The Zim Family Cocker Spaniel Forum

One of my girls have terrible matted ears. I brush and comb her at least every other day. And she always has mats.

Short of shaving all the hair off her ears I don't know what else to do. Of course she would look quite funny with no hair on her eyes, would have to get her a hat.

Thanks in advance for any tips.
Susan

Are her ears getting matted from food when she eats?
Or is she possibly scratching her ears and causing mats?

Try using a leave-in conditioner or detangler on her ears, and while wet, use a wide tooth comb to get to the mats, gently working them out.
My Louie has very thick ear hair that mats easily, and he always has his nose to the ground in the mud or dirt, so this process helps with his ears. I also trim the length a bit, in hopes the shorter length keeps off some of the mud.

Thanks Marianne, for your reply,

I keep her ears clean, no food in them.
She does scratch a bit, but not excessively.
She just seems to have really bad hair on her ears for mats to form.

Today she is all combed out and mat free and tomorrow when I brush her the ears will be full of mats again.

Susan

Do you clip partway down on the ears? When I get clients dogs in with matted ears, I usually clip further down than 'correct' say about halfway on the outside, and almost the whole way down on the inside. That seems to create something closer to the 'correct' look of the ears, but with a fair bit less fluffy ear hair to mat!

Lucy,

That is my next thing to try, clipping her ears a little closer and hope that takes care of the problem.

Thanks
Susan