One of the most common Cocker Spaniel health issues is ear infections. Because of the way the Cocker's ear hangs down over the ear canal, and because of all that long hair on the ear, there isn't much ventilation in to the ear canal. Things get moist in there, and it's easy for infections to get started.

Lift up the ear and look inside the ear canal. If the skin has a red tint to it, or if you smell a cheesy smell, or if you see any kind of discharge than you've probably got an ear infection in there.

Ear infections can be very frustrating to treat! Veterinarians typically respond to ear infections by prescribing drops or ointments to fight the infection. My personal experience has been that these treatments are not only expensive, but have a low success rate. We've had a lot better results using a very inexpensive home-made ear cleaning solution. The recipe is an improved version of a recipe that's been used in the Cocker show world for decades.

So, if your veterinarian's treatment plan hasn't been working for you, try the following recipe. My experience has been that a dog with an ear infection, if given this treatment daily, will show improvement within a few days, and will have the problem solved completely within about two weeks. After that, you only need to use this stuff every couple of week's.

Warning: Do not use this solution on dogs with ruptured ear drums, or on dogs with open sores or wounds in the ear area.
An ear exam by a veterinarian is recommended prior to beginning any treatment with this ear solution.

White vinegar,
Powdered boric acid (Ask your pharmacist, its usually behond the counter)
isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol),
Betadine antiseptic solution. (NOT Betadine Scrub)
An empty bottle to store your solution

Here are the directions for mixing the solution together. Be sure to follow them in the order listed... to get the boric acid to dissolve properly, you need to do it exactly like this

Pour 6 ounces of isopropyl alcohol in to your applicator bottle.

Add 1/2 tablespoon of boric acid powder.

Be careful not to get any boric acid on your skin or clothing. If you do, wash it off immediately.

Shake well, until the boric acid powder is fully dissolved.

Add 2 ounces of white vinegar. Shake well.

Finally, add one teaspoon of the generic Betadine antiseptic, and shake well.

Squirt in the ear until you have completely filled the ear canal with cleaning solution. Fold the ear back down over the ear canal, and rub things around so that the ear cleaning solution gets thouroughly around the inside of the ear. Keep the dog still for a couple of minutes. As soon as you let go, the dog's going to shake his head, and that cleaning solution is going to go flying out all over everything, so if you can do it outside or in a bathroom is better. If you get any of the ear cleaning solution on your skin, wash it off.

Apply the cleaning solution to your dog's ears daily until you start to see some improvement. Once things get better, you can cut back to once a week and when you're fully satisfied with the condition of the ear you can go two weeks between treatments. The ear cleaning solution can be stored at room temperature and it does not go bad with time.

One little tip: your dog won't object to you squirting this stuff in his ear so much if you make sure the solution is warmed up to body temperature first. They hate it when you squirt cold liquid in their ears! Don't use the microwave oven to heat the solution up, it's too easy to accidentally overheat it. Just warm the bottle in a pan of warm water like you would a baby bottle.

E-mail: myspecialpuppy@hotmail.com

Phone: 218-652-4191

Here's the not-so-secret recipe for an ear cleaning solution that will help to keep your dog's ears clean and infection free

Special FX is a trademark. All Graphics and Content Copyrighted Copyright © Since 2007 All Rights Reserved.

E-mail: myspecialpuppy@hotmail.com Phone: 218-652-4191

Special FX is a trademark.
All Graphics and Content Copyrighted
Copyright © Since 2007 All Rights Reserved.

E-mail: myspecialpuppy@hotmail.com

Phone: 218-652-4191