit I have ever bought!

http://www.homesteadfarmsupplies.co....ium-p-750.html

You don't need to wash it after every use - just rinse it and put it back in it's box and machine wash when it's really minging!

Or you could have his ear fur trimmed short of course.

ETA. for the insides of his ears you could use thornit, or a little olive oil.

Yep, always go right in. I can't use cleanaural on him as we used it when he had mites (didn't know then) and it hurt him so now he runs away when he smells it.

Excellent advice there, thanks. I think one of those towels is well worth investing in then.

Will also give thornit a go, have been meaning to for a while.

Gill, do you fancy trimming his ear hair??????? There is no way I'm going anywhere near them with a pair of scissors although they do need doing. The trouble is, after his grass seed incident I've had to work very hard to get him to let me clean them at all without snapping, God knows how I'd get them trimmed.

Lol! No thanks!!!!!

I know it sounds simple but you need to retrain him with the ear grooming thing. Springers are notoriously bad at being groomed in my experience. Almost every Springer I have ever groomed has had terrible fear issues, whether it's bathing, scissors, clipping or drying. They do seem rather highly strung as a breed. Unfortunately the ear hair is a nightmare too! Two of the Springers I groom come in for a bath one day, dry naturally and then come back for a trim the following day, such is their fear of hair dryers!

They have got to be one of the hardest breeds to groom, temperament wise!

Yep, I can believe that!

Not sure how else to re-train him. I suppose I could gradually bring out scissors near him and treat him. Put them away, etc. He lets me trim his willy hair OK but won't let me anywhere near his ears with anything other than a baby wipe.

The vet told me it's because they are so smart, they remember every bad experience. I think it makes him dumb!! ;o)

Have you tried thinning out the hair on Woody's ears with a Furminator (or similar)? I stripped loads of fuzzy undercoat off Dusty's ears which didn't bother him at all. It has made them less prone to tangles and they dry out faster.

No, but tat's not a bad idea. I might try that!

I brush him every day with a slicker brush but perhaps a bit less hair might help.

I izn't fwightened, I iz hard!