Hi all,  Just needing some advice re my springers ears.

He is a field bred springer, who without fail after every walk comes home with, everything under the sun matted in his ears, his body coat and feathers are always fine, its just his outer hair on his ears, I brush him and check for thorns etc after every walk as hes forever in the bushes and brambles, yet he still ends up with big clumps of hair matted behind his ears and twigs and jaggies tighly caught round his ears.

Is there any products that I can use on his ears to stop this, I asked at my local pet shop who did not really have any ideas.  I dont really want to use any cemicals on him so something more natural would be ideal.

I welcome all ideas anythings worth trying, the poor dogs going to end up with no hair on his ears, most mats and tangles I do manage to pick out but some do have to be trimmed out.

Thanks for reading.

The only remedy is what you are already doing.  Is he neutered? 

Hi there, thank you for your reply.

He is not been done, does this make a difference?  Since he has been able to get out at 12 weeks he seems to have always had this ear thing going on, but now that hes more in the bushes etc its worse.

I dont mind picking them out, I always set time aside when we get back from a walk to do this before I do anything else, I was told by one woman who trains springers to put olive oil on his ears, I did try it but, rather greasy and made him look like he needed a good bath.  So wasnt the best thing to try, learned from that one.

I do trim his ears slighly but I dont take lots off as unsure how short to clip back the hair, dont want him looking bald.

Try combing his ears instead of brushing them, underneath as well as the actual leathers.  If you do this every day - it won't take anymore than a minute - then he'll never have knotty ears. :)

You can use thinning scissors on that area behind his ears that tends to mat.  If you do this carefully you need not spoil the look of the feathering actually on the ears.  Other than that I think spaniels always do need a brush over the ears when they have been enjoying themselves in the field I am afraid. :-)

Springer ears do knot up so quickly.As well as regular brushing try some Canter Mane and Tail conditioner sprayed  lightly on them and then brushed through-it'll help stop them knotting up in future.

Hi there, thank you for all the replies.

I will certainly give them a try and will buy a good comb and spray today, along with thinning scissors.

His ears arent to bad today, as hes been down the beach so just a bit wet.

Can I also also ask, anyone that owns springers or experience with them, with regards to trimming, the hair on his under side, is now getting longer, how much hair would you trim off and would you trim it or clip?

Thanks again everyone.

I would use clippers but if you don't want to invest in them you can use scissors just as well.  Just be careful :-) and take it down as short as you like.

Thats great thank you, just wasnt sure how short to go, we saw a ess the other week that the owners had trimmed, the dog was bald, including ears and tail, there was no feathering left anywhere it looked like a little cross rather than a springer, it was a shame and thay did say that they had a few remarks on it coat.

Could you recommend a good pair of clippers, I looked on the net before and theres so many to choose from, I dont want a cheap pair that wont last, so I dont mind paying good money as its something that we are going to used a lot.

Thank you.

I have 2 springers that are nearly 8, they are not show dogs just pets that love everything dirty and wet  and are always in the brambles chasing rabbits when we're out on the daily walk. A few years ago because of the dirt and matting they seem to end with i decided to clip them short on their legs and tummies and also behind/under the ears. My bitch's ears seem to be the worst than the dogs and get horribly smelly as she stay wet for ages - never seem to dry quickly.

Clipping them short makes a huge difference but they obviously dont look all glossy and flowing, like show springers but that suits me fine.

If you are only going to use the clippers on the underside of the ears, which is all I suggest you do with a springer, then a £20/30 set of Wahls from Argos will be perfectly adequate and should last a considerable time. 

Hi again, thank you for that.  We have a large Argos down the road will pop down later. I dont want to take the feathers off the outside of the ear, just need to trim the insides and I will keep de matting by hand if needs be.

Thank you again for all the advice.

Regards Lesley, Olli & Ben

I dont want to take the feathers off the outside of the ear, just need to trim the insides and I will keep de matting by hand if needs be

Brilliant.  Leave him looking like a Springer, just remove what doesn't show! :)

hi i have this breed :) and i trim her ears and comb them daily she loves it :)

Good morning all,

Got my clippers and grooming equipment yesterday, Olli wasnt to amused with the clippers to start with but soon calmed down, a bit of a bribe with his kong and biscuits.

