Pete the Vet: 'Help! My spaniel's ears are sore, what should I do?'

Pete the Vet answers your questions

Pete the Vet: Many dogs like spaniels need ongoing anti-inflammatory medication, combined with special ear drops, and regular ear cleaning to maintain optimal ear health.

My 16-year-old dog died a year ago, and I really miss the company of a dog, but I am working full time. Would it be OK to leave a dog alone for nine hours a day? Or if I got two dogs, could they keep each other company? I know that the answer is probably “no” but I would just love to have a dog back in my life. —RH, Dublin

You are right. It would not be fair to leave a dog alone for so long, and the idea of two dogs is not any better. Instead of one dog getting bored, you would have two dogs getting bored, and they would be likely to get up to mischief together. While it is possible to work when you already have a dog (you can use dog walking services and doggy daycare to help), it doesn’t make sense to choose to head into dog ownership when you know you are predictably going to be out of the house all day. 

One option you might consider is a website called https://www.borrowmydoggy.com/. You pay an annual subscription of €12.99 per year, and you can then choose from a range of dogs in your area whose owners want them to be taken for walks (they pay €45 a year for this). This would allow you to have an ongoing friendship with a dog, and enjoy being with them, without the extra commitment of having to care for them full time.

My four-year-old Cocker Spaniel, Maggie, keeps getting sore ears. I have been having to go back to the vet every two or three months. Ointment always fixes the problem in the short term, but why does it keep coming back? PJ, Mullingar

Sore ears, known technically as otitis externa, is one of the most common reasons why some dogs visit the vet. There are many possible reasons, but in spaniels, it’s often linked to the design of the ears (warm, moist air is trapped underneath the long, hairy ear flaps, creating the perfect environment for bacteria and yeasts to multiply). Allergies also play a role in many cases (the lining of the ear is an extension of the skin, so just as allergies to pollens and dusts can make skin itchy, so they can make ears itchy). 

The only answer is to engage fully with your vet, asking for a detailed work up which could include taking swabs from the ears (to check for unusual and resistant bacteria) and allergy testing. You may even wish to ask for a referral to a vet with a particular interest in this skin disease (e.g. https://www.skinvet.ie/). Many dogs like Maggie need ongoing anti-inflammatory medication (daily tablets or monthly injections), combined with special ear drops, and regular ear cleaning (e.g. twice weekly) to maintain optimal ear health.

The wild rabbits in my area are all being struck down with myxomatosis. I found two with swollen eyes, and when I offered them food, they ate hungrily. I took them to my local vet but they just recommended euthanasia. Is there nothing else that can be done for these poor creatures? LR, Co Galway

Myxomatosis is a dreadful disease with a mortality rate very close to 100% for unvaccinated rabbits. Attempting to treat infected wild rabbits would simply cause them to suffer for longer, before their inevitable deaths. And remember, proximity to humans is highly stressful for all wild creatures, even if they may outwardly seem docile and adorable. 

Additionally, the longer infected rabbits are left roaming the countryside, the more the disease will spread. It’s very sad, but the best option is to euthanase affected rabbits as promptly as possible. And all owners of pet rabbits need to ensure that their pets are fully vaccinated and boostered as needed to ensure that they are protected in case they have accidental contact with infected wild rabbits.

My cat has a puffy bottom lip. We've changed his food bowl from plastic to metal and are being more careful about cleaning it every day. Is there anything else that could be causing this? He seems in good health otherwise, although there is a large tom cat in the area who comes into our garden, we find him looming over our small tom cat, but they don't seem to be fighting. Thanks, Mark from Bandon.

You are right to have modified his food bowl as you have: this can sometime be caused by an allergy to plastic or residues that could be contacting his lower lip. You might also consider completely changing his food to a special anallergenic (non-allergic) diet that your vet can provide, in case this is some sort of food allergy. Repeated injuries from cat fights are also a possibility: if he has not already been neutered, you should do this (castration reduces fighting behaviour by 80%). 

Other possible causes include an environmental allergy to plants or pollens, which often needs regular anti-inflammatory medication to keep it under control, as well as dental disease, which sometimes requires extractions of teeth with infected roots. Tumours are another possibility, although they are rare. Talk to your vet, and if this continues, a biopsy of the puffy area is sometime the only way to make a definitive diagnosis of the cause of the problem.