Question: My Mom had Cockers when I was growing up and they always had ear infections! Will my puppy have chronic infections? What causes that and what can we do to avoid them altogether!!
Answer: Ah, yes. Cocker Spaniels and ear infections. They go together like a dog & a bone! Fortunately your puppy is a hybrid, which will help to drown out genetic tendencies to bad ear infections. However, many ear infections in drop-earred dogs like the Cockapoo is due to poor air circulation in the ear canal and moisture. This has a tendency to encourage the growth of yeast, a fungus which is readily available on pretty much all of us. There is one way we can keep our dogs ear infection free!
Proper ear cleaning! With occasional maintenence and a few simple steps, my dogs have remained ear-infection free for years and years!
Its also important to know the signs and symptoms of an ear infection. Do you notice a distinct chalky smell or a cheesy smell in your dog’s ears? There is, of course, the obvious sign of a black goop or oozing or redness and swelling of the ear flap and other visible signs. There can also be a black goop with visible black flecks.
Is your dog shaking his head like he has water in his ears? Is he rubbing his head along the floor/carpet on one side, trying to rub or scratch his ears? Some dogs walk with their head tipped to one side like they are perpetually perplexed. Others rub their head/ear along all your lovely furniture; couches, chairs, laps… nothing is safe!
These behaviors, sometimes along with a fever, or even a bit of wobbly behavior/unsteady gait or dizziness, can all be attributed to an ear problem. An ear infection can become severe when left untreated and when it doesn’t resolve on its own. Ear infections can scar and damage the ear canal, rupture the ear drum, permanently damage hearing, and even cause systemic infections (bacteria can get into the blood stream, known as septicemia, and can even kill your dog!)
An infection can be bacterial or from ear mites, but the most common infection for dogs with those adorable floppy drop ears, like the American Cockapoo, is a yeast infection.
Yeast is a fungus that naturally lives on all of us. Skin surfaces can harbor this fungus but the body has what is known as an acid mantle on the skin surface that keeps the skin pH acidic. This keeps the yeast growth restricted. Lots of things can negatively affect this acid mantle. Water, soaps, etc. can all wash this away. While washing your pooch is healthy for her, (especially when she has gotten some chemical or irritant on her or has rolled in some delightfully disgusting filth, which can harbor bacteria and is unhealthy for the whole family) overly-frequent baths and baths with harsh soaps can deplete the skin’s natural protection against infection and parasites!
Baths are necessary but it is important to use a gentle, mild soap that won’t dry out skin and strip away all natural oils. There is not any need to wash the inner ear flap with soap. The furry side of the ear can be washed in a mild soap, but leave the inner ear flap to be washed with a special and mild solution (a few listed below) or a commercially prepared solution that is pH balanced for the delicate ear flora.
Yeast need four things to survive: an environment with their proper (non-acidic) pH, a warm place to grow, a moist environment, and sugar to feed from.
Since the ear of the Cockapoo flops over and covers the ear canal it prevents air flow/circulation and subsequent dryness of the ear canal. This warm, moist environment encourages the growth of yeast!
Getting wet and not drying out the ears can really cause a problem with your pooch’s ears. Its important to dry the ears with a towel after a swim, rain or a bath. You can also use a gentle hair clip and pin/clip the ears up (together) on top of the head like a silly ear-bow.
Another common cause for chronic yeast infections of the ears (and even other skin areas like the paws, tummies, etc) is from diet. These kinds of chronic yeast infections can become problematic for all dog breeds, even those with the shortest, most erect ear shapes!
This happens when the carnivorous dog is fed a diet very high in carbohydrates. It does not matter if the dog is eating simple sugars or whole grains, plain and simple a dog’s diet should NOT consist of a majority of carbohydrates. A small amount is digestible and not harmful to your pet, but feeding a commercial extruded or pelleted dog food that contains more than 30% carbohydrate is asking for lots of trouble… and only one problem of this is chronic yeast infections. Your dog needs at least 70% of all his/her calories from animal proteins!
Bacterial infections can happen from warm, moist environments as well. Bacteria are opportunistic little suckers and if your pooch has a lowered immune system, has been in contact with dogs with these bacterial ear infections, or just has very damp, warm, dark ear canals (especially those with lots of hair in the ear canal allowing the trapping of yummy bacteria food and providing great places to adhere to and colonize).
A bacterial infection generally has a very foul odor. These commonly are associated with black goopy ear wax-type discharge. Lots of times with a bacterial infection the ear canal will appear red and swollen and the ear flap itself can be red and inflamed as well. If a bacterial infection does not seem to clear up right away with home-made ear cleaning solutions you had better head to the vet for an antibiotic!
If you have a pup that is prone to any kind of infection (yeast or bacterial) it is a good idea to purchase an otoscope (cool little tool used to look in the ear canal and at the ear drum) and ask your vet to give you a little lesson on using it. This is a very handy tool!
Then there is also that lovely little parasite, the ear mite. There are lots of types of these blood suckers and they require special treatments. There are over the counter treatments, prescription treatments, and holistic treatments. Since one treatment may not work for your specific mite, all I can recommend is calling your vet for this one!! Ear mite infestations are generally characterized by black goop, or oozing sores, and especially little black dots everywhere (mite poop. Yum.)
I’ve used expensive prescription formulas. And I’ve used over-the-counter expensive and inexpensive ear cleaning solutions alike… but by FAR the best treatments can be made at home from very simple ingredients!!
The best thing, of course, is to prevent an ear infection in the first place! If there is no infection or one is beginning but isn’t full bore yet you can use this preventative treatment:
Use equal parts white vinegar and water on a cotton ball or clean washcloth and thoroughly rub down the entire external earflap. Make sure the cotton ball/cloth is thoroughly soaked with the vinegar/water solution. Gently wipe out and allow the mixture to go deep into the dog’s ear. Your dog is going to just simply LOVE this attention.
For a really awesome recipe for an ear cleaner, check out this webpage. This is the page for the “Zimmerman Family Cocker Spanielsâ€. Many breeders of drop ears refer to this recipe as being very effective. It is regarding the American Cocker Spaniel, but hey, we’re in that family too. Really, its applicable to any dog with those adorable, floppy, fluffy ears!
Use her recipe if you like, but be sure to administer it in a bathroom or better yet a bathtub so that when he shakes his head following the treatment nothing gets stained from the Betadine (povadone-iodine) that is in the formula. I prefer to leave in the betadine/iodine if using this recipe for cleaning a new dog’s messy ears (coming in from another location) but I’ll omit this messy stuff if I’m just cleaning healthy ears for regular, periodic maintenence.
http://www.zimfamilycockers.com/EarCleaner.html
