Grass seeds in spaniels ears

[Fireinthegrate]

I have two spaniels. One has been to the vet twice recently with seed in his ear, and the other spaniel was there today.
Each time requiring a general anaesthetic and costing around £100.

What can I do to stop seeds getting in their ears? We live in the countryside, very rurally and so all their walks are in the fields. They are constantly diving into the long grass and hedgerows.

My daughter has the idea that I should wrap their heads with vetwrap to pin down their ears. Have to say I am tempted!

I just check quickly every time we come back inside after a walk. Quite often I find them just at the entrance to the ear, so can pull them out. The problem is that by the time you notice because they are shaking their head a lot, it’s too far in, and only being moved further in every time they shake. So just get in the habit of checking. I check between the toes every day too - luckily he thinks he’s just getting a fuss so lets me do what I want. Grass seeds are a bugger though, I feel your pain!

I see two cocker spaniels being walked locally wearing dog snoods to stop the problem of grass seeds in their ears

I've heard alot about the danger of grass seeds and how you need to get to the vet asap.
As a new dog owner can I ask what they look like? are they actual seeds, as in tiny, or something else?
it would be good to know what I'm looking for

BlackDog - If you google “grass seeds dogs” you’ll see some images of long, pointed glass seeds. They are very sharp - I had to remove some from my dog’s foot a couple of weeks ago and they were like needles and obviously causing a lot of discomfort. If you have a long-haired dog, it’s a good idea to keep hair around the paws short at this time of year, so that you can spot grass seeds between toes, and also check the rest of the body carefully, particularly the chest and underarms. The real danger is when they get into the body.

grass seeds not glass seeds!

Two summers ago, my cocker had a really nasty seed in his ear in a crop field that perforated his eardrum and he's now deaf in that ear. He had 3 seed removals in two weeks and the vet didn't want to put him under again the 3rd time. I was pulling my hair out with it!

We now put a cotton wool ball inside each ear, then he wears a snood every single walk from May to October. And I also shave off a lot of the hair near his ear entrance to stop this from trapping seeds should one get near. Touch wood we've had two clear years. And we also avoid long grass as much as possible - we've luckily now got about 3 big fields nearby that have been cut for hay, it's now just waiting for the crop fields. We use an Acme whistle for recall so he can hear it.

The joy of spaniels

Where can i get a snood?

There are loads of snoods on Amazon.

Ebay - just type in dog snood. We got around 3 for £10. I have them everywhere!! in the house, garage, cars, work.