Dog scratching ears

[Kama]

My dog seems to scratch his ears quite a bit. Every time he does it, he does it so vigorously I think his head is going to fall off!

Now, he is a cocker spaniel and I know that they always have problems with ears. But, his ears themselves seem fine and we clean them every other day.

Could it be something else? Food allergies? He is on Innova Puppy.

 

[AusCatDogs_4Ever]

Well if he is frequently scratching his ears and shaking his head, he most like has ear mites. you should take him to the vet to get them checked, and they give you drops to put in their ears, its really simple to do, and they will be gone shortly.

Thats just a guess. It could be other things too, but like I said, check with the vet!

 

[mojozen]

Could his ears have gotten wet inside lately?

It could be an inner ear infection... or water trapped.

Cocker's ears are pretty heavy.

You could try calling your vet and seeing what they say.

 

[Brattina88]

What are you using to clean them? Some ear cleaning solutions can be very irritant - the kind that dries like a powdery substance used to drive mine crazy! Depending on what you use, every other day could be too much...
If you feel the ears inside are they hot? Does your dog scratch them until they are red and/or inflamed?

 

[bubbatd]

I wondered about over treating.... when Chip came to me they brought all kinds of ear stuff..... I cleared up the " gunk ", but haven't used the wash since. I did buy and use a drying lotion when he went swimming this summer.... he hasn't had an ear problem in 5 years.

 

[Kama]

What are you using to clean them? Some ear cleaning solutions can be very irritant - the kind that dries like a powdery substance used to drive mine crazy! Depending on what you use, every other day could be too much...
If you feel the ears inside are they hot? Does your dog scratch them until they are red and/or inflamed?

We use ear wipes. And no, the ears don't feel hot or anything. He does not scratch till they are inflamed. They look fine. But, like I said we do clean them every other day. So, it is possible that it could be the cause of the irritation....hmmm..

 

[Kama]

Well if he is frequently scratching his ears and shaking his head, he most like has ear mites. you should take him to the vet to get them checked, and they give you drops to put in their ears, its really simple to do, and they will be gone shortly.

Thats just a guess. It could be other things too, but like I said, check with the vet!

He scratches his ears, but he doesn't shake his head. His head just moves when he is scratching his ears. His ears LOOK healthy. But, i don't know. I will cut back on the cleaning and see if it helps. Thanks.

 

[Brattina88]

Hopefully cutting back on cleaning will help. After they're clean and there isn't a problem I usually cut back and do it once a week as a preventative. It may or may not say on the directions of your wipes, if you look at them everyday you'll know when its time to use them again. Let us know if this helps, because I have a couple more suggestions up my sleeve if it doesn't