i have a two year old cav king charles and this is the third time he has had this problem with his left ear ear mites or infection the vet puts him on the good old ear drops but i wonder if anyone out there has any idea on how to try to prevent it re occuring as he has long ears its difficult ive tried to pin the up with a light hairband but he just pulls it off as i want to let air into his ears

LOL just trying to imagine one of my boys wearing a headband not laughing at your dogs problem

It is proably because your dog has narrow ear canels one of mine does & I use an ear cleaner at least three times a week to keep the debris to a minimum. I use a gentle homoeopathic ear cleaner but there are others on the market. Your vet would be able to advise if it is the narrow ear canel that is causing the problem & I would ask him/her about ear cleaning regime for your dog

Have you heard of thornit? its an old fashoined powder and breeders swear by it as loads of other people do...you can buy it online from champion pet supplies in the UK and postage is cheap and quick
p.s you can't get it from the vets

I have noticed maisie has a bit of ear wax in her left ear the right is completely clean does this mean she has an ear infection/ earmites ?

only if the smell is offensive or its thick dark brown wax there could be a slight possibilty she has

Thanks i will give that a try i keep using otodex vetinary ear drops but the problem persists poor little sod i really feel for him as people comment on how he smells when its not him at all but his poor little ears

Otodex Veterinary ear drops ?   If you want to sort out your dogs ears why not get some Leo Dog ear cleaner - you can get it at the vets or online at the CANINE CHEMIST, its much more effective at cleaning dogs ears than Otodex.  BUT FIRST take your dog to the vet and make sure there's no underlying infection causing the smell. 

Is there a build up of hair in the ears?  If there is it needs to be removed by plucking so that air can get to them and they can dry out, excess hair in the ear canal is the main cause of ear problems in many dogs.  Pluck a few hairs at a time and limit sessions to a minute or so with plenty of tiny treats for good behaviour :)

If your dog does not have a diagnosed infection or ear mites then you do not need any specialist cleaner.

Clean the ears gently with Colloidal SIlver or Sterile Saline Solution and then treat with Thornit.

Also look at diet, ear problems can be due to a yeast overgrowth so removing sugars and grains and cheese from the diet can help enormously and/or ear problems can be a symptom of a food intolerance/allergy.