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Old November 16th, 2015, 08:03 AM
Lynne&Co. Lynne&Co. is offline
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Ear condition

Last week I was boarding a couple of dogs. A 4 year old cocker spaniel and a 1 year old golden retriever. When the owners dropped them off they said the CS had sensitive ears so I made a point not to pet her near her ears.

I noticed very quickly that both dogs scratched their ears a lot and that the CS was constantly scratching her ears very fast like her leg was motorized.

I took a peak at the goldens ears and they looked a little dirty so got the ear wipes out and gave her a good clean. The dirt was black which I've never seen before? My dogs have always had yellow or light brown ear dirt.

When I lifted up the CS ear I was shocked. Her inner ear was full of lumps and nodules of flesh and I couldn't really see an ear canal. There was a ton of black oily and crumbly gunk that I was able to wipe off but so much flesh in the way her ear must still be full. I've never had a CS before so unsure if the ear issue is common. I felt so bad for her as she shook her head and scratched her ears constantly.

I mentioned to the owners and they just said oh yeah we've had her checked and she's got sensitive ears! I'm thinking she has an infection or ear mites.

I'm crossing my fingers that my dog doesn't catch the ear mites or an infection as they were together for three days. Should I vet my dog just in case or just keep an eye on her ears?
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Old November 16th, 2015, 12:37 PM
Barkingdog Barkingdog is offline
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It wouldn't hurt to call your vet and see what they suggest, you should wash anything the 2 dogs slept on and if you crated them wipe the crates with some safe cleaning product . The poor dogs it sound like they're in pain and the vet doesn't know what they're talking about .
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Old November 16th, 2015, 02:32 PM
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hazelrunpack hazelrunpack is offline
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Cocker spaniels have notoriously bad ears, and it sounds like the owners are in denial (and, by the way, have not vetted their dogs about it because no vet would have let them leave with just a "oh, your dog has sensitive ears" diagnosis. *sigh* That's not too unheard of, though--chico2's neighbors had a cocker that had similar problems and that poor dear was uncomfortable all the time. Mostly, it was chico2 who took care of Bailey's ears, not the owners.

As for your dogs, I'd just keep an eye on their ears. I don't think the vet would recommend anything prophylactic except regular cleaning at this point. Mites could be passed, but ear infections don't pass from dog to dog very easily. And it sounds like the cocker, at least, has a heck of a yeast infection.

Our dogs sometimes get black gunk in their ears, but as far as we know, they've never had ear mites. It's usually just dirty wax (what can I say? Our guys love to get in mud and dirt! How they get it in their ears is beyond me, but they seem to have no problems doing it! )
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Old November 16th, 2015, 03:49 PM
Lynne&Co. Lynne&Co. is offline
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Thanks BD, I did do a thorough clean and laundered all the bedding as it was me and the three dogs and the cat all piled in the one bed for the weekend

You crack me up Hazel I guess all that romping through the woods kicks up some serious dirt for your pack!
Thanks for the info on CS's. I've had no experience with them but felt oh so bad for the little one.
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Old November 16th, 2015, 04:56 PM
Barkingdog Barkingdog is offline
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Dogs with floppy ears are know to get ear infection easy. I had to dry out my Standard Poodle ears after he went in the water . I was thinking the same thing about a vet never telling person to leave her dogs ears alone or the owner has one really horrible vet. There are some people that should NOT be a vet.
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