He looks lovely, it took me ages just to clip a little of the inside of his ears and he was patient, for once.  I have to say I am proud of my self, he looks very neat, I also clipped his undercoat area, just a little and trimmed the fluff from around his toes.

You would think he had been to a pro groomer, saying that he didnt after our walk this morning, he was covered in twigs and thorns, you couldnt really tell if he was white or not, but he had great fun.

Thank you everyone for the advice, the more I clip him the more experience I will get, I was just a bit wary of how short to go, didnt want him looking bald:-)

Thank you again.

I would stay wary of using the clippers on anywhere that shows :-)  If you clip the body coat it will grow back thicker and curlier leaving you with little option that to keep clipping it. He would not look so good and more importantly you will be loosing the thermal effect of a good double coat not mention the protection from all those thorns that he loves playing with :-)
Stick to clippering a little underneath between the back legs for instance if you feel you have to and you can shorten the feathers a little with some good sharp hairdressing scissors which are also good for trimming around the feet and under the pads (not between the pads)  But I really would leave it at that.

Ive got a cocker show type so we collect everything, I have his ears cut short and I wash his ears in pantene which keeps them silky then comb his ears every day if he needs it or not. He still gets burrs and stuff but it is a lot easier to get the stuff out. Works for Whistler and as a by product they smell nice!!!

Agree Isabel Whistler is cut with scissors on his ears and his feathering and hand stripped on his top coat and head so he is silky and not "fluffy" he is at the Groomers every 6 weeks. A friends Sproker is groomed (same place) every 4/6 months same stripping and cutting as Whistler but no clippers, again v. silky coat easier to clean.
I have seen an older clippered springer and its all fluffy coat and a real effort for us and the dog to de burr, it had to be done over two days he would get so upset.

The way I would do it is trim the areas that don't show short (inner thighs, armpits etc).

The if the feathers are very thick and long use the thinning scissors to do what it says on the tin and thin them without loosing the effect of having them.

I am sure Westcoast can give you advice from a professional groomers angle.

Hi all,

What I done was, I used the clippers on the inside of the ears only, I used scissors on his Feet, only where the hair was sprouting through, his under belly area I trimmed up a little, I didnt touch his chest or his feathers or flagging.

I popped into my local groomers last night to ask how I should clip him, they said in the summer when its hot clip him all over from top to bottom, taking everything off!!!! (I dont think so) and the winter clip his ears, both sides, back end and legs and feet!!!!!!

Cant see him going there anytime soon!

I will stick with what Ive done so far and use the advice that Ive been given on here.

Can someone tell me what hand stripping is and would you do that with a springer???

Thank you all so much again for the advice.

Lesley, Ben and Olli

Sounds like the local groomer is a 'Sheep shearer' then

Can someone tell me what hand stripping is and would you do that with a springer???

Hand stripping is where the hair is pulled/plucked out by your fingers, I wouldnt strip a  springer unless he/she was shown, most of the springers I get in are working dogs/police dogs, so there kept short!

Show Springers are stripped, and when done properly they look beautiful!

Thank you for that, he's not a show dog, he's from working lines but we have him as a pet only.
So dont need to know about stripping.

Re sheep shearer, she might as well be, turns out that my brother has taken there scottie there before, last summer to have him groomed, he came back without eyebrows, beard or skirt!!!! and also a bit head shy, everytime the went to clap his head he kept pulling away!!!!  Not a great sign.

I will keep doing Olli's myself, least if I make a mistake its my fault no one else and it will grown back.

Just wont venture to short with his coat.

Ive ordered a few books of the net on grooming springers, so that will ahve some tips and I will keep note of what everyone has said on here.

Thank you again for all your help.

I trim behind Oscar's ears too because they get so matted very quickly. :-)
He sometimes goes to a groomers who clips him all over but leaves his feathers and skirt so he still looks handsome.