When I collected my 8 week old cocker spaniel from the breeder last week she told me to use Thornits powder each week in the puppy ears and an ear cleaner once a month. When I took him to the vet yesterday for his first injection I asked about Thornits powder and he told me to leave the puppy's ears alone, that they would keep themselves clean. Now I'm confused and not sure what to do.

Can somebody explain to me exactly what Thornits powder is and what it does. Thanks.

Go with your breeder's advice Spaniels of all types need good ear cleaning routines & your breeder is right Spaniel ears do not clean themselves

I beg to differ Moonmaiden! I think each dog should be treated as an individual. I have two spaniels, one has self-cleaning ears and the other doesn't. I regularly check them both and she often needs a wipe around and his never do which is a pity as he is the one who will let you do anything and she gets all stroppy. I have just started to use Thornit powder on my bitch and so far so good.

See how you get on for a while Jax, but do keep a close eye on them and get pup used to having her ears played with to make it easier in the future.

Your opinion is your right but no dog has self cleaning ears just ears that dont need cleaning because they do not produce excess wax

Many Cocker breeders & owners are regular users of Thornit - it has been recommended many, many times before on the board. I have used Thornit for getting on 15 years or more now on my own Cockers & as a preventative, I would use a pinch in each ear every 2 weeks or so. Vets do not tend to approve of Thornit but it is a tried & tested remedy which has proved effective for many, many years at preventing & curing ear trouble in many breeds of dog but particularly those with long, floppy ears. All Cockers are different as regards how much attention their ears need, some produce a lot of wax in their ears, some produce very little, some are prone to ear infections, some are not. However, all Cocker breeders will emphasise the need for regular ear cleaning & monitoring & it seems rather odd for a vet to be telling you to leave the ears of a drop eared breed alone!

Could you tell me whast Thornit is and where to get it? I am currently looking for a black cocker spaniel, and after having a Rottie cross that I have never needed to clean her ears, I am interested in finding out what Thornit is for when I can find a cocker.
Lea :)

Hi Lea

If you do a search for Thornit on Google it will bring up stockists that you can buy from online. It's a powder which is put into the ears on a regular basis and helps to keep the ears clean and free from waxy build up, mites etc. A small amount of it goes a long, long way so it is very economical. It has a very distinctive "medicinal" smell, which I like, although some people don't like it so much!

We use it for our Spinoni and they love getting it so much that as soon as they see me getting it out to do their ears they are queuing up to be first!

I can't speak highly enough of Thornit; I think it's miraculous stuff and I would never be without it.

Lesley

When i got a kitten last year she had bad ear mites so started using thornit on her, when i took her to the vets the same day for a check up he spotted the ear mites and wanted to give me drops but i told him i was using thornit. He turned round and said 'oh thats what dog breeders use isn't it, i can't see it curing ear mites', but i stuck to my guns, so he said he wanted to do her jab the following week so he could look at her ears again. Well he was gobsmacked the following week, apart from some thornit visible in her ear all the ear mites had gone and he had to admit he was wrong! I would never use anything else on my dogs or cats ears.

Erin