cocoa had to go to the vet

When I finally took the clippers to Cocoa and got the mop off her head, I saw her eyes better and sure enough they looked a little cloudy. I immediately thought glaucoma (because Fudge is her half brother), so scheduled an appointment the following morning and got her in that day. After a looong examination, Dr. A diagnosed it as uveitis and possibly early bilateral cataracts. Both can lead to/cause glaucoma eventually, but for now her eye pressures are too LOW rather than high. She's on eye drops for a week and then a check up with the other, more experienced vet to confirm diagnoses and see if there's any progress with the meds.

She checked her ears for me too.. they're doing alright. A little yeasty still, but she's not worried. Very little debri and they aren't getting worse. They are stable, and sometimes that is the best you can get with Cockers.

On the bright side, It is always nice to go to the vet. Cocoa always gets soooo many compliments. The vet RARELY sees (if ever) other cockers that behave so perfectly and be so still. During the whole exam she just kept telling Cocoa what a good girl she was and how great she was being for the exam. Makes me a proud fur-parent.

Why, oh why, do I have to love a breed with sooo many eye and ear issues.

I hope cocoa gets better soon and that the drops help! and give her some extra lovins for being so good at the vets office

I must be lucky.. I really only know well bred non rescue cockers.. but none have any eye or ear issues to speak of.

Poor Coco. And I don't know why people don't train their dogs to be nice at the vets. I get that too with the JRTs. Snip is in love with the vet (I have no idea what drugs they gave him during his neuter lol)

I know plenty of cockers that don't have ear or eye problems. Same with X breeds that are suppose to be prone to the same issues (like my two breeds, schnauzes and poodles) and I hardly see any around here.

Though really it probably depends on breeding. We don't have a lot of mills around here.

I agree with Dekka. I wish people would take more time to train their dogs to behave at the vets. I get that a lot, too.
And I had to add that I've been around a lot of rescue cockers, and Tara is the first we've had with eye problems. And her's is due to neglect, mostly. So frustrating!

Poor Cocoa... I hope that she feels better soon!
What are you using for her ears? I've got some good stuff here that I've been using on mine (and the fosters) and it works very good. I'll have to go get some and read the label

I thought she'd already been diagnosed with glaucoma? Sorry if I'm remembering wrong !

I'm using a recipe found on that really popular cocker forum. It works wonders.

All our cockers were poorly bred. Cocoa and Fudge were from a puppy mill. They had supposed "show dogs", but when we got there three litters of puppies were outside in rabbit hutches. It was snowing. Cocoa was 8 weeks, Fudge was 6 weeks at a time. All the adults were outside in crap filled kennel runs. If you look at their pedigrees, there was all sorts of inbreeding.

So far we've never had a dog make it to the end of their life with either hearing or vision. Both Ginger and Brownie were deaf and blind before they passed. Summer might be our only one to make it with full vision and hearing. Fudge already has one eye missing. Dogy has one eye gone and the other blind with cataract. Now Cocoa may have early cataracts. Blind dogs are nothing new to me, as you can tell.

Maybe it is just the area, but around here almost every cocker we see at our vets has ear issues. Less with eye issues, though.

Could be they're all from mills and midly related.

Though if it'd be me... I'd be looking in my area/household if all your dogs are going blind/deaf. While yes older dogs seem to *contract* these it seems weird all your dogs have it.

That sucks Tessa... could explain why some people are so 'anti' cockers.. if this is the experiences they have with them-ick!

Even before I was a 'dog person' I knew a few cockers and they all seemed to be happy out going kid friendly (I was a kid then) family pets. I don't remember any of them have much in the way of issues. So I never 'got' that bias against the breed.

I wouldn't make that assumption. You can't make a dog go deaf or blind unless you physically make it. Most older dogs do go deaf and blind as they get older and older.

I'm not saying anyone did. But there are chemicals and such that could cause it. Just saying if everyone one of my dogs (or so it seems I have no idea how many dogs she has or who has/had it) went blind and deaf - or had ear/eye problems and were unrelated I'd be looking into it.

..........

Okay, I found it.
Its called K9 Liquid Health . I switched after I was having problems with the zims ear wash, and then on top of that I was having a hard time finding the ingredients when I needed it (I was going through so much with the fosters). The rescue sells it, that's where I get it from, it is cheaper on Amazon but I enjoy supporting the cause It works better for the dogs I've been in contact with. Actually, the president of the rescue has had a dog who's ears are closed due to infections - and the vet said that they'd have to have surgery, and this stuff has worked on that! Slowly, but surely! Its awesome stuff... Anyway... I'm sounding like a comercial now LOL

And for eyes, does Cocoa (or any of the other dogs) have red eye, or irritation, or dry eye that leads to other things? You could try Genteal Gel Severe... it is over the counter. My vet suggested it for Tara, and when I asked said it is safe for dogs even if there problem isn't "severe". I've found it cheaper at walmart as opposed to a drug store like walgreens. It worked way better and faster than the perscription drops I'd gotten for her, that wasn't working. I've also put them in Maddie's eyes when they were runny and irritated after a hike and I could tell right away that she felt better.
HTH

It is a shame with Cockers .....unfortunately all I've known have eye and ear problems .

If your ever in OH grammy you can come visit my crew

I'm practically next door to you ! Ollie invited too ?

No, it isn't anythign to do with the house. Ginger was from a puppymill/pet store. Brownie was from a puppy mill (over 40 dogs in small wire kennels all in a barn - my guess is an Amish puppy mill). Dogy is Ginger and Brownie's pup, so it isn't a surprise that she ended up with eye and ear issues as well. Cocoa and Fudge are both from a puppy mill. And Pepper is from a BYB/petstore owner. She isn't deaf or blind, but she does have ear issues with yeast and infections. Summer, our oldest cocker so far has NO ear OR eye issues. She's are rescue pup - the blonde cocker with a tail. She's 13, so I don't think she'll ever have eye or ear issues. Yay!

Tasha's Springer has really dirty ears, but so far no actual problems(she comes from a BYB with aggression issues, but so far no serious health issues in any of the dogs related to her). And of course, Marq has no eye or ear issues. Just a cocker thing, not a house thing

Our only cocker that doesn't like children is Fudge. All the rest may not have the best manners around children, but they do like them and have no aggression issues.. so that is one area we are lucky that our cockers aren't "typical" cockers. That's another thign my vet was surprised to hear that cocoa loves children so much.

of course

All breeds are prone to different things and with cockers unfortunately it is ears and eyes. I had a wonderfully breed cocker who went deaf in her later years, and didn't have many ear infections at all. My second cocker was also from a heavily researched breeder, and had ear problems, but that one did turn out to be a badly bred dog. After that I gave up on my heart dogs and went with an English Springer.

I'm sorry you are having problems, and I hope they turn around. They are fantastic dogs.

So typical/breed standard cockers are suppose to bite kids?

Your ear/eye/rage problem dogs all have a common theme... they're from crappy breeding practices. I know a handful of cockers and none of them have any of the problems yours have.... and don't eat children.

I have a poorly bred cocker and a well bred cocker. We don't have eye, ear or child eating issues. Either dog. Seems that poorly bred is the common theme of people complaining about health problems in cockers. While eye and ear issues can be a problem they AREN'T in well bred dogs. You get what you buy. But I'm sick of people writing about it being the breed as a whole. A poorly bred anything can have a mountain of issues.

I'm sorry Cocoa is having problems. But if she came from somewhere shady it sucks, but it's not unusual. I hope she and you find some relief.