Far too difficult!

by Luke
(South Wales, United Kingdom)

I've just come back from the painful ordeal of trying to clean out Ollie's, my 4 month old Spaniels, ears. He had a somewhat spontaneous build up of dark wax, particularly in one ear, and it was time for a clean. We got the one ear yesterday (after much biting and yelping; he seemed to know the bottle was bad and wouldn't let it near him) and attempted the other, there was more wax in this one and hardly any was cleared out.

So I've come home today and attempted the other one again, though seemingly won't be able to for another week as the ear-cleaning solution says to only use it once or twice per week. He bit me so hard and so much that his teeth went through my clothes and into my arm, and he became aggressive if I let him go; he's a field springer so I doubt his biting problem is down to Springer Rage.

I need to know if there is anything I can do to make this easier for the both of us? The instructions on the bottle and in other places aren't very clear, as some say different things; It says not to 'probe' the ear, but does that just mean not probing where you cant see or does it mean not even cleaning out the wax you CAN see in the parts of his ear that can BE SEEN when I flip it over? There's also the matter of trying to get him to accept it, rather than bite me (biting, I suppose, is a different question to ask and probably will be since he has not grown out of this stage and literally attacks me ((youngest person in house at 17)) more frequently than most). Also, i've heard that getting water in Springers' ears is very bad when bathing him; is this correct, or should I throw a small cup or so of water into his ears to try and keep them clean? As of yet we just try and wet the fur and rub a small amount of shampoo on externally.

Thank you,
Luke

From Anna@love-springer-spaniels.com
Hi Luke
He is still a very young pup and probably pretty frightened about the whole ordeal, but you are right to get him used to having his ears cleaned on a regular basis, it will make it much easier in ther future. Try to make sure he is rewarded after each ear, with a treat or a game, and lots of praise.

The biting is a natural reaction as he is a little scared, I also doubt its anything to do with Springer rage.

As for water in their ears, its best to avoid putting water in their ears, but its not a disaster, after all they love to swim

Here are some guides to help you out on grooming and keeping your ears healthy. I hope some of our other members can give you even more advice to help you out with your question.

Springer Spaniel Ears
Grooming Springer Spaniel Ears

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