Ear mites

Ellie was scratching her ears last week so we took a trip to the vet, he gave her drops for ear mites......She is a very placid little dog ( usually) and I have always owned dogs, so have put drops in ears before with no problems.....But Ellie turns into a little monster growling and even snapping at my hand when I apply the drops , its also VERY difficult as she has very long and hairy ears.....Its becoming a real battle each day
I am being as gentle as I can with her, but the growling and snapping has me worried

I'd talk to your vet if you are concerned, to see if there is something else going on that would make her so upset -- maybe there is more pain than is apparent.

A lot of dogs really hate drops though. You may need to have someone else help in holding her -- wrapping her gently in a towel can help. Also praising her and offering small treats all along as you put the drops in.

It can be a very weird sensation indeed having drops into your ear canal as I found out when I had an infection, as Karlin has advised maybe go back to the vet to see if there is anything more sinister there, however some dogs can be more resistant than others to drops in the ears at the best of times, if the snapping is becoming a serious problem then try making a temporary muzzle out of a housecoat belt or a bandage before you start?

Thanks for advise, we have another appointment on Friday so I will have a chat with the vet......
The fur on her long ears are of course now very greasy with the drops..when I am able to bath her, I think I am going to have a problem removing the grease, whilst avoiding getting any water in her ears.
I only use gentle puppy shampoo, and I dont think that will get rid of the grease....any suggestions please????:xfngr:

On another thread they were talking about getting the ear drops to room temperature and then the dog didn't notice them going in and didn't feel any discomfort.

Here is the link to that thread: http://board.cavaliertalk.com/showthread.php?t=21341&highlight=drops

Maybe this would work for your cavalier.

Yep, if the bottle of drops isn't large (as they usually aren't) just hold it in your hands until it is warm. It makes a huge difference to the feeling of drops going in. Same thing with vaccinations btw. They often come out of the fridge & hurt like sh-- if administered cold, but can be almost painless of warmed to body temp.

Ageed with the others though that I would talk to the vet about the possibility of something else going on. Re the greasy ears. Definitely do not be tempted to wash them at this stage as moisture is the perfect environment for the nasties.