wet dog ears

[joospjos]

My mum's dog (and the love of my life) is a English Springer Spaniel. He is a very active dog with very big ears and a lot of fur. Winter is almost here and I'm afraid that he will catch a cold because his ears are almost never completely dry. Another worry is that the dampness will cause a skin problem for him. I washed him yesterday and I spent

Comments

[mooselet]

It won't dry his ears if they're already wet, but a snood will keep his ears from hanging down into wet stuff.

[gravebug]

My boyfriend just suggested this as well after I commented, so seconding the snood.

Also, here's a site I found through google, OP: http://www.celebrana.com/lindenlinedesigns/snoods.php

[joospjos]

Cool, we will ask the groomer about them. I haven't seen them sold over here but maybe she knows where to get one (they don't look that difficult to make so maybe we can make our own).

[gravebug]

I'd ask your groomer. If they don't have any suggestions, maybe you could try making sure his ears are dry and for a little bit of time each day pinning his ears back with a hairtie? I've known people who owned hounds with really long ears who did this (not all the time obviously) and it helped make sure the dogs weren't getting their ears wet/muddy or even injuring them if they were running around a thicket.

BTW he's super cute!!

[grandwazooo]

fur is a kind of hair. dammit I know there is a device for drying hair.... what's it called again??...oh yes a Hair dryer.

[gravebug]

She mentioned that in the post, and said that he probably wouldn't appreciate it, as I'd imagine a majority of dogs wouldn't. Some dogs do, but most I've ever had either tried to run and hide from it or tried to eat it.

[grandwazooo]

my ex was a groomer - hair dryer. seriously.

[joospjos]

The hair dryer is much like the vacuum cleaner. It is loud and scary and makes him run away and hide.

[coritiacus]

You can't catch a cold from having wet ears. If you're really worried you could try tying them together behind his head when you go out but it might be uncomfortable for him. I would just press them dry with a towel, personally.

[coritiacus]

You can get spaniel bowls, which supposedly keep their ears out of the food/water. That would reduce the amount of time his ears spend wet?

Also, could you get him trimmed short and get him a jacket to wear? My grandma has a Bedlington and he looks scruffy with long hair, and doesn't mind wearing his jacket, so he stays trimmed all through winter.

[joospjos]

Yeah I had a look at those. I think they would help some although I would need to do something for when he is outside as well.

[whorishness]

The main problem is if the inside of the dog's ears are wet that problems can occur. After he is outside, or when his ears get wet, get some cotton balls and gently dry the inside of his ear with them, and use an ear cleaning solution, then flip them back so the ear canal is exposed for 15-20 minutes