Spaniel - teeth and ears!

[PoliteSquid]

My 5 yo cocker is so very handsome, but his breath stinks and his ears sometimes smell a bit ripe.

He hates having his teeth cleaned and the powder stuff gave him the runs… do the water supplements work?!

I get lots of adverts for treats that will calm his tummy and cure both teeth and ears… I’m a bit cynical!!

Any advice much appreciated so he can smell as good as he looks!!

My 5 yo cocker is so very handsome

Photo please 😁

Honestly, the only truly effective method I have found is proper teeth cleaning with a toothbrush for teeth.

For ears, we use make-up wipes (cheaper than the pet ones and do the same job) on DMums cocker - possibly not a popular opinion, but she let's us clean quite deep if we need to (she has a tendency to get dirt all the way into the ear canal). With cockers they are really prone to ear issues so I think most vets advice weekly ear cleaning (be that drops or wipes).

I agree with you though, I don't think there's any wonder cure for both!

It’ll most likely be what you’re feeding him , I’ve got a raw fed dog and he doesn’t smell… literally never had a single bath in 4 years . And a raw bone does wonders for the their teeth too

Please ignore all those ads. They are nonsense. Spaniel ears are notorious for fungal infections like pseudomonas, and only prescription medicine will help. Likewise a smelly breath usually means dental disease and only a proper dental exam and vet treatment is appropriate. Please don't be tempted by conscious scaling from a groomer. These are useless and dangerous.

I would recommend getting their teeth sonic cleaned at a good groomers. We did this and our spaniel’s breath is much improved! I rather like their waxy ear smell though 😆

I know Im being pedantic but pseudomonas is a bacterial infection, in dogs it can be multi resistant.

@bugalugs45 not a single bath? My spaniel is rolling in poo weekly so never has a chance to smell doggy but often smells far, far worse!
I would also get the ears and teeth checked.
We just brush our four year olds cockers teeth a couple of times a week but should probably do it more.
His ears never smell apart from the one time he had fungal infection from diving in water constantly in the summer.

Nope , not a single bath, but luckily he’s not a shit roller , if he does get dirty which is rare I’ll baby wipe him off , but with mud usually I let him dry and then brush him .
He’s not a spaniel , dunno if that makes any diff ?

This is the handsome boy 🥰

Sensible me knew it was too good to be true that a few treats would help!

We do use doggy toothpaste and a child’s tooth brush but I’m not convinced it does much - he just chews it or tries to eat the toothpaste 😂

Cant advise on ears as that is the one body part we haven’t had an issue with. Teeth we brush most days but we have still had to have a scale at the vets so I would get a vet check up for both. Our insurance did cover this but I gather a lot don’t.

Dog is also a spaniel and honestly when I went to look at spaniels at crufts I did find their breath smelly so maybe it’s a breed thing.

I use one of those dog tooth brushes that go over your finger on my spaniel, I try to do it a few times a week but should probably do it more as he does get a bit whiffy.

Ears I use Otodine from the vet; he’s had a few yeasty infections this summer so they recommended a proper clean once a week or if he’s done a lot of swimming I’ll do them a bit more.

All the spaniels I know are fairly smelly though! And utterly adorable obviously too

I recall I vet recommended a dog toothpaste with enzymes in now I come to think of it. That way you just have to get the product on the teeth rather than do a proper scrub.